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Comments by tchervenkov

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Courier Chess. A large historic variant from Medieval Europe.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Sat, Aug 13, 2022 06:15 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★

Would it be possible to provide a rule enforcing preset that begins with the "rational" setup with all Pawns on the second rank?


Shatranj. The widely played Arabian predecessor of modern chess. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Sat, May 2, 2020 03:17 PM UTC:

I knew the rules of Shatranj for a few years but had never attempted an actual game. But these days I'm again delving into historic Chess variants. My primary goal is to find a few sample games of Shatranj which would hopefully let me understand why the game was appreciated (for me it is just impossible to play it: I fill lost when I open it in Zillions, I don't know where to go, what short term goals to pursue).

While searching for sample games, I discovered the astonishing lack of historic recorded games of Shatranj. I found but two, dating back to the Xth century. It turns out that apparently Shatranj was never played from the initial setup. Players would agree on a standartized position -- which could be called an opening in modern terms -- and would use it as actual setup. I found sixteen examples of such openings but without an analysis of their strengths and weakness it is still difficult to use them. One can still admire their poetic names.

In my opinion, we see Shatranj as a poor, uninteresting game just because we don't know enough about it. It would be so nice if somebody could provide us with the analysis of As-Suli, mentioned by George Duke back in 2008 in the first comment to this page. Perhaps more knowledge of the actual way this game was played would allow us to better appreciate it, since initial setup, piece movement and winning conditions don't seem to be enough?


Cleopatra Chess. No captures, but your Cleopatra (Queen) can seduce opposing pieces to your side. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Thu, Dec 22, 2011 08:39 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
I played this game with a human opponent as well as against the computer. I find it to be excellent for fun, probably not perfectly balanced but what game is perfectly balanced, after all?

However, sometimes the game gets stucked: it is possible to block both Cleopatras in such a way no one can win. I suggest the following change to the rules: if for N moves no piece is flipped, the game is drawn. This rule is alike of Chess rule about no pawn move in 50 moves. For Cleopatra chess I think 50 is too much. 10 or 20 should be a good idea.

Ultima. Game where each type of piece has a different capturing ability. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Thu, Mar 29, 2007 02:19 PM UTC:
Hi all, fans of ultima!

Here is the only site, as I know, which gives you the possibility to play ultima on-line in real time: http://adage-studio.com:8080/universal. Rules as the official rules, as published first by Abbott. You have to register in order to play. There are also two other ultima-like games: Rococo and Supremo.

I wish know whether you like the site. Suggestions are welcome.

Rococo. A clear, aggressive Ultima variant on a 10x10 ring board. (10x10, Cells: 100) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Wed, Jul 26, 2006 11:17 AM UTC:
However it is not possible to explain everything by images ;) It is true Rococo is a nice game, but its rules are difficult enough to describe.

Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Sun, Jul 23, 2006 10:55 AM UTC:
I find Rococo to be a very unclear game, regardless it claims clarity. But I like the game and I consider 'Yes' for 1 to 3 and 'No' for question number 4.

Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Sat, Jul 22, 2006 04:57 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
Hi! I was exploring Rococo's ZRF, I found many divergences between what I
was expected to be correct and what does Zillions do.
Now I have many questions to any one concerned with Rococo:
1) wether the Chameleon could swap with the Swapper, jumping over any Long
leaper;
2) wether the Chameleon could swap and capture any Withdrawer or
Advancer;
3) wether a Pawn that's already on the 9th rank could promote by moving
sidewards (it's clear it could not go to the 10th rank);
4) wether a piece on the outer ring could 'commit suicide' (i.e. - does
this count as capturing?).

I will appreciate having authors' opinion.

Thanks a lot.

Rococo ZIP file. A clear, aggressive Ultima variant on a 10x10 ring board.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Sat, Jul 22, 2006 04:38 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
When swapping with the Swapper, the Chameleon doesn't capture any withdrawer or Advancer it should. Neither it 'wants' to jump some Long Leapers when swapping. Is this correct?

Ultima. Game where each type of piece has a different capturing ability. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Fri, Jul 21, 2006 06:44 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Every game should be played by people that master the rules in order to
reach a theoretical depth. It's not serious to have discussion on rules -
this doesn't serve any purpose.

It's impossible to find some real game theory on Ultima in the Internet.
How about having it here, at the chessvariants pages? If there are any
experienced players around, perphaps they would like to gather
observations just in one place?

Tetrahedral Chess. Three dimensional variant with board in form of tetrahedron. (7x(), Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Wed, Nov 23, 2005 04:50 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Very nice game. I like the idea of a non-cubic 3D chess variant.

Tape Chess and other almost one-dimensional chess variants. Tape Chess and other almost one-dimensional chess variants.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Fri, Nov 18, 2005 09:30 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
I like very much tape chess, especially the variant played on a circular shape tape. It's a pity that there's no Game Courier preset for Tape chess. So far I've played only with Zillions. I like simple and clear games, just as this one is.

Rococo. A clear, aggressive Ultima variant on a 10x10 ring board. (10x10, Cells: 100) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Thu, Nov 3, 2005 02:15 PM UTC:
Is it legal for a Chameleon to hop over a longleaper and capture it, by landing on a enemy pawn, and also capturing it? This problem arised during a game.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEX! Chess. A game designed to be as different to chess as possible while still being the same as chess. (1x72, Cells: 72) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Todor Tchervenkov wrote on Thu, Nov 3, 2005 02:06 PM UTC:
What about translating this game in other languages? What language should be used in a international tournament?

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