George Duke wrote on Wed, Oct 8, 2008 04:57 PM UTC:
The trouble with Hoppers is how to tell which modality is best. Grasshopper
cannot even move without screen, and then it both moves and captures at the
next square beyond in a line. Is that improvement by Dawson over ancient
Cannon? (Incidentally, Grasshopper > Cannon in piece-value, because of
having all the Queen-lines.) Rather, Cannon can move without the screen
and capture, if there is a screen, anywhere beyond in the Rook-line
direction, not only adjacently. People forget there are not only infinite
number of possible CVs, but also alone indefinitely large number of piece-types
possible. We can pontificate about piece-values and effective arrays, but
whole discussions could be erased, and entire new discussion replace the
former one with none of the same cast of characters in specific variant
pieces. Elsewhere trying constructively to organize, we recently suggested
piece-type categories: Leaper, Hopper, Multi-path, Bifurcation, Rider, Slider. Preparing this comment, I re-learn of Jeliss-recounted Bifurcation Asp, Eagle, Moose, and Sparrow; so once I may have mis-spoke of Winther's having originated the (sub-)category: instead Winther extends the 5 or 10 bifurcators to over 40: bifurcators long-time Problem fare. Does
that exhaust them, the piece-type categories? No. Arrow pieces, Sea pieces, Ski pieces, Skip pieces, Sleepers, Snipers, Space pieces. The last six are deliberately from Jeliss' ''All the King's Men'' under only 'S'. They are none of them specific pieces, but instead categories of piece-type, arguable as being on par with regular line-travelling ''Slider.'' We find Leapers fewest in
number, a very elemental category: Dabbabah, Alfil, Knight, Camel, Zebra, lesser lights
Trebouchet(0,3) and Tripper (3,3), and perhaps very technically Wazir and Ferz themselves; but I think of W & F as one-stepping R & B. That
is it for practical leapers, the easiest to do away fully and for all time, for all the King's men & women.