Single Comment

GM Gregory Topov wrote on Wed, Dec 8, 2004 04:20 AM UTC:

The historical info Greg Strong refers to is available here: <a href='http://geocities.com/verdrahciretop/src7.html'>http://geocities.com/verdrahciretop/src7.html</a> As far as whether SR Chess is intended to be humorous, I think a read of the commentary and analysis of the Exhibition Game that is currently in progress will make that abundantly clear rather rapidly. SR Chess is certainly a serious, legitimate, and playable chess variant (and can be played as such on <a href='http://www.schemingmind.com'>schemingmind.com</a>). But one's enjoyment of the game is usually proportional to one's sense of humor. A sample exerpt from some of the annotations of this game: 'This reminds me of a curious incident that occurred at the All England SR Chess Championships in 1897. With Queen Victoria herself in attendance, the legendary GM Lord Humberton-Snapf was playing teenage sensation GM Reed Redding-Hood (nicknamed 'the Wolf' on account of his large ears) for the title. When Redding-Hood played the illegal Ng4 by mistake, Queen Victoria herself (resplendent in a short red dress that even Czech SR Chess WGM Svetlana Gargoyle would have been afraid to wear) stood up and proclaimed a STAR move. Significantly, the Queen adjusted all knights to make them East facing instead of West facing, an act intepreted by later scholarship as expressing latent sympathies for the communism that would emerge in Eastern Europe. Humberton-Snapf was dressed as a bagpiper in honor of the occasion, complete with a set of bagpipes which he been using to play 'Scotland the Brave' - most dreadfully, according to later newspaper reports - during his own thinking time. Following the STAR move, he launched into a solemn rendition of 'Amazing Grace', and then performed a particularly daring Gladstone Goodge Street Gambit using one of the East facing knights. It is common knowledge that he followed this two moves later with the now famous Camden Co-axial Combination, which led to his spectacular win 64 moves later. But it just goes to show how critical the knight alignment can be.' Perhaps it is most accurate to phrase it this way (from the SR Ches FAQ): 'With documented historical evidence dating back to the early English monarchy, SR Chess claims to be one of the original sources of 'Common Chess'. Even those who contest its historical claim to primacy must concede that Stanley Random Chess appears to be a more complex and challenging game, with much more scope for creativity and imagination.' That is an honest and accurate description. For a shorter and perhaps more introduction to the game, do read the FAQ available here: <a href='http://geocities.com/verdrahciretop/src9.html'>http://geocities.com/verdrahciretop/src9.html</a>