39
votes
Why can't I move my knight from d5 to c7?
Indeed, if this is a normal game of chess, then here White can play Nd5-c7. In fact that looks like the best available move. The red move Rxa5 actually looks like the worst available move. One issue ...
- 1,415
18
votes
Accepted
Checkmate in ω² moves with finitely many pieces
Introducing a position of game value ω² with finitely many pieces
In the following position with finitely many pieces, White has mate-in-ω² (Black to move): (For convenience, I put the position into a ...
- 473
6
votes
5
votes
How can I get a chess engine to play custom chess variants?
Your best bet is Fairy-Stockfish, which is built on Stockfish 14 and supports dozens of piece and board variants, including custom variants! For example, here is how the "Indian Great Chess" ...
- 3,587
5
votes
Accepted
What are the rules of Shatranj?
Summarizing the Wikipedia article, but comparing the differences between regular chess (that seems the most useful to me here):
Kings don't face each other, the black King starts on d8 and the 'Queen'...
- 24.8k
4
votes
Accepted
Hourglass chess timer
The biggest problem with this variant, is that it gets players to play even more impulsively(the clock becomes a strategy to win). Imagine a scenario where white has accumulated a lot of time while ...
- 366
4
votes
What is the idea behind 1. nh3 h6 in atomic chess?
My answer is that 1. Nh3 is in fact inferior and that the computer doesn’t know what it’s doing. Playing 1. Nf3 forces black to play the worst possible move on move one which is f6, weakening the ...
- 319
4
votes
Mate-in-N problems where N scales indefinitely with board size
A simple example should come from knight-bishop endgames, assuming n is even. All pieces start out close to one corner of the board and the lone king needs to be chased into a corner of the opposite ...
- 255
4
votes
Chess-like games and exercises that are useful for chess coaching
Game: Race to the Finish
I play this with the juniors at my local club to help them build their pattern recognition and endgame skills, not sure how it would work online
Audience
All levels
Pros
...
- 375
3
votes
Do chess960 and chess differ for reasons 'far beyond just opening theory'?
I think of the converse of this explanation: Many important strategic and tactical patterns in traditional chess (a) are specific to the initial position even though (b) they are not specific an any ...
- 471
3
votes
Accepted
Chess variants with less tactics and more strategy?
Most players who know both games would say that Go (when played on the standard 19x19 grid) puts more emphasis on strategy than chess. Complex, deep tactical fights do happen in Go and the ability to ...
- 772
3
votes
Is there a name for a chess variant where you are allowed to capture your own pieces?
On chess.com it is called Any-Capture on the varients page
Just go to Custom on Most Popular then Custom Rules and turn Any-Capture on
or use this link https://www.chess.com/variants/capture-anything
3
votes
If repetition loses, who wins KvK?
It's been long enough. Here's John's beautiful answer.
Suppose the Black king has just captured the 30th unit, to leave the two kings alone. White now chooses a 2x2 square currently containing the ...
- 11k
3
votes
Are bishops and knights more powerful than rooks on an 8x8x8 board given these rules?
I would say yes, the bishops and knights would probably be slightly stronger than the rooks.
Let's start out with a look at how many squares the pieces cover on an empty board:
Traditional chess:
64 ...
- 18.5k
3
votes
Where can I get a free engine to play Hexagonal Chess?
This page on the chess-variants website has links to various hexagonal chess playing engines. I particularly like Hexodus which you can download from this link.
- 94.5k
3
votes
Chess-like games and exercises that are useful for chess coaching
Exercise: Maze
Audience
Complete beginners
Pros
Much simpler compared to chess
Rules
The player has only a few pieces (sometimes only 1 piece), and oppenents pieces are frozen (they do not move). A ...
3
votes
How to ask an AI engine to test this chess variant?
Currently there is no “easy” way to do exactly this. The “easiest” way in this case would simply be the right way. You would have to learn a coding language and develop a chess computer using an ...
- 319
3
votes
Who has the edge in "gg chess"?
Solution for mate in 7 starting from 1 Kf5?? in the Ke4/Kd5 position:
Variations:
P.S. Looks like 1 Kf4?? e5+ mates one move faster, the main line being
2 Ke3 Qg5+ 3 Kd3 Qg6+ 4 Kc3 Qc6+. If instead ...
- 6,524
2
votes
Do amphibians usually have more synergy than other compound pieces?
Not just amphibians. Other pieces too!
Note: I'm assuming an 8x8 board. A different board size would have VERY different values!
Let's take the queen as a standard. Queen consists of Rook + Bishop, ...
- 21
2
votes
Is there an engine for Duck Chess?
On this link you can find developpers programming a Duck Chess engine, available here. This engine is named Quack.
- 141
2
votes
Is there an engine for Duck Chess?
AI on pychess.org
pychess.org added Duck Chess as a variant on 2022-12-26, and also included an AI. You can play against it by choosing PLAY WITH AI on the main page, then selecting the DUCK variant.
- 230
2
votes
Is there an engine for Duck Chess?
I also investigated this topic and I created an experimental engine of my own: https://github.com/OndrejKincl/DuckChess.jl
From this experience, I would say it will not be very difficult to prune ...
- 21
2
votes
How does FIDE define slow rapid & fast rapid?
Quoting from the FIDE Handbook
Appendix A defines "Rapid Chess":
A.1 A ‘Rapid chess’ game is one where either all the moves must be
completed in a fixed time of more than 10 minutes but ...
- 4,357
2
votes
How does FIDE define slow rapid & fast rapid?
For regular chess, there's no official definition other than "Blitz", "Rapid" and "Classical". Distinctions inside each of these three categories would be a matter of ...
- 16.3k
2
votes
Opening Theory in Hexagonal Chess?
I tracked down a book, First Theories of Hexagonal Chess by W Glinski published by Hexagonal Chess Publications in 1974 and managed to buy a second hand copy. That lists several openings:
King's ...
- 94.5k
2
votes
Accepted
Website for playing Cylinder Chess
For those who are still looking for somewhere to easily play cylinder chess online (live), you can now do so on cylinderchess.com. I'm a student and put this web app together in my spare time. It's ...
- 36
2
votes
What are the pros and cons of introducing chess 960 without castling as a new chess variant?
Pros
Most people don’t know the castling rules anyway
Chess engines often struggle to castle effectively in games or recognize it as a move
It would open the game up to beginners
Comment: Somehow the ...
- 319
1
vote
When is K vs K+R in antichess winning? How to win these endgames?
Using a table base, this is easy to explain.
In the first diagram it is lost in 3, 10 or 12 moves with optimal play because of the possibility of Kf5.
All other white moves are drawn or lost.
Because ...
- 520
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