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@ Bob Greenwade[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Bob Greenwade wrote on Thu, Feb 22, 2024 05:09 PM UTC:

219. Portable Hole. This is another piece in the "Mostly For Laughs" category, though it might have some real use in a game.

The Portable Hole can move to any empty space on the board. Once there, it's treated like a normal hole in the board; it cannot be moved, captured, or landed on by the opponent. It can, however, be moved by the player who controls it. (mU, iron, capturematrix=^)

The piece's ability to be a pain in the butt for the opponent can cause the endgame to drag out, and turn a potential checkmate into a stalemate or repeated-position draw. To alleviate that, some designers may want to limit its mobility somehow: limit the distance it can move, forbid it from moving two turns in a row, forbid it from moving when the King is in check, etc.

All this leads to some questions that H.G. might be able to answer:

  1. How well does this piece represent a hole, as far as using just iron? Does it need anything else?
  2. Can any of the suggested restrictions be represented on an Interactive Diagram?
  3. Can radial leapers leap over a hole?

This is also an exception to my efforts to make my piece adhere to FIDE size rules. After all, there's no such thing as a tall hole.