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An interesting new variant of chess has emerged, showing that chess will always be fresh-5D chess.
I mostly play the 5x5 version, but the positions do not rocket out of control like in the standard 8x8.
Given its uncomplicated nature, with current computing power, could it be possible to solve this variant of chess?
This link explores a way that white can force a draw. Perhaps this is game-breaking and makes the solution process much easier.
I am only an casual chess player and I’m mainly transcribing “5D Lexi”’s analysis.
My attempt at transcribing it (there’s no standard notation for 5D chess)
The idea is for white to go for Qb3 and then Queen to f7 to move 1. Black should not play cxb5 because he needs active counter play against this idea.
Note: the new timeline is an inactive timeline, so Black doesn’t have to play here. This might be the reason that it’s a forced draw, not a win.
Now, black has difficulties creating another timeline without losing. Because if Black time-travels to a location after move 2, then the present is shifted to move 2, but white’s Knight is checkmating Black’s King on the adjacent timeline.
Black can conceivably travel further back, to turn 1, to defend.
Honestly just watch the video :)
Very doubtful. Even just 5v5 chess without introducing the time travel element was only weakly solved in 2013 The time element adds much more complexity and would make it much harder to deal with.
In theory, someone could create a computer program that could log every possible set of moves up to a certain amount of moves; however, it might take a great while to build and run such a program.
