<In response to Dmitri’s posts:

> I think a whole lot more is being made of this than it really is. A simple move restriction has been labeled as "the removal of fun from pente," "the removal of elegance from pente," and other similar things. It is just a minor move restriction, nothing more.

If it’s really “nothing more” than a minor move restriction then why all the fuss about how a game without the move restriction is an invalid game. Why all the fuss about how it’s detrimental to the development of pente.

If it’s really just a minor move restriction, then let those of us who want to play without it do so and leave us alone.

> You say playing without the restriction has ELEVATED your game? Inasmuch as I can possibly disagree with your personal assessment, I will do so! I am NOT disparaging your pente play in any way. Rather, what I mean is, had you played SOLELY with the restriction, you would be better at pente than you are. You have had some very creative wins against me; one of the attacks you beat me with remains one of the most devastating attacks I have seen to this day. Based on that and a few other games, I think you would be among the top players if your focus were not diverted by the "fun pente" variant.

Yes, possibly I would be a better player, but I would not have had as much fun playing because fun-pente is what I currently prefer. In fact, without that variant, I probably would have quit playing by now. That is why I say, in my case, that it helped me. It kept me interested in the game. Possibly it has hurt me as well, because, as you say, my style/strategy in ‘official’ pente would be better had I not learned fun-pente, but I’m not really as concerned about that as I am about enjoying my time playing the game.

More examples:
You tell us that we shouldn’t play fun-pente because it is detrimental to the game. Would you tell college baseball players not to use aluminum bats because it is detrimental to the game? After all, at the major league level, aluminum bats are not permitted. Many college players opt to use wooden bats to prepare themselves for pros, but many others do not, because they don’t feel that they will reach the pros.

Are you going to tell amateur golfers that they can’t use oversized clubs because they are detrimental to the professional game? I don’t think too many weekend duffers will care that their clubs don’t meet PGA specs.

And again I refer to my antichess example from a previous post. Are you going to tell me not to play antichess because it is detrimental to the game of chess? My chess skills have gone from above average to terrible, solely from playing antichess. I’ve gained antichess skills and the trade-off is worth it to me.

Thad