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This is a fun variant with the added 'pocket' knight dropped into the game. Normally knights do well on a crowded board (i.e., in the opening game) because of their short range and double move. However, as the board becomes more open and the riders (bishops, rooks, and queen) have more freedom of movement, it would seem to put the knights at a disadvantage. Being able to drop a knight (or two)into a tactically advantageous position later in the game is a good solution to their short range (of course, a 'super knight' or nightrider would also solve this problem.)
Michael Farris wrote on 2004-10-25 UTCExcellent ★★★★★This is like an initiate's version of shogi ideas. The Drop, as opposed to The Move, is an interesting option--the concept is a 'how' approach to a solution versus and 'if' attitude. 'I wonder how I can win from here' --as opposed to --'I wonder if I can win from here'. It is a creative solution to use with plateaued players, perhaps. Or it can just stir things up a bit!
Over the weekend I'm going to try my hand a a game along these lines. I will be experimenting with promotion of pieces as well as the pocket/demotions. Pawns can be pocketed free and can drop anywhere except 1st and 8th ranks. Pawn promotions will be limited to weaker pieces so it won't be unbalancing. I intend to make a wide variety of pieces available for promotion/demotion choices--so pocketing will be a strategy for morphing your army as well as gaining positional advantage.
M. Howe wrote on 2003-01-15 UTCExcellent ★★★★★Thanks to Mike, Peter, and Sam, I think my original question might be leading to a couple of very good new variants (or more, since there might be more demotion sequences that are interesting). I'm glad I provided the initial nudge, though I take none of the credit for whatever games get developed here. I might suggest that pawns remain pawns even when pocketed, though, since otherwise there will be little reason to pocket them; if so, we would need to restrict where they can be dropped otherwise threats to drop pawns one step from promotion might be unbalancing. Perhaps of the above three can whip up a ZRF for playtesting? Perhaps modifying the Tauschach ZRF will make the job easier by providing a starting point?
Sam Trenholme wrote on 2003-01-15 UTCI think we can use the 'Way of the Knight' faerie pieces to demote a piece. This way, a pocketed knight, for example, becomes a squire (can move one square horizontally or vertically, and jump two squares vertically) when it is dropped. A pocketed queen becomes an archbishop. And so on.
<p>
- Sam
Mike Nelson wrote on 2003-01-14 UTCPeter, That's the idea I was looking for!
Better yet, Mike, Demotion Pocket
<a href='../dpieces.dir/tuttifr.html'>Tutti Frutti</a> Chess. Ranking
would be:
<ul><p>
<li>Amazon;
<li>Queen or Empress;
<li>Princess;
<li>Rook;
<li>Bishop or Knight;
<li>Pawn.
</ul><p>
With all of that power on the board, you could afford to sacrifice some
for mobility, I would think.
I forget whose idea it was or where I saw it, but the idea was you could pocket any piece (as a move) and place a pocket piece (as a move), and there was no restriction about how many pieces you could have pocketed, but immediately following your drop, your opponent got a double move. My reaction at the time was that the rule changes were only of tactical value because in most situations the doublemove response should be able to easily answer the dropped piece (not to mention that the teleportation of the dropped piece required two tempi to complete, and in the meantime, the piece did had only second-order usefulness. It defended nothing and attacked nothing, but could only threaten to defend or attack things. Granted, it threatened to attack and defend EVERYTHING, but I still think the doublemove response is overkill.)
Mike Nelson wrote on 2003-01-14 UTCI just thought of this--Demotion Pocket Chess. You can pocket a piece, but it drops as the next lower-valued piece. Queen becomes Rook Rook becomes Bishop or Knight Bishop or Knight becomes Pawn A pawn could be pocketed (to get it out of the way) but drops as nothing = allows player to pass a turn! The cost of pocketing a Queen seems too high--perhaps demote the Queen to a Cardinal and the Cardinal to a Rook? This idea would work well with a Capablanca variant.
Mike Nelson wrote on 2003-01-14 UTCI wonder if a game could be devised where you could pocket any piece execept the king, but there was a cost. For example, using the beginner's piece values, perhaps in order to pocket a piece, you had to sacrifice 1/3 of its value. This would give: Pawn = free Knight or Bishop = pawn Rook = 2 pawns Queen = 3 pawns, Knight, or Bishop Non-material costs could be used instead (double move for enemy, etc.)
While it's not identical to what you describe, Michael,
<a href='../diffmove.dir/tauschach.html'>Tauschach</a> is a bit like it,
but more restrained. I suspect the game you describe would tend to
get a bit out of hand -- consider the effect of pocketing the Queen. Of
course, some people <strong>like</strong> games that get out of hand . . .
M. Howe wrote on 2003-01-14 UTCI know that Pocket Knight Chess works, and I assume that other pieces can also be pocketed. I wonder, though, if the following has been tried and if it works. in 'Pocket Chess' the game starts as orthochess. Each player has a maximum of one unit in pocket at any time. If a player has no units in pocket, he may pocket one (not the King) by taking it off the board. If a player has a unit in pocket, he may drop it (no pawn drops to 8th or 1st rank). Seems like a simple idea, so I imagine it has been tried, but can anyone provide info. or a link?
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There does not seem to be a pocket knight preset :)! Is there one, but I cannot find it?