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Janus Chess. Variant on 10 by 8 board. (10x8, Cells: 80) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
HaruN Y wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 12:56 PM UTC:
files=10 ranks=8 promoZone=1 promoChoice=NBRAQ graphicsDir=/graphics.dir/utrechtPNG/ squareSize=50 graphicsType=png symmetry=none royal=7 royal=8 whitePrefix=W blackPrefix=B darkShade=#FFCC00 useMarkers=1 borders=0 pawn:P:ifmnDfmWfceF:Pawn:a2,b2,c2,d2,e2,f2,g2,h2,i2,j2,,a7,b7,c7,d7,e7,f7,g7,h7,i7,j7 knight:N:N:Knight:c1,h1,,c8,h8 bishop:B:B:Bishop:d1,g1,,d8,g8 rook:R:R:Rook:a1,j1,,a8,j8 queen:Q:Q:Queen:f1,,f8 archbishop:A:BN:KnightBishop:b1,i1,,b8,i8 king:K:KirO3ilO4:King:,,e8 king:K:KirO4ilO3:King:e1

Why is there no black Janus?


H. G. Muller wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 02:33 PM UTC in reply to HaruN Y from 12:56 PM:

Why is there no black Janus?

That piece glyph is supposed to be called Archbishop, and then it exists in both colors. I don't know how a copy of the white one began a life of its own as WPaladin.


🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 03:22 PM UTC in reply to HaruN Y from 12:56 PM:

Why is there no black Janus?

I have replaced it with KnightBishop, which is the appropriate image to use for this piece. The Archbishop image could be for another piece with that name. The Paladin image is the same as the Archbishop image, and someone may have done this because I used the name Paladin for this piece in some games, but I have in fact always used a Knight/Bishop hybrid image for this piece.


H. G. Muller wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 07:11 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from 03:22 PM:

The problem is that the Utrecht KnightBishop sucks big time, and looks more like a Knight with a pimple on its nose. I think this is why people later created the Archbishop image.


Bob Greenwade wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 07:16 PM UTC in reply to H. G. Muller from 07:11 PM:

Maybe use a set other than Utrecht for this? It looks simple enough for Alfaerie.


H. G. Muller wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 07:33 PM UTC in reply to Bob Greenwade from 07:16 PM:

That is certainly possible. My own policy when I replace the main diagram in an article that is not mine by an Interactive Diagram is to reproduce the original as closely as possible. In this case that would be small-format Utrecht, using the KnightBishop piece.

I try to keep the task of upgrading to Interactive Diagrams free from any aesthetic judgements. For one, this is often a matter of taste, and in case of a disagreement between the author and a single other person I think we should respect the judgement of the author. If we want to improve the appearence of the website by phasing out certain piece images or entire piece sets, this is better not left to a single person.


Bob Greenwade wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 07:42 PM UTC in reply to H. G. Muller from 07:33 PM:

That's fair.


🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 07:51 PM UTC in reply to H. G. Muller from 07:11 PM:

The problem is that the Utrecht KnightBishop sucks big time, and looks more like a Knight with a pimple on its nose.

Yes, it is a bad design.

I think this is why people later created the Archbishop image.

I used grep to find each page using archbishop00.gif, archbishop01.gif, archbishop10.gif, or archbishop11.gif, and none used this image for the Knight/Bishop compound. So, it doesn't seem to have been created as a replacement for the KnightBishop image.


H. G. Muller wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 08:17 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from 07:51 PM:

But why would they call it Archbishop, then? This name is hardly ever used for another piece than the BN compound.


🕸Fergus Duniho wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 08:36 PM UTC in reply to H. G. Muller from 08:17 PM:

See https://www.chessvariants.com/piececlopedia.dir/archbishop.html


Jean-Louis Cazaux wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 09:20 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from 08:36 PM:

Yes, there are few pieces like this which had a name used by problemists since the early years of the 20th c., and which are now given to something else by CV fans. I'm thinking also to the Lion, the Rhinoceros, the Dragon, the Gryphon, the Ship, among others.


Bob Greenwade wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2023 11:11 PM UTC in reply to Fergus Duniho from 07:51 PM:

The problem is that the Utrecht KnightBishop sucks big time, and looks more like a Knight with a pimple on its nose.

Yes, it is a bad design.

To me, it looks like a horn, which would make the figure a good candidate for an Indrik (Jean-Louis' proposal to replace the Ancress, with which I agree).


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