Kevin Pacey wrote on Sat, Oct 14, 2023 05:41 AM UTC:
Hi Bob
As a boy I was aware of some chess variants that used regular 8x8 chess sets, via my school chess club, notably Losing Chess (though I didn't much like that one). Later at the U of Toronto friends introduced me to other variants that used 1 or more sets (e.g. Replacement chess, Rifle Chess, Bughouse and Alice Chess), and Bombalot and a version of Kriegspiel were even published in some Chess Federation of Canada print magazine issues.
I also eventually found the odd book on or including certain chess variants (my own back then, or at a public library). However Ottawa and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are cities of considerable size, more likely to have such resources to a budding chess player potentially interested in CVs (many are not, and even see them as drawing resources like people and money away from chess). These days chess competes with many activities, but oddly over the board chess play has got a boon from Netflix' Queen's Gambit as well as many people being cooped up due to covid. Before covid people were often just busy, too, with little choice but to work at an office for long hours.
One chess book I had as a lad showed a diagram of 4 player Chaturanga, the first time I had an inkling that chess variants that used pieces beyond the orthodox chess ones existed. Also, chess variants may have it worse than chess, because all people need to do is Google 'Chess Canada' and they'll discover there is organized chess play in Canada (sadly, I think many do not even take this leap of thought). I recall hearing of fairy chess, but not of 'variants' when I was a lad, so how to find it unless by accident (or helpful web search result)?
At the moment I have no thought of organizing CV tournaments or a club (I do have friends that play some Oriental ones with me over the board now and then, at least before covid). However I'd like to think the groundwork for a list of many, many commonly existing figurines may prove useful to people some day. I also use LinkedIn, and have connected with many chess players/organizers/company personnel and even the odd variantist; perhaps down the road I can use those connections to advance the cause of CVs somehow.
Hi Bob
As a boy I was aware of some chess variants that used regular 8x8 chess sets, via my school chess club, notably Losing Chess (though I didn't much like that one). Later at the U of Toronto friends introduced me to other variants that used 1 or more sets (e.g. Replacement chess, Rifle Chess, Bughouse and Alice Chess), and Bombalot and a version of Kriegspiel were even published in some Chess Federation of Canada print magazine issues.
I also eventually found the odd book on or including certain chess variants (my own back then, or at a public library). However Ottawa and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are cities of considerable size, more likely to have such resources to a budding chess player potentially interested in CVs (many are not, and even see them as drawing resources like people and money away from chess). These days chess competes with many activities, but oddly over the board chess play has got a boon from Netflix' Queen's Gambit as well as many people being cooped up due to covid. Before covid people were often just busy, too, with little choice but to work at an office for long hours.
One chess book I had as a lad showed a diagram of 4 player Chaturanga, the first time I had an inkling that chess variants that used pieces beyond the orthodox chess ones existed. Also, chess variants may have it worse than chess, because all people need to do is Google 'Chess Canada' and they'll discover there is organized chess play in Canada (sadly, I think many do not even take this leap of thought). I recall hearing of fairy chess, but not of 'variants' when I was a lad, so how to find it unless by accident (or helpful web search result)?
At the moment I have no thought of organizing CV tournaments or a club (I do have friends that play some Oriental ones with me over the board now and then, at least before covid). However I'd like to think the groundwork for a list of many, many commonly existing figurines may prove useful to people some day. I also use LinkedIn, and have connected with many chess players/organizers/company personnel and even the odd variantist; perhaps down the road I can use those connections to advance the cause of CVs somehow.