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A. Black - You ask, 'Are pieces near a spider still allowed to move from the FIDE board to X board?'
Not enemy pieces. As stated in the rules, 'Spiders automatically immobilize all adjacent enemy pieces (including an adjacent enemy Crab and an adjacent enemy Cobra)... Enemy pieces in a web remain immobilized until such a time that the capturing Spider either returns to Dimension X or is captured. Spiders have no effect on other Spiders.'
Are pieces near a spider still allowed to move from the FIDE board to X board?
Hi Greg. To your very good question. 'Pawns can be 'pinched' back to the first rank. Can they then make a double move? What if they take a single step back to their starting rank - can they make a double move then?'
Answer: No. Though not stated in the rules, pawns can only move 2 spaces from the second rank. So, a pawn that was knocked back to the first rank would need to move 1 space to reach the second rank. On its next move or after it could then move 2 spaces.
Greg Strong wrote on Sat, Jan 22, 2011 09:57 PM EST:I appologize if I missed this answer ... Pawns can be 'pinched' back to the first rank. Can they then make a double move? What if they take a single step back to their starting rank - can they make a double move then?
To answer the recent question. 'Can pieces stuck in a web still check?' It really doesn't matter if we see them as checking or not. Because check is irrelevant in Dimension X. One wins by capturing the opposing King and a checking piece in a web cannot capture a King. As indicated in the Rules under '1. ...a King may move into or be exposed to check....' Have no fear of checks from pieces stuck in a web. Also, Cobras in webs cannot spit, crabs in webs cannot pinch, and effectively, Fide pieces in a web are not really checking.
This page needs a rewrite. I also keep seeing these: .--. |FF| |FD| .--.
Joe Joyce wrote on Mon, Mar 10, 2008 12:23 PM EDT:Excellent ★★★★★Just finished getting thumped by Antoine in this delightful game. Congrats, Gary, you've created an 8x8x2 masterpiece here. Offbeat, intriguing, spare and elegant - all in all, a very nice piece of design work. Ha, you make it tough not to envy you. Keep up the good work. [Somebody told me that recently, and it needs to be passed on. You earned it ;-) ] Thanks for the game.
Hello all... Transdimensional creatures can only land on vacant squares. And on corresponding squares. Like D6 to d6 and visa versa. Please bring up any points of DX confusion so I can help clear any issues. We used to have lots of example jpegs, but I had to remove them :(
As it might be relevant to this discussion, I will quote [2006-06-18] Gary Gifford: Jianying: Thanks for the very important question. Yes, normal chess pieces can capture Dimension X pieces [on the FIDE board], providing that the piece making the capture is not 'stuck' by an enemy Spider. I've just made this issue more clear in the rules. Thanks again.
Joe Joyce wrote on Wed, Feb 13, 2008 03:53 PM EST:Hey, Antoine, I believe the answer is 'no'. Pieces cannot change dimensions and land on top of another piece. I didn't see anything in the rules, but I found it implied in the comments: 2006-06-23 Gary Gifford Verified as Gary Gifford None ...In my current game with Jeremy, though I have the White pieces I did not obtain an opening advantage and I now have an enemy Spider very close to my King. I am busy trying to block landing points so his Trans-Dimensional Creatures don't appear on my Fide-board... 2006-07-26 Gary Gifford Verified as Gary Gifford None In my game with Jeremy, currently in progress, there was a swift and powerful attack by black (Jeremy)... I had to occupy critical squares on the FIDE board to stop his DX creatures from making a devastating appearance. After blocking them I was able... Sneaky of you to ask during my move ;-) Now I gotta wait for the official answer, lol.
Can a transdimensional piece move transdimensionally, say D6 to d6 or vice-versa, to an occupied square?
