Check out Glinski's Hexagonal Chess, our featured variant for May, 2024.


[ Help | Earliest Comments | Latest Comments ]
[ List All Subjects of Discussion | Create New Subject of Discussion ]
[ List Latest Comments Only For Pages | Games | Rated Pages | Rated Games | Subjects of Discussion ]

Comments/Ratings for a Single Item

Later Reverse Order Earlier
Valiant Chess. Knight pawns at the fifth rank have an additional jump move to empty square (with zrf).[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
George Duke wrote on Thu, May 31, 2012 03:09 PM UTC:
To become Track One replacement candidate Mutator of OrthoChess, Valiant Chess enhanced Pawn ability from the fifth rank needs qualification. Standard Valiant Chess of Winther's invention is one alternative where only Knight Pawn has the drive. How about allowing the either one or two, or zero, drives per game by any 1 or 2 of the eight Pawns. It is impossible that any one Pawn move from rank five twice. There should be only one square available each case from rank five, the one towards the center or across the midline, a Knight move away FO-Filer. Naturally regular capture, move, and en passant are also available there. Castling is one-time only of course, and three-fold repetition is associated with ''three'' obviously, and ''two,'' as Winther writes it up, would seem to optimize the Valiant Pawn drive, to keep Orthodoxy intact. Then each side has 65 possibilities -- 64 plus 1 a sort of Chess Plus -- to add to the already massive several million game scores recorded all-time. That is, to get a factor of '65' times all those 5 million recorded games, there can be no drives at all over course of a game played, or any one of the eight Pawns a-h driven, or any combination of two of the eight Pawns a-h signified by '8 times 7' making the Valiant move; and '1 plus 8 plus 56' are 65. In each game over the board or Internet, player constantly then keeps in mind, have I driven already twice? Like Castling, no Drive is mandatory even in consideration of Stalemate.

💡📝M Winther wrote on Thu, May 24, 2012 05:56 AM UTC:
I have now added variants to the Zillions program in which any pawn can make the oblique pawn jump. (In one variant it is necessary that the Valiant pawn is blocked by an enemy pawn.)
http://hem.passagen.se/melki9/valiantchess.htm
/Mats

💡📝M Winther wrote on Tue, May 22, 2012 04:00 PM UTC:
Thank you for this observation that the fifth rank is already special in that it is the 'en passant' rank. I hadn't thought of that. I'll consider the idea to allow all pawns to move like this.
/Mats

George Duke wrote on Tue, May 22, 2012 03:44 PM UTC:
Fifth rank of course is en passant rank too. Theoretically possible for a Pawn situated on f5 are f5-f6, f5-g6, f5-h6, f5-e6, f5-d6. 'g6' and 'e6' are by capture either standard or en passant, and 'g6' and 'd6' are non-capture. In a variation, expand the added ability to all the Pawns. Same number five conceivable arrival squares, instead of ordinary three, from any of the four inner files c, d, e, f when on the fifth rank. Then 'b5' and 'g5' have four -- Valiant Chess standard form. I have suggested eliminating Draws by two-step tiebreak within actual over-the-board play before or upon completion of a game: first point value remaining, second which King controls e4, e5, d4 and d5. No more Draws, never a half-point. So, combine Win/Loss only with the Winther Pawn Knight-drive alternative move here applicable only fifth rank and there should be no need ever to depart from the sixty-four of the ancestors. Winther's modest form only permits the four Knight Pawns the drive; still another might allow all eight of a, b, g, and h Pawns the privilege. In standard Valiant Chess, does the Knight Pawn get the drive if arriving at b5 by way of b2-a3-b4-b5? Surely so. [ I did not see Winther already includes exactly the four a-b-g-h intuitively correct also as variation; but probably all Pawns are best aesthetically, there may need be some other offset or qualification. ]

💡📝M Winther wrote on Tue, May 22, 2012 03:26 PM UTC:
This little invention, in the category "modest variants" could be my most important discovery: the introduction of the oblique knight-pawn move. This could greatly enhance and enliven chess at very little cost in terms of rule changes. 
/Mats

5 comments displayed

Later Reverse Order Earlier

Permalink to the exact comments currently displayed.