Comments by GlennOverby

An excellent summary, indeed.

Just to establish the futility of trying to get a standard name out of all
this, I noticed that my Thronschach calls the piece a Cardinal, and my
ABChess later the same year calls it an Archbishop.  :)  History is on
both sides, and for Princess as well.

But I also like Fergus's reasoning for Paladin.

Thanks for the catch.  I did get it backwards.  It is fixed now; the
notation on the page is really the Crab.  :)

Ow.  Zillions did that to me once in a test game.  :)  Like the fool's mate
in orthochess, once you've seen it you avoid it in the future.

Thanks for the compliment.  'Beautifully treacherous' almost sounds like
ad copy.

I have votes from seven of the nine entrants as of January 1.  The four new
people will be eligible to vote in the remaining 6 polls beginning in a
couple of days.

The new rules section will re-open for suggestions on Saturday, after the
deadline for the current voting passes.  The list for Pawns will close for
good at that time, as the February poll will pick the Pawn.

Also, two more suggestions have been posted.

I had withdrawn myself from consideration to judge earlier.  Given the
shortage of judges I am willing to consider judging Group A if necessary.

My pre-deadline involvement with Group A designs is limited to one
playtest game of Lions and Dragons Chess with the designer.

Hans, feel free to assign me if you need me.

Glenn

The January poll is done.  Email to our 14 entrants for the February poll
will go out later tonight.  Suggestions are open for everything except the
Pawn (which is being voted on now).

Zillions programmers have six months or so to figure out how to program
the Cube.  If it can be done.  :)

Mr. Martin:

We have received your Diplomat Chess entry.

We are experiencing problems with mail forwarding at the moment; if the
situation is not cleared up in 48 hours or so I will mail you an alternate
address for your submission.

Glenn Overby
CVP Competitions Editor

Five of the fifteen tournament games have finished.  Standings are:

Peter Aronson 2.0/3
Michael Howe 1.0/1
John Lawson 1.0/3
Michael Nelson 1.0/3
Tony Quintanilla 0.0/0

All players are playing six games.

Aronson defeated Nelson at ximeracak. and Lawson at Rococo.
Howe defeated Nelson at Cavalier Chess.
Lawson defeated Aronson at Grand Chess.
Nelson defeated Lawson at Chess on a Longer Board.

Glenn

I would like to thank my fellow staff members for picking up the slack for
me during a time of recent personal upheaval.  I believe that all entries
which have been submitted are now posted and linked.

Contestants, thank you for your patience.  The voting instructions will be
posted soon after the April 15th entry deadline, but after the last of any
last-minute entries is posted.  I'm enjoying your creativity so far.

That's also how I would interpret the proposal...one of the eight squares
adjacent to a S~pawning Queen would need to be vacant to receive the
created Pawn.

Comments about the Queens (11 days to vote!)

Fiend: It might work on the 12x12 board for which it was designed, but
that long leap for an Immobilizer on 8x8 may have problems.

Killer Immobilizer: This feels like too many rules.

Tower of Hanoi: The objection to this creative piece is its use of sixteen
checkers in addition to the usual pieces.  But the idea has worthwhile
potential anyway.

Queen+Lame Camel: Does Camel Chess need a camel?  If so, this is a
reasonable choice.

Queckers: A multi-moving Queen scares me.  :)

Ancestral Dragon: Knowing what a simple knight relay does, the relay power
of this piece seems over the top.

The S~Pawn~ing Queen: I wish the proposal had not allowed for up to 12
pawns on a side.  That's a lot.

I'm not sure which way to go.  But I'm looking forward to the Bishops
next month, which have some really cool ideas.

The judges of Group A have reached a unanimous recommendation on four
finalists for that group.  I am awaiting permission from Hans or one of
the other editors-in-chief before that result is released.  They may well
wish to wait until all judges from all groups have reported.

Just two days left for the voters to pick a new Queen!  If you want in on
the remaining three polls (Bishops, the second New Rule, and Rooks) then
send in a suggestion for one or more of them.  :)

I am also starting to look at ideas for how to organize Luotuoqi II,
possibly without the limitation of the standard set.  Given the long
history of chess on somewhat bigger boards, here's my first idea:

The game is for a 10 x 10 board.

First ballot selects three 'doubled' pieces (two of each in setup), and
a fourth- through seventh- choice as possible extras.

Second ballot selects three 'single' pieces (one of each in setup), and
a fourth- and fifth choice as possible extras.

Third ballot selects a pawn to be used, including oddities such as
promotion and multiple step.

Fourth ballot selects three extra rules, with a 100-word limit instead of
50 words.

Fifth and final ballot selects a setup.  This would include three to seven
'doubled' pieces, three to five 'single' pieces, a king, and the row
of pawns (which may be staggered on more than one rank, or have holes). 
Assuming a full row of 10 pawns...which is not mandated, although it is
likely...this makes for 20 to 30 pieces per side according to voter
preference.

Your comments are invited.

Selecting a royal piece might be an interesting addition to Luotuoqi II.  I
can think of more than a few ideas.  :)

Actually, there's a great deal going on.  At work.  :)  I expect to post
the voting instructions later this weekend.

Glenn