Ratings & Comments

I have rarely seen so much chatter as for this game. (N.B. there is
significant commentary on Nemoroth in the Yellow Journalism thread.)

A couple of points:

Is Nemoroth a chess variant?  If gnohmon says it is, who am I to gainsay
him?  I am an 'inclusionist' when it comes to chess variants, anyway.  It
actually seems more like an Amazons variant, and there are other more
chess-like games that make use of the 'shrinking board' mechanism, but what
the heck.  (Bob Abbott, who invented Ultima, did not think it was chess,
because it did not use replacement captures.  He was an 'exclusionist'.)

When Nemoroth is refined, and the rules settle down, may we expect pages on
'The Value of the Nemoroth Pieces' and 'Nemoroth with Different Armies'? 
Should we reserve the name www.nemorothvariants.com?

If interest remains high, how about the CVP sponsor a contest in Nemoroth
problem composition?

Hi,

I have worked out a slightly different method of setting up Fischer random
chess positions with a single six-sided die.   It's fairly easy to
memorizem because it follows logically from the positional rules of the
game.   As far as I can tell it will create all possible positions. Here it
is:

All die rolls are counted from the left side of the board from white's
point of view and apply to remaining empty and 'legal' squares only.

Because the king must be between both rooks, it can only occupy the central
six squares on each side.  Roll a die and place the king on one of the six
'central' squares.

Now place the rooks.   Roll a die for the left rook.  If the number exceeds
the number of squares on the left side of the king, roll again.    Repeat
for the right rook.  If there is only one square to the right or left of
the king, skip the rolls and simply place the rook.

Now place the Bishops.   Place the first bishop based on a die roll.   If
the roll value exceeds the number of remaining squares, roll again.   Place
the second bishop in a similar manner counting only the available squares
of the opposite color of the already placed bishop.

Place the queen with a die roll.  If the die number is 4-6 then subtract 3
from its value (to minimize the number of rolls necessary.)

Place the two knights on the last two squares.

I have yet to study this method in detail to determine if it favors certain
positions.


A modification of the die roll procedure to minimize re-rolls is as
follows:   If there are 2-3 'legal' squares for the rooks or the second
bishop take the remainder of the die in the 'modula' of the number of
remaining squares.  For example, if there are two legal squares for the
left rook, and one rolls a 5, one counts this as a '1', as 1 is the
remainder when one divides 5 by 2.  If the roll had been a '4' one would
count this as a '2'.   In the case of 3 empty squares, one a '5' would
count as a '2'.  A '6' would count as a '3' and a '4' would count  as a '1'
(as in the queen roll, which will always have 3).   

This method will not work without bias when there are 4-6 legal squares
remaining, and re-rolls must be employed.  However, statistically speaking,
fewer rolls will be necessary in such a case anyway.   

It is possible, though highly improbable, that one might require a very
large number of rolls to finally 'nail down' a position for the rooks and
bishops.  But once they are placed, only 1 roll remains.

What do you think?

Brad Hoehne- Columbus, Ohio.

I have known of Ultima for more than 30 yrs & I apppreciate yr 
authoritative treatment.  I was introduced to it at the Providence 
Chess Club where it was played occasionally while waiting for a
chess opponent.
I have reservations about Abbott's corrective of the 'N' move limit, 
but I hv hd no chance to try it out.
Thank u for asembling the info & presenting it so attractively.
	>pouliot[at]mailcity.com<