Mark Thompson wrote on Tue, Mar 30, 2004 12:06 PM UTC:Good ★★★★
People like chess variants for lots of reasons, and some prefer the more
exotic variants that depart from usual chess with unusual pieces or rules:
you don't find that in Millennium Chess. But, without diminishing the
exotics, I like the more modest variants also. I've played this one and
found it to be pretty good. And yes, it did seem to improve my skills at
usual chess, at least temporarily -- or at least my confidence level. When
you come back to 8x8 after a few games you have this strange feeling:
'Why, this game will be SIMPLE!'
I haven't tried the other variants that are approximately double width
and so I can't opine on how this one compares with them. I once
communicated briefly with the inventor, who said that while developing
M.C. he tried other versions (among them, 8x16) and rejected them. He says
having two rooks in the center of the board is too much power there. I
expect the choice among wide chesses will also come down to personal
tastes.