In my game with Jeremy, currently in progress, there was a swift and powerful attack by black (Jeremy)... I had to occupy critical squares on the FIDE board to stop his DX creatures from making a devastating appearance. After blocking them I was able to bring my Spitting Cobra from DX onto the FIDE board where it now appears to be quite menacing. It is a very instructive game thus far. Also, I see that there is currently a DX invite open... I am trying to resist accepting it (as I have too many games in progress). So I hope that someone else will soon take up the gauntlet.
Intriguing. It seems to be a very original game, with opportunities for novice and more masterful chess players. I look forward to seeing some finished games.
Fergus - The jpegs of movement-tables and other text-only graphics have been replaced by HTML text. The DX Problem Diagram Jpegs have also been removed and the page now loads very fast. I just noticed a link to Problem # 7 under CV 'What's New.' The pre-set allows you to move the pieces so it is sort of a like a chess problem in a book, only you can move the diagram pieces around. I do not know if this is the problem I created in the Game Courier, or if someone else re-did it. If it is the second case, I'd like to thank whoever re-worked it. If it is the first case I need to know so I can use the same method to make future problems. I can e-mail the set of the first 6 problems to those who should want them.
Fergus: I should be able to get to that HTML task later today. I will also remove the problem graphics and stick them in a blog. Best Regards.
I'm still seeing the same viewable game you had before, not a preset. BTW, would you please provide the full rules in HTML and get rid of the graphics that explain the rules? I don't have broadband, and they are taking much too long to download.
Fergus - I have re-submiited Problem 7, I think as a pre-set. Thanks again for the advice and tips.
Thanks for (a) removing the comment, and (b) recommending the problem submission for #7. Now I need to see what FEN code editing is. :( On another note, regarding problem # 6: Fergus Duniho, Thomas J. McElmurry, and Jianying Ji correctly solved it, making them the only ones who have sentt correct solutions to all 6 problems. The solution to problem 6 will appear Friday, so there is still time to make the solvers list.
Gary, Technically, you have not provided your latest problem as a preset. You have provided it as a viewable game. As a consequence, users cannot enter Move mode to move pieces around. To provide it as a preset, you need to make it in Edit mode by editing the FEN code directly, not by entering a bunch of moves.
Gary, I would recomment you create user submitted problem pages. Just submit them as game pages, and I'll convert them to problem pages. As you can clearly see, the commenting system is easy to confuse! I have deleted the entry you specified.
How do I remove my last comment? The one with the
Problem # 6 has been added to the rules. I created it in the pre-set fairy problem creation mode... but I must have done something wrong because I could not seem to save the problem... could not link back to it. So I saved an image of it as a jpg for now and put it in the rules. I'll have to figure out how to save the problems using the CV method.
Jianying Ji - thanks for indicating a desire to see more problems. Fergus - thanks for you suggestion.. That is a very good idea. And in that way we get: (a) a better diagram graphic (b) don't have to worry about missing an e-mail; (c) players can move pieces around... and (d) save memory space. Comments (at the pre-set) would be a good place to list the solvers and perhaps the solution (after a week or 2 of solving time alloted. I'll try to find time to add one later today. Best regards to all.
At present, we have over 800 megabytes to spare. But if you want to decrease the bandwidth of loading this page, you could rely on Game Courier to display the problems and just provide links on this page. Game Courier was not designed for just games. It was also designed for displaying fairy chess problems. Using Game Courier would also make it easier for people to try out different solutions.
email sounds like a great idea. Just put a note on the page telling solvers that have not contacted you yet, to email you with their contact info, so you can email them the problems.
I wonder if additional problems should go into a Dimension X Blog... or perhaps just be sent via e-mail to the solvers to avoid further consumption of CV site file space?
