AISE

AISE, which stood for Associazione Italiana Scacchi Eterodossi, was an Italian organization that promoted the play of Chess variants through postal correspondence. The most literal translation of its name is The Italian Association of Heterodox Chess, but it can also be translated as The Italian Association of Chess Variants. According to their Storia (or History) page, AISE officially formed in 1976, though its origin goes back to 1971 when Roberto Salvadori and Roberto Magari, proposed to ASIGC (Associazione Scacchistica Italiana Giocatori per Corrispondenza) that they consider the inclusion of Chess variants. In May of 1976, Armando Silli proposed the creation of an association specifically for heterodox chess, and in October, he, the two Robertos, and others became founding members of AISE. In 1979, new member Maurizio Sciam became the first President of AISE, and in 1985, longtime member Allesandro Castelli became President. The last tournament described on the AISE website is their Grand Prix 2000, which began in 2000 and completely finished in 2002. By this time, the founding members were a generation older, and postal correspondence was giving way to online correspondence. Members of this site were already playing each other through the PBM system that would become Game Courier, and some other websites were also enabling online play of Chess variants.

Here are some links to archived copies of its website:

• Original site on Archive.org from April 23, 1999
• Geocities site on Archive.org from June 14, 2006
• An OOCities copy of the Geocities site from October 2009

The following website by a former AISE member is also of interest. While still up, it looks like it hasn't been updated since the 1990's. In fact, its link to this site is to the original location at Hans Boedlander's university account.

• Fabio Forzoni's ETEROCHESS Page

While it was still active, the President of AISE, Alessandro Castelli, sent Hans Boedlander the following description of AISE, Associazione Italiana Scacchi Eterodossi, (the Italian Association of Chess Variants).

AISE: Associazione Italiana Scacchi Eterodossi

AISE is an association devoted to chess variants and non chess games.

AISE's Members are from: Italy, USA, Canada, UK, France, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden, Czech Rep., Slovakia, Croatia, ...

AISE organises every year the following correspondence tournaments:

• International Championship: Italian Progressive C., English Progressive C., Avalanche C. (every three years), N-relay C. (every three years).
• AISE Championship: Circe Progressive C., Cannibal C., Italian Progressive C., Give-away C., Marseillais C., Progressive Take All C., Give-away Progressive C.
• Heterochess Olympics Games (every four years)
• Other International Grand Prix Tournaments:
• 1st. Trimester: Billiard Progressive C., English Progressive C., Kamikaze Progressive C., Spherical Progressive C., Marseillais C., Triplets C., Alice C., Liars C., N-Relay C., Tutti Frutti, U-chess, Janus, XiangQi, Shatar (Mongolian Chess), and NCG tournaments Spanish Pool, Give and Take, Cathedral.
• 2nd Trimester: Cylindrical Progressive C., Progressive Take All C., Slow Progressive C., Give-away Progressive C., Degradation Progressive C., Give-away Marseillais C., ChessGi, Compromise C., Minichess, Transportation Co-C., Shogi, Korean Shogi, and NCG tournaments Line of Action, Go 13x13.
• 3rd Trimester: Italian Progressive C., Cannibal C., Circe Progressive C., Scottish Modern C., Marseillais Take All C., Double Dynamo C., Conversion Co-C., Dynamo, Racing Kings, Reincarnation C., Ultima, Shatranj, Tori Shogi, and NCG tournaments Crossing, Amazons.
• 4th Trimester: Progressive Berolina C., Replacement Progressive C., Mutation Progressive C., Progressive Avalanche C., Doublemove C., O/R Co-C., Spherical C., Avalanche C., Give-away C., Siamese C. (Bughouse C.), ChangGi, Mini Shogi, and NCG Tournaments Go 9x9, International Checkers.

The AISE Bulletin is the Eteroscacco Magazine (ISSN 1121-6387). The first issue was published in 1980. Eteroscacco columns are: Chess Variants, Games from AISE tournaments, Theory and History of Chess Variants, Non Chess Games, Oriental Games, Book Reviews, ... The columns are in Italian, and sometimes in English.

Contact for information:

Alessandro Castelli
via Potenza 11
I-62010 Villa Potenza (MC)
Italy