Sam has closed his piano and gone to bed ... now we can talk about the real stuff of life ... love, liberty and games such as Janus, Capablanca Random, Embassy Chess & the odd mention of other 10x8 variants is welcome too
For posting: - invitations to games (you can also use the New Game menu or for particular games: Janus; Capablanca Random; or Embassy) - information about upcoming tournaments - disussion of games (please limit this to completed games or discussion on how a game has arrived at a certain position ... speculation on who has an advantage or the benefits of potential moves is not permitted while that particular game is in progress) - links to interesting related sites (non-promotional)
Well, Robin Roberts is the person behind me wearing the cap. That was taken on September 28, 2003, the last day the Philadelphia Phillies' played at Veteran's Stadium before they knocked it down.
If you go to http://www.chessvariants.org/large.dir/grotesque.
html or click here you will see there is no mention of Gothic Chess or my name anywhere on the "Grotesque Chess" page.
So, Purple, what were you saying?
He was given the option to remove the slander, remove all mention of circumventing my patent, remove "gothic chess", all 15 instances, get it done by noon (giving him 3 hours) or he would come to court and be judged.
Looks like this person was the "genius" Purple, because anyone who enters a courtroom with me is stupid.
You think I always win at Gothic Chess? Try me in the legal system. I am a "Grandmaster".
My attorneys are taking care of it all, that's what I pay them to do. Fergus, the author of the page, will be served with legal documents today, requesting his presence in a court in Philadelphia. His attorney will advise him to change the content of that web page drastically, or take it down altogether.
This is not about the patent, it is about slander.
My name is "all over" that page like I am 'the bad guy'. I offered them a license for $1 per year, and they invented some fictional account of their own persecution.
Attorneys loves cases like this, because they are so easy to win, and the offenders will lose so much money.
1. Convert your a.u. distances to meters.
2. Convert your orbital duration into seconds, mindful that 24x60x60 = 86400 seconds per day.
3. T squared (in seconds) over R cubed (in meters) is your answer for the mass.
Terry was nice enough to send me a postcard from his country telling me how much he liked Gothic Chess. He said he would play me one day "when he got better", but I told him to invite me at his leisure. We never did actually cross swords, but I was thankful he did send me that postcard. I received several from around that world that I showed to candidate investors from time to time, all of which had some sort of note about how much they liked the game.
I know you are a superior player now Terry, so if you want a game, here is my move.
23. September 2004, 15:54:20
Just to let you know that Terry aka TTrotter and Jestone from El Salvador has passed away on 18 September, 2004. Those of you who knew him will miss his great sportmanship. Peace and best wishes to his family.
you need to read the directions. it is not a checkmate problem. Look at any number on the grid, then look at the piece below it, and the "crystal ball" will read your mind and tell you what you are looking at.
It might possible to play an entire game, exchange off all of the Rooks, and still have one side with all 10 pawns, but is it probable? Is it plausible for an entire game to be played this way?
The real-time play requires a hefty Java component download, but other than that, the site is enjoyable. I have two Gothic games going on there right now, and their pieces are really quite nice.
Yes, the Advance Variation of the Caro-Kan. Also, in one Morphy game, Steinitz gave his Kd2!! a double exclam. Rare instances, but examples nonetheless.
Castling has always been a double-edged sword. Do it too early, and you telegraph where to send the troops. Do it too late, and you are trapped in the center and have a dog fight to stay alive.
Timing is everything, even amplified moreso than in regular chess.
Or is the same as a 1-0 defeat. I think each game should be rated in turn. Why should months of effort be disregarded? When 24 game matches were played for the Chess World Championship in days of old, each game was rated.
Yes, Michel's program was only one week old when it had its first win against Gothic Vortex. I was shocked to say the least, but I am glad it happened, as it lead to the discovery of a bug. The code for deciding whether a Queen + Pawn was better than Archibishop + Knight had a very bad bug. The game began:
1. Nc3 d5 2. Af3 Af6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Nxd5 Qxd5 5. Axd5 Axd5 and Black (Vortex) has given up too much material and loses quickly. Remember, this was played on an 800 MHz Pentium III at 10 seconds per move, these were not "tournament time control" games!
I am not sure what happened to Michel, the TSCP Gothic programmer. We used to play games each night over Yahoo Messenger. Then one night he did not show up. No response to emails. Reinhard Scharnagl also reports no further contact with him. Either he is working in "the bat cave" or he has just disappeared.
I think maybe the other program is really TSCP Gothic in disguise. Notice the programmer is Dutch as well. I am not sure.
Somebody registered their copy of Zillions to play in the tournament. They paid, and must think the $10 is worth the chance at $10,000. So Rob (ChessCarpenter) will be its operator for the tournament.
I am in the process of looking for a way to do a web simulcast, so you can log in and see webcams of the tournament as it happens. More on this as it developes.
I have an older copy of the ChessV software program which plays Gothic Chess. If anyone wants it, I can give it to them for free. Email me (address is on the Gothic Chess web page.)
I would like to request a ddelineation of what "Thad's little missive" happens to be, and what is so disgreeable, on a term by term basis. I see nothing wrong with his post. Certainly nothing that should get the attention of someone with limited time.
I have changed quite a bit about Vortex, and would like to know if anyone wants a 'live game' against it. I will set up some details on the web site if there are any interested players.
Patents only last 20 years before the become public domain. Otherwise, can you imagine what the Ford Motor Company would be worth today if they could get a percentage of every vehicle sold?
By the way, my rating should be 2433, but Fencer refuses to give me my 8 points back after the server timed out a game against Caissus and gave him 10 points as well.
Just wondering how he could restore our game so quickly yet continue to ignore my requests to have my rating reset to where it should be.
The purpose of the patent is to prevent a company like Hasbro from releasing their own Gothic Chess board game that we invented, not charge a user, like yourself, a fee for playing.
Gothic Chess "looks easy" to have invented, after the fact. I challenge you to come up with another 80-square arrangement where:
1. All pawns are defended in the starting configuration.
2. Many themes from chess still apply (castling, Inidian formations, fianchettoed Bishops).
3. The game is playable (no mates in 2, as in Bird's Chess)
4. It does not already exist.
It is interesting that nobody thinks there is anything wrong with Milton Bradley patenting a game like Stratego. It really is the same thing.
Can Microsoft make a software version of Stratego? Not without paying a licensing fee.
That's all. Anyone wants to distribute the game, they pay a licensing fee.
By the way, the European Patent has been finialized, so, yes, Germany has allowed it, via their proxy vote from London.
Gothic Chess has already "survived" two court victories, so perhaps before you make such statements, you should do some research.
It just shows how little respect people have for attorneys, since everyone offers their own opinion of "the law" and "what is right".
I can't see you doing the same thing is a surgeon was about to cut you open to save your life. Would you tell them "the way it should be?"
The Gothic Chess Federation is being launched full-time, hiring full time staff, getting another (and larger) office, making deals with other manufacturers, so I will have no time to do anything else.