All this talk about relative values is great. I would never have guessed that I would be interested in it, but here I am reading every word: and LOVING IT!! Even the decimal point values don't get me worn out, because I can see that there are logical reasons for using them. It rather comes to mind that the tendency for sticking with single-digit values in chess has always seemed a bit fudged. Maybe with the broader perspective of a more complex game, rethinking the chess piece values for 8x8 games won't be such an impossible task. At least we may find new reasons to corroborate the same values that the past greats agreed on. In any event, this new perspective cannot do other than expand our appreciation for chess as it has been all along. And what about when the appreciation level starts to impress the general public? What are people going to be saying in Peoria, IL, come October 2003?

I can't help but wonder what is going to happen when chessplayers start to catch on to the idea that gothic chess is a new frontier that they, with their race horse mentality in chess already, are well poised to enter; that it makes for a playing experience that is every bit as enthralling as chess, but in the process, you get whiter knuckles? (The larger playing board will make a better sized table for coffee and doghnuts, and besides, with the new plasma TV monitors coming out, a wider board will fit more beautifully on the screen...)

I don't know much about tournaments, because I've never played one (my current entrance in the BigBadWolf's 5-day is my first of any kind!) but it seems to me that there may be a lurking popularity explosion in the near future with this game. I am so glad for Ed Trice that he has secured a patent. I get the feeling he is going to be stretching that puppy to its limits. Therefore, I wonder what preparations would be prudent for the advent of tens of thousands of people all wanting gothic board sets all at once? It takes a few months to get production up, and it takes a good bit of diligence to enforce the protection of patent violations. When stuff is made in -well, let's face it- China, the black market for patented items is bigger than the legitimate market. If overseas sales of gothic board knockoffs proliferates, it will be pretty hard to enforce any kind of control over importation of cheater sets into the swap meets and flea markets. How can you bust a guy pushing a 3-wheeled cart in Chinatown?

Another field in which I have no experience is marketing, but I do know that it can get expensive to have a marketing firm do a contract for your new product. I've heard of guys going broke just trying to keep up with preliminary expenses. It seems to me that using the internet here, Ed could ask people to take a sample board and (four extra?) pieces into local coffee bars where chess groups meet (I've heard of one in Glendale, CA, where Armenians get quite serious about their national pastime, chess) and set up a board to have a little fun. We could answer questions, suggest visits to this website, and report back to Ed without running up any marketing expenses for him! I would not be surprised one iota if within a week, men start walking in with homemade boards and handcarved pieces! Just be sure you have a place to duck when the arguments erupt!!

But presuming all these details get worked out, has anyone considered what to do if this gets popular by summer or even the big rush next Christmas? /Fx/