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Doublewide Chess. A discussion of the variant where two complete chess sets (including two Kings per side) are set up on a doublewide board. (16x8, Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

gnohmon wrote on Mon, Jun 9, 2003 04:16 AM UTC:

I hadn't seen Doublechess, but it seems to me that Doublechess is not at
all like Doublewide, even though it uses the same size board. Doublewide
has the elegant setup of two normal setups side by side, so simple that I
guessed that it had probably been previously invented. Most important of
all, Doublewide has two Kings, and that's really the most interesting
part.

As for Millennium Chess, it seems to be 15x8 and its rules for the use of
two Kings are strange.

Doublewide is simply double. Mate one King the game is over. Fewest
possible rule changes.

The idea that the two Rooks together are too strong even though they are
opposed by two Rooks together is an odd idea, to say the least.
Cylindrical Chess remains popular even though it has the two Rooks
together.

You must understand also that Doublewide will lead directly to the idea
that 8x8x8 3D Chess should be played with 8 Kings, both to alleviate the
difficulty of checkmating the bare K in the late endgame and also to
shorten the average number of moves per game; and for this reason,
Doublewide is not only interesting in its own right, but it is also a
foundation for further development.

(Doublewide itself is a direct consequence of Twinkie Danger and
Chutes&Ladders, of course.)

The thing is, Doublewide is such a simple idea (I'm still sure that
eventually we'll find an exact precedent), but so interesting (the more I
thought about the game, the more I liked it).