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Comments by MatsWinther
Oblong chess. Variant of Shatranj, played on a four by sixteen sized board. (4x16, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating] Chaturanga for four players.. Oldest multiplayer chess variant. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]If you downloaded my 4-handed Chaturanga then you should download it again because I have fixed a bug where one can never throw a double-three.
4-handed Chaturanga with dice
. Missing description[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Hi Christine!
I don't understand why the engine behaves as it does. Why does it sometimes refrain from capturing an enemy king? So I don't understand how I should improve it. I simply can't understand it. If you can find out a way of improving it it would be good. And sometimes it happens that it captures its partner's pieces, but this treachery is like real life, so it's ok. This game is fun for kids, I suppose, and ideal when playing for money. Much better than poker.
I don't understand why the engine behaves as it does. Why does it sometimes refrain from capturing an enemy king? So I don't understand how I should improve it. I simply can't understand it. If you can find out a way of improving it it would be good. And sometimes it happens that it captures its partner's pieces, but this treachery is like real life, so it's ok. This game is fun for kids, I suppose, and ideal when playing for money. Much better than poker.
Sittuyin (Burmese Chess). Missing description (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Today I have uploaded a version which honours the rule that the rooks must be dropped on the first rank, which is reserved for the rooks. But I am unsure about the promotion rule. According to Bodlaender pawns promote only when leaving the marked square, but according to Nicolaus the pawns can promote upon reaching the square. I am also uncertain whether the pawn must promote if he can. Can a pawn leave a marked square without promoting, although he is allowed to? This is how I have implemented it. I find Bodlaender's rule logical, provided that one is not forced to promote. I see no reason to promote immediately as it's better to leave the possibilities open. But I could need some input on this. Burmese Chess.
Christine, thanx for the bug reported and the appreciation. 4-handed Chaturanga is clearly designed for dice. It simply doesn't work without dice. For instance, yellow can immediately attack black's king by Boat to c3, and the black king is forced to move out, and in the next move yellow can again attack the king by a pawn move. This game was almost exclusively played with dice. Later, during medieval times, they developed 4-handed Shatranj, which is quite different. This was played mostly without dice (but still about money). This game functions quite well without dice. I strongly suspect that it is this game that is reported as having been played well into the 19th century, and not 4-handed Chaturanga (what an author argues on this site).
Christine, well, it is a little complicated. I just feel the play is a little 'vulgar,' with these immediate king hunts. With dice it's much better.
A game which is anything but vulgar is Burmese Chess. It is a mature form of chess, less tactical than Fide chess, still quite lively. Today, I have uploaded the final version (hopefully). There are two variants of promotion rules to choose from. The game is now tweaked to play better. It actually plays quite well.
A game which is anything but vulgar is Burmese Chess. It is a mature form of chess, less tactical than Fide chess, still quite lively. Today, I have uploaded the final version (hopefully). There are two variants of promotion rules to choose from. The game is now tweaked to play better. It actually plays quite well.
Chaturanga for four players.. Oldest multiplayer chess variant. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Regrettably, there were some bugs, but today I uploaded the final(?) version of 4-handed Shatranj.
Sittuyin (Burmese Chess). Missing description (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I have now added the rules that, when leaving the square, a pawn is not allowed to promote if that implies capturing an enemy King or General. Also added two variants where promotion is allowed upon entering a marked square.Burmese Chess.
Chaturanga for four players.. Oldest multiplayer chess variant. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]4-handed Chaturanga with dice (weird game, not to be confused with 4-handed Shatranj). I fixed a serious bug concerning promotion. Playing strength is improved.
Swedish
Chess - a drop-chess variant with regular pieces. Solves the problem of opening monotony in modern chess.
The players take turns to drop pieces. Only when dropping on one's own pawn, one must immediately relocate the pawn to an empty square. Then it's the next player's turn.
I have updated Swedish Chess (zrf) so that it relocates the pawns to better positions. Swedish Chess should appeal to Fide-chess fanatics who have grown tired of studying openings, but who aren't particularly fond of the alternative FischeRandom.
The Circular Chess Society. Organization for players of Circular Chess.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The Burmese Elephant is an interesting piece deriving from Burmese Chess. It can move one step diagonally in any direction, or one step straight ahead. It has about the same value as a knight. Although it is a slow piece it also has a big advantage: together with a king it can give mate to a lonely king. Neither the bishop or knight can achieve this. Applied to regular chess, this has great impact in endings with pawns and light pieces. When the opponent has an elephant left, the drawing motif of sacrificing a light piece for the remaning pawn no longer holds water. Unlike the bishop the Burmese Elephant can reach all squares of the board. I tried substituting this piece for the bishops in regular chess. The result seems to be quite functional. It's a less technical form of chess: Elephant Chess.
