Comments by GlennOverby

On the naming of combined leapers: I developed a family of combined leapers
for Beastmaster Chess.  Positing the Horse's move as three squares
including a turn (another way of describing a 1,2 leap), I used pieces
with four, five, and six square moves including a turn.

The colorbound Roc is (1,3) + (2,2), Camel+Elephant.
The colorchanging Pegasus is (1,4) + (2,3), Giraffe+Zebra.
The colorbound Wyvern is (1,5)+(2,4)+(3,3).

None of these names is in =common= use elsewhere.  Pegasus found its way
into ximeracak. as well.

William: I have no objection to an entry fee of zero.  However, it is
perhaps appropriate to note that open championships in virtually every
competitive discipline routinely charge entry fees.

Roberto:  The choice of games for list 1 is certainly something I would
want discussed.  I would not want to see list 1 larger than three or four
games, as one of the perceived difficulties with the multivariant concept
is being =required= to learn a whole bunch of variants to compete.

On the list 1 suggestions: I looked for games that broadly sample the
different directions of chess variants, while being recognized for
excellence in their own right.

CWDA brings many different pieces into play.
Extinction provides a different way to win.
Grand is a modern great or extended chess, a thousand-year tradition.
Progressive is the quickest multiple-move variant.
There are certainly other candidates.

On the philosophical question of Shogi and Xiangqi as variants: I would
avoid both on list 1, but would look at variants of either.  (Five-Minute
Poppy Shogi comes to mind.)  As for a player listing Shogi, Xiangqi, or
Western chess on their personal list...that's fine with me.

I left the King unpromoted for two reasons.  One was the notorious
difficulty of checkmating more mobile royal pieces.  The other was the
influence of Shogi itself, where the King is one of just two pieces that
cannot promote.

But there are potentials for promoting the King, and a case could be made
that if it survives to get out 7 ranks it deserves to be harder to kill
:)

The 12 finalists have been announced.  I do not have entries in
competition, so I will probably be putting my competitions editor hat back
on to organize the finals jury.  A further announcement may be expected in
a couple of days.

Good luck to the finalists!

Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention.

One of the recurring challenges of life, when building up any organization
to fulfill a given purpose, is to build something which will last beyond
the interest or ability of the founder to continue.

Hans has done that, and has in the process established himself as a great
modern contributor to the history of chess.  Well done.

The poll results are on the site.  I don't have the link handy, but
clicking on Polls on the sidebar of the What's New page should get you in
the right place.

Any number of voters is more input than simply letting the editors pick. 
Our primary say comes in determining what gets on the ballot from public
suggestions.  We also break ties.

Offhand, I could easily have nominated Tamerlane, Alice, or Hostage
without a second thought.  The field was tough, as was picking ONE to vote
for.

Thank you, gentlemen, both for the support and the critique.

In a very divided vote, the winner is the Diagonal Bypasser.  A different
method of counting votes might have given either the Sliding Bishop or
Chaplain the nod.  I'll add this to the page over the weekend.

Thanks to everyone who has voted on New Rules so far; that poll closes on
the 30th.

Hi, folks.  Thanks for the good suggestions.  I am over my computer
difficulties, and will be back up to speed very soon.

There are three entrants who have not yet voted.  All voters who mentioned
voting in this thread have their ballots in.

I am allowing until midnight CDT on Sunday, July 6th for those voters, or
any others, to get in their ballots.  Existing ballots may also be changed
up to that time.  I'll count votes on the 7th.

Glenn

One question, one plea:

Question: Will any two Towers trigger the new promotion rule, or only two
Towers of the same height?  (I recommend the latter.)

Plea:  ZRFers out there, the time is upon us.  We need someone to take up
the formidable challenge of coding The Cube.  Everything else appears to
be moderately straightforward.  If you can code The Cube for an otherwise
standard game of chess, let me know.  We'll beg and plead to let us put
it into a Camel Chess ZRF.  :)

Glenn

The eight finalists are now posted to the site.  Congratulations to the
survivors, and a big thanks to all who entered and all who voted.

The finals round of voting runs from 15 July through 15 August.

Glenn

I have no objection to modifying the official Luotuoqi rules to use
king-capture instead of checkmate for victory.  If a majority of
contributors concur, let it be so.

=====

Entrant 3, the second to propose the Separate Realms Rook (under a
different name), has withdrawn that entry in favor of Entrant 2's earlier
independent submission.  I'll make the change in a few minutes.

I apologize for not making the second round vote rules more clear.  There
should have been a third clause: 'Entrants may vote or not vote under the
same rules as all other voters.'

Now I'm glad that I posted the finalists a few days early.  :)

Thanks for the heads-up, Doug.  As a result I'm editing the whole page to
transform it from a contest announcement to a not-quite-finished set of
rules.  Later tonight.  :)

As one of the several moderators indirectly addressed above, I simply note
that there is a difference between harsh commentary and abusive behavior. 
The former can give life to the forums...the latter is routinely purged
when it continues, lest it do the opposite.

The game, on the other hand, is a most interesting piece of work, even
though I find most 3D chesses to be of dubious playability.