| Author | Message | ||||
| Anders Elsborg Jensen (Aej)
New member Username: Aej Post Number: 1 Registered: 10-2016 |
Even I have called this game Elsborg's courier chess because ( my middle name is Elsborg ) and I have been inspired by a courier chess set. This chess variant is much closer to modern chess than courier chess. with some exceptions this game have the same rules as common chess see the rules here: https://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=124&view=article The opening setup is as follows: White: King g1; Queen f1; Rook a1, l1; Knight b1, k1; Bishop c1, j1; Runner d1, i1; Princess e1; Prince h1; Pawn a2, b2, c2, d2, e2, f2, g2, h2, i2, j2, k2, l2 Black: King g8; Queen f8; Rook a8, l8; Knight b8, k8; Bishop c8, j8; Runner d8, i8; Princess e8; Prince h8; Pawn a7, b7, c7, d7, e7, f7, g7, h7, i7, j7, k7, l7 Movement of pieces The king, queen, rook, and knight move as in the orthodox FIDE chess game. The runner moves as the bishop in the orthodox FIDE chess game. The pawns move like in the orthodox FIDE chess game, except than they can be promoted to any type of piece that is used in this chess variant ( except king of course ) The princess moves like a queen when it don't capture, but it can only capture pieces that are one square away from it. The prince moves like a king when it don't capture. But it is able to capture like a queen. The bishop as the runner ends it move on a square that is on the same diagonal as the square where it started it's move, and only the size of board limits how long it can move. The diffence from the runner is how it reaches the square it moves to, and therefore how it can be blocked. To reach it's goal the bishop must in one move do the following: Go any number of squares orthogonally then turn it's direction 90 degrees and go the same number of squares in the new direction so that ends on a square on the same diagonal as where it's move started. The bishops way of moving gives it two routes two its destination square. For example if white want's to move his bishop from c1 to e3 at least one of these two conditions must occur either all the squares c2,c3 and e3 have to be empty, or all the squares d1,e1 and e2 have to be empty. It doesn't matter if the square d2 is occupied. Castling: White can castle kingside by moving his king to k1 and then ind same move move his rook on l1 to j1. Black can castle similar way on the 8th rank. White can castle queenside my moving his king to c1 and his rook on a1 to d1. Black can castle similar way on the 8th rank. ( Personally I suggest play with out the 50 move rule or to make it a 100 move rule ) Why do I not implement it my self? Because I'm simply not clever enough Does anyone by the way know if there are some general more official terms for the pieces I have called Bishop, Prince and Princess. | ||||
| Malcolm James Webb (Mjw)
New member Username: Mjw Post Number: 16 Registered: 5-2008 |
Dear Anders, I have been able to make your game into a Zillions rule file and I will email you. | ||||
| Mohamed El Mokhtar Messaoudi (Noggluggoid)
New member Username: Noggluggoid Post Number: 4 Registered: 5-2016 |
Hi there, Jens. I am not too clever myself, but I did manage to put together something -mostly adapted from the official Chess.ZRF file shipped with ZoG-, hopefully playing per your rules, as far as I understood them. I provided three (quite overdone) figure sets. As your Runner has the exact same behavior as the classic Bishop, I took the liberty to swap their respective names back. I hope you don't mind. I do not know about Malcolm's version, but mine does not fare too well, as I also threw the 50-Move in. It's a serious drawback on the engine, and the Runner move macro does not help either; it relies on numerous flags (notoriously AI consuming). Please let me know if I overlooked something (I usually do).
Apropos of chess variants, here is one of mine, of which I had already posted a buggy version in another thread.
