This weekend the U.S. Champion GM Larry Christiansen will be honored and everyone is welcome to be part of it (Live Events). All the program here: ...
1217
mrpstang
May 8, 2002 5:44 pm
Greetings, Does anyone know about a system of play for "normal" chess called "matrix chess". What I know: A man named Bernard Parham "invented"; it 30+ years ...
1219
omegamani
May 11, 2002 8:43 pm
Aside from the topic of chess variants- We are all victims of spam. I am new to this list. Is there a listmaster with access who can be relied upon to check ...
1220
bow_of_odysseus
May 11, 2002 11:36 pm
Sunday, May 19, 2002 at noon EST. Gothic Chess, the 10x8 variant that is quite possibly most-similar to chess, will be hosting an Open For All play-by-post...
1221
thecityoftownsville_2...
thecityoftow...
May 15, 2002 9:33 am
I've noticed it too. It seems to be an epidemic lately on these groups. Most of the spam concerns credit. I'm the owner of one club that was hit twice in one...
1222
omegamani
May 15, 2002 9:16 pm
If you want to experience deja-vous, compare the java applets for "Russian Symmetrical Chess" & "Minister's Chess". Chess Variant Applets ...
1223
peteraronson
May 16, 2002 8:23 pm
... It is, alas, true that the same chess variant ideas get invented again and again by people who lack any knowledge of the history of the field. As for the...
1224
omegamani
May 17, 2002 5:06 am
"... aside from the board and the array -- both stunningly obvious -- the two games are actually rather different. In Russian Symmetrical Chess you may move a...
1225
peteraronson
May 17, 2002 5:53 am
... But that is exactly what we as Chess Variant designers do. But I can assure you that the change to Pawn movement will produce quite a different game. ... ...
1226
SBlkWlf@...
sblkwlf
May 17, 2002 6:36 am
i seem to be making a habit out of disagreeing with U, Derek. The only reason i would say no is because Burtsev's game goes further than the Ministers. The...
1227
omegamani
May 17, 2002 7:08 am
"I feel that the array used by the games is less than optimum anyways, since the major effect of a symmetrical array is to reduce the number of distinct ...
1228
omegamani
May 17, 2002 7:22 am
"It is risky to generalize too much." ______________________________________ You are quite right! Still, our minds need definitions & structures to work. I...
1229
omegamani
May 17, 2002 7:43 am
... Nor does he have any particular obligation to do so. ____________________________________________________ My alarm over the identical boards & setups for...
1230
SBlkWlf@...
sblkwlf
May 17, 2002 7:54 am
Derek, I doubt anyone has really developed formulae for calculating the optimum number of distinct openings for a given game. In the abstract, should the...
1231
robertkjr3d
May 17, 2002 12:54 pm
He means why should we care that much. If you don't like it you can ignore it. However you are causeing such a stir, that you are giving 'the good doc' as...
1232
erasmus39
May 17, 2002 12:55 pm
..Yeah, this is the downside of the changes Yahoo made recently. I even got a spam advertisement for some Yahoo group or other in my personal e-mail mailbox...
1233
omegamani
May 17, 2002 3:13 pm
"How could fewer possibilities for play be a desired goal for a variant's design?" ____________________ I once designed a game entitled "Corner Chess 12 X 12"...
1234
peteraronson
May 17, 2002 3:14 pm
... But the rules of movement and capture generally have much more effect on play than the board and setup. Consider two games that use the standard...
1235
peteraronson
May 17, 2002 3:24 pm
... It seems to be a generally accepted principle in the design of abstract games that the broader and deeper the decision tree, the better. I certainly...
1236
peteraronson
May 17, 2002 3:31 pm
... I do not agree. I think them both minor variants and board and setup are so obvious as to merit no particular suprise over their duplication. ... And who...
1237
omegamani
May 17, 2002 3:32 pm
"Losing Chess in particular plays nothing like Orthochess." ___________________________________________________________ Very good point! Clearly, a difference...
1238
omegamani
May 17, 2002 3:47 pm
And who are "we" such that he "owes" us an explanation? _______________________________________________________ Have you not heard of intellectual property,...
1239
chessvar
May 17, 2002 3:59 pm
... I am fairly aware of intellectual property law, although I am not a lawyer. I have always felt that game patents are a rather poor mechanism for...
1240
peteraronson
May 17, 2002 4:01 pm
Whoops! I forgot who I was logged in as to Yahoo. The previous message by "chessvar"; should have been tagged "peteraronson". Sorry for any confusion....
1241
omegamani
May 17, 2002 4:03 pm
"Is he stonewalling?" Yes. "I rather suspect based on the e-mail you sent him, he's written you off as a crank and is ignoring you." 1. You have not read the...
1242
omegamani
May 17, 2002 4:14 pm
"As for intellectual dishonesty and theft, I see no signs of theft." ____________________________________________________________________ Although I hold the...
1243
omegamani
May 17, 2002 4:27 pm
" ... any patents on Ministers probably fail the required test of not being obvious." _______________ Yes. This game is too similar even to conventional chess...
1244
SBlkWlf@...
sblkwlf
May 17, 2002 6:49 pm
Thank U for ID-ing yourself Peter. Any idea how many other people were involved in that exchange with Derek? i got lost in the cross-fires. :-D If Ministers...
1245
markthomps
May 18, 2002 12:44 am
Good to see some enthusiastic messaging here! Thanks omegamani for the link to the Chess Variant Applets website ( http://www.pathguy.com/chess/ChessVar.htm...
1246
markthomps
May 18, 2002 1:01 am
I once thought of what must be one of the least-variant variants on usual chess: White is not allowed to castle except on the move after Black castles, or the...