Tom, thanks for the comment and the interesting questions and insights. Also, thank you again for providing detailed analysis of the problem solutions. It is much appreciated. In regard to how well solving problems will translate into success on the board; I think that a person that can solve the problems (or at least understand the solutions when reading over them) will be much better prepared for similar themes when they occurr on the board. For one thing, they'll have seen some key concepts... not have to re-invent the wheel, so to speak. You also point out that 'the starting position on the FIDE board has the familiar mirror symmetry, while the Dimension X board has rotational symmetry. Thus the full starting position is asymmetric.' You ask, 'Is there a reason for this?' Answer: I kept the inital mental picture of the DX setup (a player's Spider at the first dark square to his right, etc.) Although I pictured this setup, I did think that some might think it to be a bit awkward; so I considered various factors: initial DX setup (asymmetrical), mobility, square blocking, centralization, Kingside and Queenside web balance, etc. And I could find nothing wrong with the DX setup. Nothing seemed to favor one side over the other. So, I went with that initial mental picture. P.S. In my current game with Jeremy Good, black (J.G) thus far has a positional advantage in that his Dimension X pieces have found their way to my King's doorstep in relatively short time (but at least they are still in Dimension X [last time I looked]. How did Black get an advantage? I've already written too much for this comment... so perhaps that will be discussed another time. P.S.S. I might make a few more problems, that is, if the problem solvers would like to have more DX problems.
It certainly is a very interesting game, and the problems were fun to solve. I wonder how well the experience of solving them will translate into success on the board.
I have one question, which for some reason I didn't think about until now. The starting position on the FIDE board has the familiar mirror symmetry, while the Dimension X board has rotational symmetry. Thus the full starting position is asymmetric. Is there a reason for this? I would expect this asymmetry to introduce an imbalance (probably only a small one, since the trans-dimensional pieces need several moves to cross the board). It looks as though the white trans-dimensionals may find it easier to attack on the kingside, and the black ones on the queenside.
Hi Christine... thanks for the follow-up. Actually, Spiders can be the key to a crushing victory and speed a game up. They can also bring about a nice win of material by either (a) holding a piece captive while a pawn or other piece comes in to pick it off, or (b) allow the capture of a defended piece by immobilizing the defenders. In my current game with Jeremy, though I have the White pieces I did not obtain an opening advantage and I now have an enemy Spider very close to my King. I am busy trying to block landing points so his Trans-Dimensional Creatures don't appear on my Fide-board. Quite nerve racking, in a fun sort of way. Take care.
ahhhhhaaa well i trust your opinion you know :) .. have to decline game offer, not starting any new games at the moment, i was just interested to know how the 'spider' play-tested, if it slowed down the game, but looking more at the rules, and it finally sinking in, i like how the spider/crab/etc don't move on fide board, and how they go from fide board to x board. i see that dimension x is going well in score count for up-coming tourney, so i think we shall see this game play-tested well, i look forward to seeing the games. anyway, looks terrific to me, well done.
As stated earlier, I was to provide the names of successful problem solvers and the solutions to the 5 Dimension X problems.
Thomas J. McElmurry, Fergus Duniho, and Jianying Ji correctly solved all 5 problems. Jeremy Good worked on and solved problems 1 & 2. An outstanding job by each on cracking the challenges.
As for the solutions, Thomas J. McElmurry has provided relatively detailed analysis in a rather entertaining (fun to read) format. His analysis appears in the rules section, just after the last note.
Looking over the 5 problems and reading over the analysis should greatly enhance a player's understanding of game dynamics.
It's good to have all information on each new piece consolidated together, but I would recommend writing out all the text in plain html, not placing it in graphic images. This will allow the page to load faster, and it will keep the content of the page more accessible.
Thanks to a brief discussion with Fergus regarding Problem # 5 and the layout of the rules --- I have just given the rules page a rather thorough overhaul. Hopefully information is now presented in a much more user-friendly manner. Should anyone notice an omission in the new layout, please let me know. Note that the rules themselves have not changed... just the layout. On a different note: Problem 5 is apparently the most difficult to date. It has, however, been cracked by: Thomas J. McElmurry, Jianying Ji, and Fergus Duniho.
