What was new September - October 1999?

• Week of October 24 - October 30, 1999:
  • fdshogi.zip (download, 49k). An updated implementation of Shogi for Zillions of Games, which evaluates the pieces better. Written by Fergus Duniho.
  • Chess2. Decimal Chess variant with two new pieces. By Robert J. Tiess.
  • Chess Montreal. Chess font where every piece looks the same when turned upside down. (Link.)
  • Chess Cases. Chess font by Matthieu Leschemelle from France. (Zip-file.)
  • Photos of Capablanca's Chess. Pictures of a set based on Capablanca's 8x10 variant.
  • fdshogi.zip (download, 49k). An implementation of Shogi that plays considerably better than the Shogi shipped with Zillions of Games. Written by Fergus Duniho.
  • Abstract chess set from Poland. (Photo's.)
  • Fianchetto Chess. Rooks and bishops switched in opening setup.
  • Pictures of Vyrémorn Chess.
  • Financial Statement for October 1999.
• Week of October 17 - October 23, 1999:
  • Chess Variant Graphics index page added. Fergus Duniho is now the Chess Variant Graphics specialist.
  • Grand Cavalier Chess. The decimal version of Cavalier Chess. By Fergus Duniho.
  • Photos of Grand Cavalier Chess.
  • Traffic Jam. Pieces try to reach other side of narrow board. By Kris Barski. Submission for the 40-squares Contest.
  • Four File Chess. Variant on 4 by 10 board. By Kris Barski. Submission for the 40-squares Contest.
  • Photo's of Roman Chess set. Commercial variant on 10 by 10 board.
  • Cavalier Chess. All pieces except queens have some kind of knight-movement. Page moved to this site.
• Week of October 10 - October 16, 1999:
  • Big Battle. Large (10x10), commercial variant invented by M K Morrison in 1994.
  • bigbat.zip (download, 30k). ZRF file written by David Milne.
  • smegi.zip (download, 102k). Zillions of Games implementation of Smegi by Fergus Duniho.
  • Smegi page updated.
  • Smegi photographs.
  • Thai Chess v1.0. Freeware program that plays Thai Chess. (Link.)
  • Search the chessvariant.com pages!
  • Chess Games vs. Chess Variants. An article by Fergus Duniho.
  • Diamond Chess. Chess variant on diamond shaped board with 40 squares. By Bruce Mills.
  • Photos of Xhess, Philosopher's Chess, and King's Court.
  • The 39 Challenge 'Best Game for Children' has been decided! Robber-baron is the winner, with Hex-39 getting an honorable mention.
  • Rules of Tezhi Luzhanqi - Chinese army chess. Chinese strategic game.
• Week of October 3 - October 9, 1999:
  • Hex chess variants (hexchess.zip, 31k). Various hexagonal chess variants. Zillions of Games implementation by Jens Markmann.
  • Amphora (amphora.zip, 4k). Amphora web page, Zillions of Games implementation by Jens Markmann.
  • Roman Chess (romanchess.zip, 18k). Roman Chess (link) Zillions of Games implementation by Fergus Duniho.
  • On: Chess Eccentricities by Verney. Information and photo's of book on chess variants from 1885.
  • Siege Chess. Historic chess variant with fortress on cross-shaped board.
  • Photographs of chess variant sets created using Fergus Duniho's Chess Variant Construction set ideas:
    • Cavalier Chess Photos. All pieces except queens have some kind of knight-movement. Game invented by Fergus Duniho.
    • Courtyard Photos. Variant on 5 by 8 board. By Bryan Lambert.
    • Bomberman Photos. Variant on 8 by 10 board with bombs and diffusers. By Bryan Lambert.
    • Eight-Stone Chess Photos. More photographs of Jim Aikin's Eight-Stone Chess.
    • Holywar Photos. Variant with 6 by 6 board with four additional corner squares. By Fergus Duniho.
  • Vu's Views. New monthly column by editor Vu Vo.
  • Centennial Chess updated with correspondence play instructions.
  • Five additional sample games for McCooey's Hexagonal Chess. Contributed by Tim O'Lena.
  • September 1999 letterbox: September 1999: Fischer Random Chess; Gary Gygax; Handicapping System.
  • Annan Shogi, or Korean Shogi. Shogi variant where pieces move like a friendly piece directly behind it.
  • Barasi chess. Game named after inventor with Berolina pawns can also move backwards; other pieces can only move forwards.
