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CrazyChess

CrazyChess plays in the game which is called Loosing Chess. Losing Chess often also called Giveaway Chess or Suicide Chess is a chess variant where the goal is to ?lose?, i.e. to be left without pieces or moves. It's crazy, isn't it? Losing Chess is getting more and more popular, many players discover the beauty and the deepness of this wonderful game! Loosing Chess is very popular game among the children who like to play in chess.

Losing Chess has several variants. CrazyChess includes three of them.

Stalemate = Win

The traditional rules, which are also greatly preferred by most strong players, follow:
All the rules of normal chess apply, with the following exceptions:
  1. Capturing is compulsory.
  2. The King plays no special role - it can be taken, put or left 'en prise'. Castling is available.
  3. Pawns can promote to any piece (including the King).
  4. The player wins if he cannot move, i.e. he has no pieces left or his pieces are stalemated.
There is one more exception in rules for the boards 6x6 and 7x7: on its first move Pawn may step forward only one square.

Stalemate = Draw

All the rules of the traditional Loosing Chess apply (see Stalemate=Win), with the following exception: the player wins only if he has no pieces left. In case of stalemate the game is drawn.
The variant is played in AISE, the Italian Chess Variant Association. It is known there as VINCIPERDI.

Stalemate = Count Chessmen

All the rules of the traditional Loosing Chess apply (see Stalemate=Win), with the following two exceptions:
  1. In case of stalemate the win for the player with fewer chessmen (pieces and Pawns).

    2. 2. No castling is allowed here.
  2. These rules are a bit unusual, but quite acceptable. They have been invented on the FICS-server, the server with the highest Losing Chess activity.

Features

Initial position

In CrazyChess you are allowed to select 3 types of initial position:

Standard position

It means that on the board sized 8x8 all pieces stand like in traditional chess. Initial position on the boards 7x7 and 6x6 have a special standard.

Random position

All Pawns stand like in traditional chess while the pieces location is defined randomly by the computer.
Every time you start the game, computer generates a new position for pieces. Pieces of both sides are always arranged symmetrically.

User position

Here you can place manually any pieces on any empty squares of the chessboard. Thanks to this option, CrazyChess can solve Loosing Chess problems.

Size of the board

Three sizes of the chessboard are available in the program: 8x8, 7x7, and 6x6. 


 

Levels

The Play mode incorporates 7 levels of difficulty. The difficulty of a particular level depends on three factors: the size of the board, the number of half moves (plies) a computer personality looks ahead while thinking (fixed depth), and the time alloted for a game. The more size of the chessboard, the more difficult is a play. The higher the difficulty level, the less time you and computer have for a game. At each level you will be offered a total of 5 games. You will not be promoted to the next difficulty level unless you have won 3 out of the 5 games at the current level.
In the Training mode you may choose any playing strength level of the program, using the options Fixed depth and Time control. If you wish to use CrazyChess as a solver of Loosing Chess problems, set up a Fixed depth on 15 and Time control - on unlimited (***).

To download the evaluation copy of the program (self-extracted archive file) click here: Beginning levels are free! If you like the program please register it. You can download and register this program here: http://www.bartsoft.com/chesspuzzles/.

Program costs $19.95.

Minimum System Requirements:

Written by Aleksey Bartashnikov. 
WWW page created: March 30, 1999.