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Comments by GregoryStrong

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ChessVA computer program
. Program for playing numerous Chess variants against your PC.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
📝Greg Strong wrote on Wed, Mar 15, 2023 01:42 AM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from Tue Mar 14 06:48 PM:

Thanks, Fergus. Been tied up by work as of late. Some of these have been pending description for a long time. Here's a quick summary:

  • Duplex Chess -- a new double-move variant that I've invented and need to document.  I wanted to make a balanced, double-move variant that wasn't too overwhelming.  This is managed in this game by the fact that no piece has a range more than 2, and the same piece cannot move on both of a player's moves ... with the exception of the King.  The King can move twice making him a viscous attacker.  (He can hit-and-run, unlike any other piece.)  But exposing him has risks, since if he falls, the game ends instantly.
  • Gilded Grand Shatranj -- this is definily a Joy Joyce original, but doesn't have it's own page.  The text on the Grand Shatranj you mention is probably the source.
  • New Zealand Chess -- From Pritchard's Encyclopedia of Chess Variants.  "Rook becomes Knight and N becomes R when capturing only.  R & P endings described as 'bewildering' (BCM Sep 1903)." Is all the info I have.
  • Nightrider Chess -- Also from Pritchard's Encyclopedia of Chess Variants.  V. R. Parton (1950s)
  • Odyssey -- This is mine, it's a complicated, ambitious invention that needs a page. 
  • Opti Chess -- This is a differnet capablanca-array with flexible castling.  Derek put it forward in comments probably close to 20 years ago now.  It turns out that this array works really well (in terms of most options for good openings.)
  • Relative Royalty Chess -- This is weird.  It grew from ICS's TwoKings variant, for which the rules were a random outcome of how ICS handled the presence of more than one king.  But "TwoKings" had problems (not surprising, since the rules were kinda random).  Relative Royalty Chess was an attempt to fix those issues.  I made it only because when first published, an enthusiastic user on Talk Chess loved TwoKings and wanted this.  I don't know if anyone plays it, or knows, or even cares.  Maybe it should go away.  But, if not, it should be documented.
  • Unicorn Grand Chess -- This is the Unicorn Great Chess pieces with a more Grand Chess setup.  (Pawns on the 3rd ranks, Rooks start connected on the 1st, pawns promote on the 7th by replacement under Grand Chess rules.)  This was my idea to adapt Uncorn Great in this way.  David ok'd the invention.  As much as I like Unicorn Great, I think this is even better.  Hasn't really been played here, but it has been built into ChessV for nearly 20 years.
  • Warochess -- This was emailed to me.  It was also submitted here, but if memory serves, it wasn't published on the basis that it was too close to other variants.
  • Wild Castle -- This is another thing to spring from ICS.  It's basically like FRC except there are only 18 setups.  (Rooks are always in the corner.)

Grand Triple Chess. Chess on an 16 x 24 board (i.e. six boards) with 3 sets of pieces. (24x16, Cells: 384) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Fri, Mar 10, 2023 05:39 PM UTC in reply to Max Koval from 04:32 PM:

I believe that there should be some criteria to limit the number of submissions, which propose concepts that can be regarded as too generic or unoriginal, similar to the system used in patents. Maybe there's an idea behind this variant, why it was made this way and whether it will be interesting to play, but it is not described.

I do believe we should limit submissions.  As time goes on and there are more and more variants, the criteria for publication should become more difficult.

That said, I think this is something new.  The wide board with multiple sets has been done before but the space behind is new.  It reminds me of Chess on a 12 x 12 Board, but without extra space on the sides.  I think this setup gives the flank bishops the opportunity to attack the center by moving downwards.  And it gives the rooks an ability to increase their mobility by moving down.  The knights on the far wings, however, are probably worthless.


Greg Strong wrote on Fri, Mar 10, 2023 05:35 PM UTC in reply to Вадря Покштя from 04:48 PM:

The Diagram Designer does require some understanding.  Here are the steps to do this particular diagram:

1. Put in the FEN code "24/24/24/24/rnbqqbnrrnbqkbnrrnbqqbnr/pppppppppppppppppppppppp/24/24/24/24/PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPRNBQQBNRRNBQKBNRRNBQQBNR/24/24/24/24"

2. Change the "Number of Columns" to 24

3. If desired, change the "Set" to Alfaerie or whatever

Here is a resulting diagram:

Sorry you had to struggle with it so long.


