💡📝M Winther wrote on Fri, Oct 9, 2009 05:44 PM UTC:
I have not a clear judgement about these pieces yet. At least the colliding bifurcators seem quite intuitive, and one soon gets a feel for them. They feel much like bishops or rooks, which is not the case with the super-knights. As yet, there is only one email preset, namely for the Secutor:
Secutor Chess
But some of these pieces might be non-intuitive and 'convoluted' attempts. My interest in these pieces was initially of the mathematical kind. I wanted to see if such a strange thing could work. But I soon found that the ability to threaten around corners by distance invokes a new aspect. A Retiar and a Murmillo, among others, can threaten the enemy king from afar, despite the fact that it is hidden behind pawns on the first rank. A collision against the rim, or a bounce can occur on the first rank, and the king is thereby checked.
There are certain new interesting tactical facets. The situation on the board can change significantly when one moves *another* piece than the bifurcator, and new threats are uncovered. These are cooperative pieces, so they introduce som new concepts. One first thinks that they are significantly weaker in the endgame. But I have found that they can still be powerful while it becomes easier to position one's own pieces in such a way as to threaten the enemy. Maneuvering becomes easier in the endgame. This, plus the free scope of the pieces, makes the bifurcators keep much of their power.
I am not certain that all the simple pieces have already been invented. After all, I recently invented the Adjutant, which a simple one, and it seems to be very useful. One could easily replace a rook with an Adjutant:
Adjutant Chess /Mats
bifurcators seem quite intuitive, and one soon gets a feel for them.
They feel much like bishops or rooks, which is not the case with the
super-knights. As yet, there is only one email preset, namely for the
Secutor: Secutor Chess
But some of these pieces might be non-intuitive and 'convoluted' attempts.
My interest in these pieces was initially of the mathematical kind. I
wanted to see if such a strange thing could work. But I soon found that
the ability to threaten around corners by distance invokes a new aspect. A
Retiar and a Murmillo, among others, can threaten the enemy king from
afar, despite the fact that it is hidden behind pawns on the first rank. A
collision against the rim, or a bounce can occur on the first rank, and
the king is thereby checked.
There are certain new interesting tactical
facets. The situation on the board can change significantly when one
moves *another* piece than the bifurcator, and new threats are
uncovered. These are cooperative pieces, so they introduce som new
concepts. One first thinks that they are significantly weaker in the endgame.
But I have found that they can still be powerful while it becomes easier
to position one's own pieces in such a way as to threaten the enemy.
Maneuvering becomes easier in the endgame. This, plus the free scope
of the pieces, makes the bifurcators keep much of their power.
I am not certain that all the simple pieces have already been invented. After
all, I recently invented the Adjutant, which a simple one, and it seems to
be very useful. One could easily replace a rook with an Adjutant:
Adjutant Chess
/Mats