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Shatranj al-Sultan. Normal Chess + Alibaba , with a Sultanic flavour . (10x8, Cells: 80) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
George Duke wrote on Tue, Jul 8, 2014 05:27 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★
Sibahi's SaS here should not least be related to Parton's Dabbabante, written up by Aronson: http://www.chessvariants.org/large.dir/dabbabante-chess.html, besides all the following.

This is Abdul-Rahman Sibahi's last CV of sixteen produced.  There are a couple 2006, twelve 2007 and two 2008 -- not being facetious, a typical design trajectory over time, just reaching a prolificist over-15. Shatranj al-Sultan adds compound (Alfil + Dabbabah) paired to standard RNBKQP.  As Sibahi's summary points out, there are the four bindings, and positioned naturally in the deliberate 8x10 array the four Alibabas never can meet for strategically interesting set-offs.

It has been common theme what one piece-type to add to the orthodox pairs Rook, Knight and Bishop.  In Capablanca's copying of Carrera, brought forward yet again without pre-positioning by unimaginative Seirawan, the Centaur BN and Champion RN are as one conceptually -- like a left Schizzy and right Schizzy of that named CV are of the same cloth but have individual capability.  

Other choices to add two same pieces have included Janus Chess contrarian disregard of Champion in just having one style of piece-type (BN) out of the Carreran completion.  Others of one type in consideration include Shogi variant Lion, Cetina's 1980s Sissa, even Chess Cafe Harding's Transcendental Prelate, and as well plural-path slider Falcon.  (Some of these get tested on 8x8 but paired to match Rook, Bishop and Knight, they all seem to work best on 8x10, not either Capa's original idea of 10x10.) Actually, Sibahi's Alibaba used this way is much like Winther's Mastodon (http://www.chessvariants.org/index/msdisplay.php?itemid=MPmastodonchess) on 8x10, having that one's same reach without versatility.  Several CVs by Fourriere, who enunciated the guiding principle to keep the Orthodox standard as base,

http://www.chessvariants.org/index/displaycomment.php?commentid=5623,

 also add one new piece-type to vanilla RNBKQP.  
 
Shatranj al-Sultan is a good jumping-off point and perhaps Sibahi will eventually have follow-ups using Fool or Querquisite from his other CVs.

  Another Sibahi CV from main year 2007, http://www.chessvariants.org/index/msdisplay.php?itemid=MSfalconhexagona adapts Falcon to hexagonal of Glinski orientation.