Enhanced Courier Chess. Courier Chess with the weaker pieces enhanced.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Sat, Mar 4, 2023 01:44 AM UTC in reply to David Paulowich from Fri Mar 3 09:57 PM:

Pawn = 1, Woody Rook (WD) = 3, Knight = 3, Elephant (FA) = 3.25, Courier = 3.50, Man (FW) = 3.50, Rook = 5.50 and Gryphon = 8 points

I think this is a reasonable valuation.  The biggest difference I'd have is that I'd put the Gryphon at at least 9, and with an endgame value of 10.  His mobility goes up significantly as the board clears out becuase the "choke points" that block the double paths are more likely to be empty.  But even more importantly, in true endgame, the ability to two full ranks or files is deadly.  The threat is always there.

Knight and Modern Elephant (FA) may be a touch high (quarter pawn maybe) but wtihin the margin of uncertainty at this point.  I think the WD would go up in endgame due to his king interdiction ability.  The FA may go down in late endgame if the colorbinding becomes a problem.  And the Man at 3.5 is almost certainly at least a little high. I'd say 3 and maybe 3.25 in endgame.  Queen of 10 seems right on.  Rook of 5.5 is also what I use, but with an endgame value of 6.  (When the board truly clears out, the Rooks & Gryphins will dominate.)

 


Featured Chess Variants. Chess Variants Featured in our Page Headers.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Wed, Mar 1, 2023 10:17 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from 09:41 PM:

I agree with Fergus, but as a more general answer may I say that I believe this has value.  It gives us another way to highlight games that the community feels has value, in temporary way (as opposed to making something Recognized, or whatever, that declares value in a more permenant way).

We all know the issue -- there are a million chess variants (figuratively, and maybe literally) and how do we -- the CVP community who know about these things -- call out those worthy of further attention?

The procedure we are following makes sense to me.  Let us give it a try.  It seems to be working.  Eurasian Chess and Cylindrical Chess are both worthy of notice for many reasons.  If the Featured Variants offers no value, it will go away.  If it creates problems, it will be refined or it will go away.  This forum is an evolving entity.  We do not need to answer every question before anything is done.


TenCubed Chess. Variant on 10 by 10 board with combination pieces. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Mon, Feb 27, 2023 11:47 PM UTC in reply to David Paulowich from 10:02 PM:

That's because this page is a static HTML page, not a database-driven dynamic page like later entries. (You'll notice the icon is different -- the dynamic pages have a solid blue square with a lower-case letter m).

What changes would you like to make?


Ed Friedlander's Chess Variant Applets. Hundreds of Java Applets for Playing Chess Variants.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Sat, Feb 25, 2023 05:11 PM UTC in reply to Ben Reiniger from 04:56 PM:

We can already filter searches by page type, so index clutter doesn't seem a huge concern. I would support cleanup at the database level: we duplicate information about the game for each page about it. But of course changing the database structure would require a very careful undertaking.

I don't think we need a radical transformation.  A few years back, Fergus added a "GameID" column to the Item table.  The goal is to populate that with a unique value for each game so that all the pages for a given game can be readily associated.  I started populating it but didn't get too far.  I'm willing to go back to it if there is a desire to make use of it for a better game-centric organization.


Greg Strong wrote on Fri, Feb 24, 2023 10:04 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from 07:32 PM:

Personally, I think any variant that has an interactive diagram doesn't need a Java app page. They clog up the index and offer little value. There are so many alternatives at this point.


ChessVA computer program
. Program for playing numerous Chess variants against your PC.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
📝Greg Strong wrote on Fri, Feb 24, 2023 03:18 PM UTC in reply to Daniel Zacharias from Thu Feb 23 06:55 AM:

The "variation" setting should not result in it making bad moves. The "weakening" setting certainly can if you turn it up. Regarding endgames, when the material gets down to only a few pieces, ChessV can have difficulty determining how to close the deal. I need to post a new build - I have made some definite improvements in this area.


Featured Chess Variants. Chess Variants Featured in our Page Headers.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Sun, Feb 19, 2023 01:20 AM UTC:

Ok, I'll go first.  I nominate Cylindrical Chess.  It has been around for probably two hundred years, has been a problem theme for over a hundred years, was played in NOST, and has logged 30 games on Game Courier.  It has been supported by ChessV for at least 15 years.  And, perhaps most importantly, it has that ususual characteristic of making a single, easily understood change to the game of Chess that leads to something completely new.


Sky. Brilliant original game by Christine Bagley-Jones. Pieces promote through a succession of odd leapers eventually to a rooks.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Sat, Feb 18, 2023 12:17 AM UTC in reply to Daniel Zacharias from Fri Feb 17 10:57 PM:

@Fergus, please look at this.  I know there are a lot of demands for your time but this is a big issue.

The preset for this game is broken because every game is that has a rank labelled 0.

It seems any GC preset or diagram designer diagram that has a rank "0" no longer works.