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| Malcolm James Webb (Mjw)
New member Username: Mjw Post Number: 20 Registered: 5-2008 |
Hi Mohamed, I just experimented with your implementation of Ander's game "Elsborg's Courier Chess". If the "Runner" piece (which Anders called the "Bishop") is on a1, and is unobstructed, it can go to all the squares on its diagonal up to h8 (as it is supposed to) but it can also go to squares i8, j8, k8 and l8 which are NOT on the same diagonal. | ||||
| Mohamed El Mokhtar Messaoudi (Noggluggoid)
New member Username: Noggluggoid Post Number: 5 Registered: 5-2016 |
Hi there, malcolm. I could not reproduce the behaviour you mention. Also, you will see that there is nothing in the Runner's move macro (only one) that would permit it. Could you please post a .zsg where the anomaly occurs? Thanks. | ||||
| Mohamed El Mokhtar Messaoudi (Noggluggoid)
New member Username: Noggluggoid Post Number: 6 Registered: 5-2016 |
Oups, my bad. Sorry, you are absolutely right. I will look into it presently. Thanks. | ||||
| Mohamed El Mokhtar Messaoudi (Noggluggoid)
New member Username: Noggluggoid Post Number: 7 Registered: 5-2016 |
The Runner step-counting macros were incomplete. Here are the (hopefully) corrected code portions: (define IncrementFlags (if (flag? 0P)(set-flag 0P false)(set-flag 1P true) else (if (flag? 1P)(set-flag 1P false)(set-flag 2P true) else (if (flag? 2P)(set-flag 2P false)(set-flag 3P true) else (if (flag? 3P)(set-flag 3P false)(set-flag 4P true) else (if (flag? 4P)(set-flag 4P false)(set-flag 5P true) else (if (flag? 5P)(set-flag 5P false)(set-flag 6P true) else (if (flag? 6P)(set-flag 6P false)(set-flag 7P true) else (verify false))))))))) (define DecrementFlags (if (flag? 7P)(set-flag 7P false)(set-flag 6P true) else (if (flag? 6P)(set-flag 6P false)(set-flag 5P true) else (if (flag? 5P)(set-flag 5P false)(set-flag 4P true) else (if (flag? 4P)(set-flag 4P false)(set-flag 3P true) else (if (flag? 3P)(set-flag 3P false)(set-flag 2P true) else (if (flag? 2P)(set-flag 2P false)(set-flag 1P true) else (if (flag? 1P)(set-flag 1P false)(set-flag 0P true) else (verify false))))))))) Cheers.
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| Astrit Bardhi (Aepasa) New member Username: Aepasa Post Number: 21 Registered: 1-2007 |
Hi everybody, [Here is a Chessborg.zsg with an anomaly!] Malcolm, how did you find this? Mohamed, how did you fix this!? Cheers, Astrit
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| Mohamed El Mokhtar Messaoudi (Noggluggoid)
New member Username: Noggluggoid Post Number: 8 Registered: 5-2016 |
Hi Astrit. As you can see in my last post above, I just added "else (verify false)" to the faulty macros to prevent the Runner from looking any further once all cells on a free diagonal were marked for a possible move. The .zsg you provided works just fine now. | ||||
| Astrit Bardhi (Aepasa) New member Username: Aepasa Post Number: 22 Registered: 1-2007 |
Hi Mohamed, [Thanks for speedy response!] Seen that verify false part was added to macro[s], was wondering how do you discover so easily the solution[s]! Cheers, Astrit | ||||
| Malcolm James Webb (Mjw)
New member Username: Mjw Post Number: 22 Registered: 5-2008 |
I discovered that the error existed when I examined Mohamad's Rules File and played against it on my computer. I was making my own version of Anders' game, (now published on this site) but I used a totally different method to implement the "Elsborg Bishop". | ||||
| Astrit Bardhi (Aepasa) New member Username: Aepasa Post Number: 23 Registered: 1-2007 |
Hi Malcolm, [Thanks for a response!] Suspected that... Mohamed's and your's .zrf files were totally different in concept and somehow I didn't think you emptied a board to find out that [Elsborg Bishop] piece[s] does not behave as supposed to. Great catch though! Cheers, Astrit |