For the Zillions programmers out there I'd like to point out the method whereby I stimulate the engine to castle. I have simply added links from the king's squares and around them. This makes the king feel uncomfortable on those squares and he castles to get away. It works remarkably well. In many chess variants castling is imperative to connect the rooks and to survive the middlegame. Note also how I've managed to increase the value of the Elephant compared with the knight (otherwise the engine underestimates the Elephant). This is simply by adding move function calls to dummy squares beside the board, occupied by dummy pieces. These are important tricks for Zillions chess variant programmers. Take a look in the zrf.
Mats
For the Zillions programmers out there I'd like to point out the method whereby I stimulate the engine to castle. I have simply added links from the king's squares and around them. This makes the king feel uncomfortable on those squares and he castles to get away. It works remarkably well. In many chess variants castling is imperative to connect the rooks and to survive the middlegame. Note also how I've managed to increase the value of the Elephant compared with the knight (otherwise the engine underestimates the Elephant). This is simply by adding move function calls to dummy squares beside the board, occupied by dummy pieces. These are important tricks for Zillions chess variant programmers. Take a look in the zrf.
Mats
Correction: the Burmese Elephant cannot always mate a lonely king. But, together with a king, or some other piece, it is very suitable for giving mate in the endgame.
David, thanks for the info. I have corrected my homepage. I had missed the 'White Elephant' implementation. It's an interesting concept with different armies, i.e., the Burmese Elephants pitted against the bishop pair, etc. Luckily, my 'Elephant Chess' differs very much from Peter's inventions. Nor did I know that this piece is the same as the 'Silver General' in Shogi. It is an interesting piece. Its qualities are much different from the orthodox chess pieces. Aronson discusses the strength of the Burmese Elephant and compares it with the Fil (the other kind of Elephant) in Shatranj. This is a surprisingly weak piece, about equal to a centre pawn. To me it's obvious that the Burmese Elephant is much stronger since it can reach all squares of the board, while the Fil can only reach a quarter of them. The Fil is an awkward piece. I cannot understand how they could bear with it for more than a millenium. But I suspect that they originally played with dice. Then the piece makes much more sense.
I believe the Mammoth is a new piece. It jumps two steps diagonally or orthogonally, or steps one square in any direction. (It is close to Murray's Lion.) The Mammoth and the Rook have equal value, although the Mammoth is stronger in cramped positions, and the Rook is stronger in the endgame. It complements the jump move of the Knight. A Mammoth, together with a King, can give mate to a lonely King.
The Mammoth piece is copyrighted and may not be used by anybody else. Offenders will be subject to legal measures. Kalroten Game Development Inc. ;-)
Mammoth Chess (zrf) is an attempt to create a new form of big-board chess, featuring the Mammoth piece. I haven't investigated it deeply, but it seems to work.
Earlier big board variants are Tamerlane Chess, allegedly invented byTimur Lenk, C. Freeling's Grand Chess, and Capablanca's chess, invented by the former world champion. Mammoth Chess, differs significantly from these previous variants, not only in the pieces employed. The initial drop move, deriving from Burmese Chess, allows great strategical freedom. The king can achieve a more protected position than in Grand Chess, while the pawns can be relocated to protect the king. This significantly alters the balance between strategy and tactics. Opening play does not rely on concrete variants but rather on principles and favoured piece setups. Consequently the game will never be bogged down by opening theory, as the case is in today's orthodox chess. This could be good, if the Mammoth proves to function in this context of pieces.
Earlier big board variants are Tamerlane Chess, allegedly invented by
Gary, wake up!! That copyright stuff was a joke!
Of course, one cannot copyright a piece. It's hardly any difference between this one and several other pieces. Nor can one copyright a chess variant, as they all build on similar principles, only combined in different ways.
Mats
Of course, one cannot copyright a piece. It's hardly any difference between this one and several other pieces. Nor can one copyright a chess variant, as they all build on similar principles, only combined in different ways.
Mats
Hi Joe! This was exactly what I expected, that more cunning persons would inform me whether the piece is unique or not. Anyway, 'Mammoth' is a good name and I think I'll keep it. I have already updated my homepage with the information you relate. (Is this piece in the Piece-encyclopedia?) I think highly of this piece. I *suspect* it is worth the same as a rook, but I'm not certain. It covers at most 16 squares. The rook covers at most 18 squares on the 10x10 board, but the Mammoth can be more active. The Zillions engine regards the Mammoth as more valuable than the rook, so I had to tweak the engine to accept it as equal to the rook. The games that I've played with the computer seems to validate this. But on an 8x8 board I suspect it's worth more than a rook. On the 10x10 board the long-ranged rook increases its value, I'd guess.
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(and now I have uploaded an improved version, that plays better)