ChessVA computer program
. Program for playing numerous Chess variants against your PC.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
📝Greg Strong wrote on Tue, Feb 14, 2023 05:09 PM UTC in reply to Aurelian Florea from 02:42 AM:

If you have at least one colorbound piece on each shade, there is a half pawn bonus. If you have two or more colorbound pieces on one shade with none on the other, there is a large penalty.


TenCubed Chess. Variant on 10 by 10 board with combination pieces. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Tue, Feb 14, 2023 02:16 AM UTC in reply to Kevin Pacey from Mon Feb 13 08:46 PM:Excellent ★★★★★

TenCubed and Opulent were both entries in the 10 Contest.  David and I both decided to use the number 10 by having 10 piece types on an 10-by-10 board, so they are pretty similar.  Although Opulent has seen more play, I think TenCubed is probably the better game.  I have had a very difficult time getting a good opening array in Opulent.  It needs to change yet again ...


Numeral ChessA game information page
. Numeral Chess requires sharp eyes and promotes deep strategical calculation similar to Go (WeiQi). (17x17, Cells: 289) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Sun, Feb 12, 2023 12:51 AM UTC:

I think this needs a little clarification.  It says:

The objective is to checkmate the opponent’s “0” by attacking it so that it has no safe positions to move to.

But it also says:

“Zero”: Stay still, moves and captures 0 steps.

So can the 0 move if attacked?  Or must an attack on it be resolved by capturing the attacker or moving another piece in the way?  (In which case, any double-check would automatically be mate).


Stone's Chess. Chess variant with the addition of two Archbishops. (10x8, Cells: 80) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Sun, Feb 12, 2023 12:47 AM UTC:

This has been published. Although very similar to Janus, I consider it an improvement and sufficiently different to justify having its own page.


ChessVA computer program
. Program for playing numerous Chess variants against your PC.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
📝Greg Strong wrote on Thu, Feb 2, 2023 04:07 PM UTC in reply to Aurelian Florea from 03:44 PM:

Presumably, there was some reason that was not apparent. No way for me to say.


📝Greg Strong wrote on Thu, Feb 2, 2023 03:39 PM UTC in reply to Aurelian Florea from 03:05 PM:

The king has a value of 0.


Diagram testing thread[Subject Thread] [Add Response]
Greg Strong wrote on Wed, Feb 1, 2023 07:22 PM UTC in reply to Jean-Louis Cazaux from 07:11 PM:

You expressed an opinion. H.G. expressed a different opinion, complete with the logic behind it. I don't see anything objectionable here, except possibly the last sentence, and even there I think you are being too sensitive.

You often express strong opinions - sometimes quite forcefully, especially regarding the names of pieces. You also sometimes respond poorly to alternate opinions.


ChessVA computer program
. Program for playing numerous Chess variants against your PC.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
📝Greg Strong wrote on Mon, Jan 30, 2023 04:43 PM UTC in reply to Aurelian Florea from 04:38 PM:

That's right. If white's last move was a chancellor, then it is a stalemate by either the old rules or the new rules.


📝Greg Strong wrote on Mon, Jan 30, 2023 04:10 PM UTC in reply to Aurelian Florea from 03:59 PM:

I have no idea what you mean


📝Greg Strong wrote on Mon, Jan 30, 2023 03:31 PM UTC in reply to Aurelian Florea from 03:07 PM:

Ok, diagram updated with Chancellor.

What was White's last move? The version you have doesn't have the updated rules yet, so the black joker can't move. In the updated version, the black joker will have the ability of white's last move, which could make it a checkmate if it attacks the white king. Otherwise, it is still a stalemate under the new rules. Any piece white moves would lead to white's king being in check by the black joker. Even white moving joker (imitating a king) would make black's joker imitate a king and therefore it is still check. Since white cannot move, it's a stalemate.


📝Greg Strong wrote on Mon, Jan 30, 2023 02:05 PM UTC in reply to Aurelian Florea from 01:53 PM:

This should be close enough for discussion:

diagram

Home page of The Chess Variant Pages. Homepage of The Chess Variant Pages.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Wed, Jan 25, 2023 03:57 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from 03:28 PM:

No improvement. Now it just goes to an empty white page (without updating anything in the database)


Greg Strong wrote on Wed, Jan 25, 2023 02:41 PM UTC:

modifyperson.php doesn't seem to work at all


Stone's Chess. Chess variant with the addition of two Archbishops. (10x8, Cells: 80) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Wed, Jan 25, 2023 02:37 AM UTC:

So this game is basically Janus Chess with the Knights and Archbishops swapped ... but the Archbishops are actually called Archbishop and not Janus (which I consider an improvement), and the King is to the right of the Queen as in Chess (which I also consider an improvement).

Is that right or are there any differences I missed?


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