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Hey! In Cazaux's http://history.chess.free.fr i saw description of ancient Chinese game: 'The eldest undeniable reference for the Xianqi is the Xuanguai lu (‘Tales of the obscure and peculiar’) writen by the Tang Minister of State Niu Sengru (779-847), a collection of tales of the supernatural. One is telling the of Cen Shun dreaming of a battle to come (which was supposed to occur in 762 AD.): 'the celestial Horse springs aslant over three, the Commanders go sideaways and attack on all four sides, the baggage-waggons go straight forwards and never backwards, the six men in armour (or the men armed with six weapons) go in file but no backwards... On both sides stuff was unpacked, stones and arrows flew across.' To make it absolutely clear, these moves can be deduced from the text, but not with certainty. Since the source is unique the greatest prudence is recommended. There is just another mention in poem from Niu's contemporary and friend Bo Juyi (772-846) which explicitly evoke Soldiers and Charriots.' Statement that commander go sideways perfectly suits Hide's statement that semedo king 'don't go to attack'! Description of baggage-wagon resembles shogi lances, but hide's description of vessel resembles it (remotely) to! Knight might be able to leap ('springs'). So, semedo and this game might be one game, or related! If someone knows more about one of these games, please, let us know!
Here is my reconstruction of this game: King cannot move, but there are bare facing rules: at least one piece must be between kings. Knights moves as in Xiang-qi. Scientists moves 1 diagonally. They are not restricted. Bombs moves as cannons in Xiang-qi. Pawns moves 1 horizontally and vertically forward, captures in same way (i don't see river here), they don't promote.
Oh, crud. Apparently you only have the option to list author and inventor/designer when you first post the game. So after that, an editor would have to make the change.
Ok, i removed comparison with 'viking chess' at all to avoid further misunderstandings.
Semedo is not viking chess: it's Chinese game, nothing common with anything linked with vikings. I comapared only CV pages, not games, described on them.
I realize 37-space Viking and Semedo are worlds apart. It is just the coincidence of names. Each thing has to be named something, and someone pointed out CVs are starting to run out of available names. I was wondering if the word Semedo means viking. The Viking Chess of 37 squares below is just sort of linked frivolously and informatively. But that one from 1966 or earlier may as well be called old or historical, originating before CVPage proliferation, when everyone is now obligated to make Cv after Cv, confusing interesting classical works in CVs -- like whatever all the CVs Hide puts into the 1694 book. Thanks for the book reference. The main cvpage Viking, as much as hneftafl, is actually editor Aronson's. Anyone can name more vikings as he or she pleases in accepted practice.
Hide did not called this 'Viking chess', 'Viking chess' is just another game with unknown rules, i compared my page with this page - http://www.chessvariants.org/small.dir/vikingchess.html . So, semedo and viking chess have nothing common, article did not tell anything about viking chess, it was just my excuse for posting game with unknown rules. I changed text of page, so now it's clearer. Sorry that i told 'don't attack'. I just did not find right english word: maybe, better translation is 'don't go at his foes', 'don't go to attak'... This might mean that it don't move at all. Thanks for comment, especially about gunpowder! This game is, most probably, only small Xiang-qi variant, or small variant of another chess game, played in China. But it's still interesting to know something about it's rules.
Of course the real Viking Chess has nothing to do with Xiangqi, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafl_games. How would Semedo have done in 40-square contest, http://www.chessvariants.org/40.dir/winners.html, won by Philosopher's in 2000? Rocket, R, is first use of a bomb, now popular, done first here at least the 1600s. Imaginative for the period, Pawns are ''not straight line,'' Frolov quotes his recent Russian reviewer. Since gunpowder is taken to be 10th Century invention/(or obscenity in light of what it leads to), I disagree this game could be so early, unless they changed the names on way. ''...Early stages of transformation of ancient Indian chess by Chinese people'' is not likely. Maybe someone will locate Hide's book, as only Frolov's reviewer of Hide has. If Hide says, ''Kings don't attack,'' that must mean 'capture'. Does Hide call this Viking Chess? That is strange in itself out of east Asia. Here is another Viking Chess of 37 with unclear rules -- how would this Viking chess have done in a 37-square contest, though the first contest appears to have been 38 in 1998?:... http://www.chessvariants.org/small.dir/vikingchess.html.
Click on 'edit index information'.
Yes, there is a way. When you submit a game, the form you use has 2 spots on it, one for author and one for inventor. You are the author. Leave the inventor box blank. If you have a game, already posted, incorrectly listing you as designer, you may edit it, using links near the bottom of the page [the ones on the very bottom are for editors, yours are a bit above those] to either list a different designer or no one at all.
Thanks for removing this from list of variants i invented, but is there any way to remove games i did not invent from that list by myself?
This variant is in list of variants i invented, but, of course, i did not! How to correct this mistake?
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