Bob Greenwade wrote on Tue, Sep 12, 2023 03:23 PM UTC:
57. Vivi. This piece was created by Ralph Betza, though as far as I can tell it's never appeared anywhere other than his Bent Riders article. I think that's too bad; I think it'd be very welcome along with Spears (expained below).
The Vivi gets its name from the appearance of its move diagram: it moves one space forward or backward; and then, from either space, moves diagonally forward like a Bishop.([fW?fB][bW?bB])
Spears are pieces with sliding forward moves but little or no backward move -- basically, "Pawnriders," with almost as many possible variations. Because of the latter, they're typically as eligible for promotions as Pawns, at least in my mind. I like sometimes to put Spears in a row right behind Pawns in a game with four or more rows of pieces.
As you can imagine, this was one of the easier and simpler piece designs.
57. Vivi. This piece was created by Ralph Betza, though as far as I can tell it's never appeared anywhere other than his Bent Riders article. I think that's too bad; I think it'd be very welcome along with Spears (expained below).
The Vivi gets its name from the appearance of its move diagram: it moves one space forward or backward; and then, from either space, moves diagonally forward like a Bishop.([fW?fB][bW?bB])
Spears are pieces with sliding forward moves but little or no backward move -- basically, "Pawnriders," with almost as many possible variations. Because of the latter, they're typically as eligible for promotions as Pawns, at least in my mind. I like sometimes to put Spears in a row right behind Pawns in a game with four or more rows of pieces.
As you can imagine, this was one of the easier and simpler piece designs.