H. G. Muller wrote on Wed, Nov 21, 2018 10:10 AM UTC:
I guess the bottom line is that this game really has nothing to do with chess at all. It dispenses with the most basic properties of chess, making it a game of chance (*) rather than a game of meticulous planning. This doesn't mean it has to be a poor game, of course. There are plenty of entertaining games that are not related to chess. But it just isn't a chess variant. You might as well play Bridge.
(*) The claim that there is no chance involved because the players can conscioulsly decide how much stones to wager in duelling is misleading: the optimal strategy for handling such "prisoner's dilemma" type (sub-)games is to pick the number randomly according to some probablility distribution. So although dice are not officially involved, the players will have to make 'mental dice throws' in the course of playing, which essentially amounts to the same thing.
I guess the bottom line is that this game really has nothing to do with chess at all. It dispenses with the most basic properties of chess, making it a game of chance (*) rather than a game of meticulous planning. This doesn't mean it has to be a poor game, of course. There are plenty of entertaining games that are not related to chess. But it just isn't a chess variant. You might as well play Bridge.
(*) The claim that there is no chance involved because the players can conscioulsly decide how much stones to wager in duelling is misleading: the optimal strategy for handling such "prisoner's dilemma" type (sub-)games is to pick the number randomly according to some probablility distribution. So although dice are not officially involved, the players will have to make 'mental dice throws' in the course of playing, which essentially amounts to the same thing.