I've been looking at the starting setup of Falcon Chess, and I haven't managed to get a satisfactory setup on the 10x8 board where all pawns are protected. And where Bishops don't face Rooks. This is the major annoyance to me in most 10x8 boards, because it prevents a fianchetto.
The only setup I found, which satisfied this condition, FRNBQKBNRF, Cheops Falcon Chess, I think, has a major problem. The Falcon pawns are only protected by Knights (which are bound to move,) and they're originally attacked by Bishops, which can easily lose a Pawn and force the Rook to move (prevent castling) from the get-going. So I thought of considering other boards than the 10x8.
[[ Edit: After some examining, my favorite setup on the normal 10x8 board is RFNBQKBNFR . Even though the Falcon Pawns are unprotected, they are not vulnerable to quick attacks, and easily protectable after natural Knight moves. However, a player should be careful while advancing them because they expose the Rooks.
What Mr George Duke calls Tamplars' Falcon Chess, RBFNKQNFBR, is also good. However, since Bishops and Knights are not on adjacent squares you can easily forget about Standard Chess opening theory, no Ruy Lopez, for example. Also, Bishops face each other in this setup, so it's difficult to avoid early exchanges which might lead to some kind of awkward openings. But I believe it's perfectly playable.]]
One idea is the 8x8 board, in the setup I used for Energizer Chess.
r f b q k b f r
p p p n n p p p
- - * p p * - -
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
- - * P P * - -
P P P N N P P P
R F B Q K B F R
Castling is as in normal chess. The squares marked by * may or may not contain pawns.
Or the same setup on a 8x10 board. Just add two ranks in the middle. Pawns move as in Wildebeest chess.
--
Another idea is the board used by Templar Chess.
f - - f
r n b q k b n r
p p p p p p p p
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
P P P P P P P P
R N B Q K B N R
F - - F
A crazy piece to add here would be R. Wayne Schimttberger's (excuse my spelling,) Airplane.
The board and setup I propose are, A is for Airplane:
a f f a
r n b q k b n r
p p p p p p p p
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
P P P P P P P P
R N B Q K B N R
A F F A
I am not sure this will be a workable setup, though. It's also possible to add here Capablanca's two pieces. A is for Archbishop, M is for Marshal.
m k q a
r f n b b n f r
p p p p p p p p
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
P P P P P P P P
R F N B B N F R
A Q K M
No castling on these boards is allowed. A promotion square is where the pawns can't move. OR you can use a similar promotion rule to the one in Falcon Chess 100.
--
Or the nice old 10x10 board.
r n b f q k f b n r
p p p p p p p p p p
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
P P P P P P P P P P
R N B F Q K F B N R
Pawns move as in Wildebeest Chess. Here, it would take the Knight for ever to go checkmate the King, making the journey worthless. I am sure, though, Mr Duke has the 10x10 board in his notes. I wonder why he didn't use it.
--
Btw, to Jeremy Good.
The Coloring of the Falcon Chess 100 preset is, in a word, awful. I have created another preset. If you like it, I hope you post it instead of the current preset:
http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game%3DFalcon+Chess+100%26settings%3Ddefault
I've been looking at the starting setup of Falcon Chess, and I haven't managed to get a satisfactory setup on the 10x8 board where all pawns are protected. And where Bishops don't face Rooks. This is the major annoyance to me in most 10x8 boards, because it prevents a fianchetto. The only setup I found, which satisfied this condition, FRNBQKBNRF, Cheops Falcon Chess, I think, has a major problem. The Falcon pawns are only protected by Knights (which are bound to move,) and they're originally attacked by Bishops, which can easily lose a Pawn and force the Rook to move (prevent castling) from the get-going. So I thought of considering other boards than the 10x8. [[ Edit: After some examining, my favorite setup on the normal 10x8 board is RFNBQKBNFR . Even though the Falcon Pawns are unprotected, they are not vulnerable to quick attacks, and easily protectable after natural Knight moves. However, a player should be careful while advancing them because they expose the Rooks. What Mr George Duke calls Tamplars' Falcon Chess, RBFNKQNFBR, is also good. However, since Bishops and Knights are not on adjacent squares you can easily forget about Standard Chess opening theory, no Ruy Lopez, for example. Also, Bishops face each other in this setup, so it's difficult to avoid early exchanges which might lead to some kind of awkward openings. But I believe it's perfectly playable.]] One idea is the 8x8 board, in the setup I used for Energizer Chess. r f b q k b f r p p p n n p p p - - * p p * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * P P * - - P P P N N P P P R F B Q K B F R Castling is as in normal chess. The squares marked by * may or may not contain pawns. Or the same setup on a 8x10 board. Just add two ranks in the middle. Pawns move as in Wildebeest chess. -- Another idea is the board used by Templar Chess. f - - f r n b q k b n r p p p p p p p p - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - P P P P P P P P R N B Q K B N R F - - F A crazy piece to add here would be R. Wayne Schimttberger's (excuse my spelling,) Airplane. The board and setup I propose are, A is for Airplane: a f f a r n b q k b n r p p p p p p p p - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - P P P P P P P P R N B Q K B N R A F F A I am not sure this will be a workable setup, though. It's also possible to add here Capablanca's two pieces. A is for Archbishop, M is for Marshal. m k q a r f n b b n f r p p p p p p p p - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - P P P P P P P P R F N B B N F R A Q K M No castling on these boards is allowed. A promotion square is where the pawns can't move. OR you can use a similar promotion rule to the one in Falcon Chess 100. -- Or the nice old 10x10 board. r n b f q k f b n r p p p p p p p p p p - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - P P P P P P P P P P R N B F Q K F B N R Pawns move as in Wildebeest Chess. Here, it would take the Knight for ever to go checkmate the King, making the journey worthless. I am sure, though, Mr Duke has the 10x10 board in his notes. I wonder why he didn't use it. -- Btw, to Jeremy Good. The Coloring of the Falcon Chess 100 preset is, in a word, awful. I have created another preset. If you like it, I hope you post it instead of the current preset: http://play.chessvariants.org/pbm/play.php?game%3DFalcon+Chess+100%26settings%3Ddefault