  • Straights. Chesslike naval battle game from end 19th century. Description by John Reece and Hans Bodlaender.
• Week of September 26 - October 2, 1999:
  • 3 games added to the Chess Variant Pages Shop.
  • Novo Chess. War game chess variant from the Netherlands, 1937. Description by Hans Bodlaender.
  • Tile Chess. Commercial chess variant, published by Steve Jackson Games. (Link)
  • Paulowich's Amazon Chess. Chess applet that plays a variant with different armies.
  • Big Battle. Large (10x10), commercial variant invented by M K Morrison in 1994. (Link)
  • Letter Chess. Pieces are a diagram that shows a letter and their movement capabilities. By Ed Pegg Jr.
  • ItsYourTurn.com. Site where you can play chess variants online. Find opponents, play in tournaments! Updated with new Chess Variants! (Link)
  • Hostage Chess. Pieces taken are held hostage and can be exchanged against other pieces and then dropped. With sample games and tactical tips. By John Leslie.
  • Zebulon. Commercial board game from Germany, with bluffing with chess pieces and connection forming. (Description, no full rules.)
• Week of September 19 - September 25, 1999:
  • TriChess is a hexogonal, three player variant, created and distributed by PrimeChess Oy (link).
  • Text of booklet added to Four-handed Chess by Capt. George Hope Verney.
  • Files for Zillions of Games. With the following files and the Zillions of Games program, you can play the following games:
    • Fischer Random Chess. Random setup for chess. Game of former world chess champion Fischer. ZRF-file by Pierre Tourigny.
    • Microshogi and Kyoto Shogi. Two small shogi variants. ZRF-file by Steve Evans.
  • Kings and Pawns. Proprietary game on 8 by 7 board with two types of pieces and no capturing.
  • Strato Chess information page updated with a picture of Strato Chess (from the cover of the game box).
• Week of September 12 - September 18, 1999:
  • Potential Chess. Pieces start out as any piece and become a particular piece depending on how they move. Author: David Howe.
  • Smess produced and sold in the early 70's by Parker Brothers. Arrows on squares determine direction pieces can move.
  • Rooksquare Chess. Win by moving piece to corner at opponent's side. Game of Jens Nielsen. Contributed by Roger Cooper.
  • Mind Sports Olympiad Link of the week. The first 'Link of the Week' award, ever given out by the Mind Sports Olympiad website.
  • ZRF-file for Chaturanga and Shatranj. Historic predecessors of chess, playable now with the Zillions of Games program. By Tony Quintanilla, based on zrf-file by Jens Markman. You also need the Mammoth Chess ZRF-file for the graphics.
  • New items added to the Chess Variant Pages Shop. And a 'Chess Only' Shop page has been created.
  • Four-handed Chess by Capt. George Hope Verney. Booklet from 1881, describing four-player chess variant. Read the entire book here!
  • Jean-Louis Cazaux is now also editor of the Chess Variant Pages. His specializations are stamps, illustrations, and origins of chess.
  • Sample game of Double Chess, with comments.
• Week of September 5 - September 11, 1999:
  • Arktur. Two kings and randomized setup. By Peter Riesen.
  • Haynie's Hexagonal Chess. Experimental hexagonal chess variant. By Billy Haynie.
  • PowerChess. Chess with two extra squares on the middle rows. By Gerd Degens. (Link.)
  • Pictures of Centennial Chess array.
  • Ralph Betza is the second judge in the contest to design a chess variant on a board of 40 squares.
  • Rollerball. Chess race fight on board formed by removing 3 by 3 square from center of 7 by 7 square. By Jean-Louis Cazaux.
  • Files for Zillions of Games. With this file and the ZoG-program, you can play the following game:
    Rollerball.zip. Chess race fight on board formed by removing 3 by 3 square from center of 7 by 7 square. Game and ZRF-file by Jean-Louis Cazaux.
  • Looking to buy some chess variant games or books? Give the Chess Variant Pages Shop a visit!
• Week of August 29 - September 4, 1999:
  • Pictures of Eight-Stone chess array.
  • NARF! (Link) A Windows application that allows you to define and play your own board games. Shareware by Gabriel Mendosa.
  • Letterbox of August 1999: August 1999: Fischer Random Chess; Origins of Chess; Concerning bughouse or tandem.

• Index to older `whatsnew' files.