Hi Christine: You ask how did it go with play testing? Answer: If you want we can play an unrated game so you can get an opinion based on your actual experience. Which is better than me just saying, 'Very good.' In return I will play one of your inventions (of your choosing). If you want. As for the cobra; It simply spits 1 or 2 spaces. It can never move on the FIDE board. Just onto it, or off of it. Also, please check out the problems in the rules. 1 and 2 aren't 2 hard and will give you a good idea of play. Thanks for the comment. Take care.
well this looks great, another interesting game Gary, how did it go with play testing?
when a cobra makes a strike, does it move?
For those who have been solving Dimension X chess problems, problem 5 has been added to the Rules.
Thanks for the shout out, prob 4 was quite interesting indeed.
Jianying: Thanks for the very important question. Yes, normal chess pieces can capture Dimension X pieces [on the FIDE board], providing that the piece making the capture is not 'stuck' by an enemy Spider. I've just made this issue more clear in the rules. Thanks again. P.S. While in a D'X comment box, I'd like to congratulate Thomas J. McElmurry, Fergus Duniho, and Jianying Ji who have each sent in the correct solution to Problem #4, which is by far the most difficult of the set thus far. Well done.
Normal pieces can take Dim. X pieces, (on normal board) I take it.
A really cool game with a good and innovative mechanics.
Dimension X Problem # 4 is now included in the rules. The names of the Problem Solvers are now listed beneath the problem(s) they solved. All 4 solutions will be provided next Thursday.
The following individuals have solved problems so far:
Thomas J. McElmurry (Problems 1, 2, 3)
Fergus Duniho (Problems 1, 2, 3)
Jianying Ji (Problems 1, 2, 3)
Jeremy Good (Problems 1, 2)
I have received several solutions for Dimension X problems 1 and 2. I can tell you that several of you are correct in both cases... but I must entertain company now so I will have to respond to your e-mails tomorrow... but, if you feel inclined, I have just added Problem #3, which, I think is pretty interesting.
The first solution to Problem # 2 arrived shortly after the problem was posted... but it is a wrong try. It reads, 'I haven't solved problem one yet, but in problem two, white can win by moving his crab to dimension [X] and checkmating with queen on h8.' Response: It is very important to remember that you win by capturing the enemy King... check mate has no meaning in this game. And you can't wait until your next turn to take his King because, as Black states in the problem, he will move his Crab to Dimension X and use his Cobra to win.' (by Spitting on your King no less, the ultimate chess insult). Best regards to all.
I have added a second Dimension X problem to the rules page. Individuals who can solve these probably have the type of understanding needed to play the game well. Others may be able to play the game without difficulty, but would likely miss some golden opportunities.
An incorrect solution to the Dimension X problem was recently sent to me. I will mention part of it as to remove that potential stumbling block from the path of others. The player stated he would start with the Spitting Cobra spitting on Black's Spider, killing it. This would free up the White King to escape from Black's deadly Cobra. However, White's Cobra action is illegal in this position. Reason: The Cobra is adjacent to the Black Spider, and therefore cannot function (a spider-web type effect mentioned in the rules.) If the Cobra was 2 direct spaces away, that action could have been performed.
Congratulations to Fergus Duniho for solving the 'Dimension X' problem. So far, only Fergus and Tom have sent in the correct solution. I will provide a comment with both: a) the correct solution and (b) a list of all successful problem solvers next week.
Congratulations to Thomas J. McElmurry. Tom sent the correct solution to the Dimension X chess problem to me. To my knowledge Tom is the only person to have correctly solved the Dimension X puzzle thus far. For others interested in tackling the problem, it is included in the game rules.
Namik: Thanks for the comment of, 'Good - Very interesting and funny.' I especially appreciated the 'funny' comment because I had not seen the game as being funny. But then I went back and looked at it, and Yes... I think you have a good point... it does seem a bit humorous. However, to show the more serious aspect of the game I have added a Problem just prior to the Rule notes.
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This variant is another nifty-looking one by Gary Gifford, albeit with a certain degree of complexity to the play.