Comments/Ratings for a Single Item

I'm afraid the name IChess is already used. Also, the Eagle does not work in the diagram for some reason. The diagram goes crazy when you try to move one. Finally, with pawns only able to move two spaces on a board with 12 ranks, it will take a long time for them to engage. I expect that the pawns would not be moved much and would not really take part in the game.

I think the problem is that no royal is explicitly defined, so that the Eagle is taken to be royal. This somehow tickles a bug in the Diagram, as I run into the JavaScript error message 'aSide' undefined. So it somehow wasn't able to locate the castling partners because of this royalty issue.

I had defined the king as royal and as HG had said that has solved the eagle problem. Now I'm thinking about the pawns problem. I had also asked the author for a different name.

The pawns are taken to be regular pawns as I used the stock button to generate them. I don't know how to define the xBetza move for them as they can move from anywhere on the home half of the board towards the middle of the board and one field after crossing the middle of the board! But I'm sure it is pretty long!

A (non-capturing) move up to half-way the board is fmW* in the Diagram. You could make that an ifmW* if it is only from the initial position. A Pawn with such a move would also have been in stock, as 'omega pawn'. On such very deep boards the e.p. capture would not completely work, though, as the Diagram handles at most two e.p. squares. (The AI should do it correctly, though.)

Thanks, HG

Greg, The inventor of the game has patented I-Chess so he wants to stick with the name. What is there to be done?

Patented with whom? Is there any way I can confirm this?

I can show a picture maybe.

Greg, but the game you have showed is IChess and this one is I-Chess. Is not that different?

I would have preferred a more unique name (IChess and I-Chess would be pronounced the same) but if it is true that "I-Chess" is patented under that name I guess we'll have to go with it.

Sounds fair to me!

But that is a pretty big IF, I would say... And it might actually make it illegal to publish the game here at all.

But that is a pretty big IF, I would say...

Agreed.  I must admit I am skeptical...

And it might actually make it illegal to publish the game here at all.

I think this could make it illegal to play the game here, but descriptions of patented inventions are generally public.  And, just because a patent office has issued a patent, it does not mean that the patent would stand up in court. Personally, I very much doubt a patent of any chess variant would stand up to legal scrutiny.

But the Interactive Diagram does allow one to play it here, against the AI...

Good point

These are the documents that contain the patenting data. Unfortuneatly one is in Romanian. I personally am not sure about their applicance. 

It doesn't matter much in which language they are, as the lettering is too small to read anyway.

What intrigues me, though, is that the left document has the map of Netherlands / Belgium / Luxemburg as a logo (in the colors of the Belgian flag).

So then, what is there to be done?

Sorry, I don't really know. The inventor went through the trouble to protect his intellectual property and I don't know why he did that or what uses he considers to be ok or not ok. Since he patented it, he must consider some uses to be "not ok" or why bother?

I'm sure about him wanting the game to be published here as he is the one trusting me with this endeavor.

Can you please confirm with him that he is ok with people potentially playing it online here? (interactive diagram/game courier). If so, then it is ok with me.

Mister Zama has agreed about the game being played on the site!

Ok, page updated and posted!

This looks like it could be a good game. My simple estimate of the value of the pieces: P=1, N=2.5, B=5, R=7, E=6.5, W=7, Q=12. I like the fact that the Rook, Eagle, and Wolf should all be very close in value.

NOTE: The Wolf has been used previously in my game, Hubbub, under the name Gryphon. The Eagle may be new.