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2007-2008 Chess Variants Design Contest. Chess variant inventors gather round! We're doing it again! Exact nature of contest to be determined with YOUR help!![All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]

Joe Joyce wrote on Sat, Sep 1, 2007 03:18 AM UTC:

I'm going to sneak in just under the wire, starting this after 11:00 pm 8/31. I'd like to propose a serious contest to design a classical chess variant, specifically the one George W. Duke and I discussed briefly in recent comments. I doubt we will find the 'next chess', but it's quite a worthwhile contesy and many people here are very chess oriented. From my 8/27 comment to George on just what 'the next chess' should look like:

'George, what are your criteria for games that are sufficiently chesslike to be in contention? Does the board size range from 8x8 to 10x10, or only 8x10? Must all the FIDE pieces be maintained totally intact under any circumstances? Is there a minimum and maximum number of pieces? Of pawns? I certainly have no objection to discussing, assisting with, or designing some games under these constraints; in a sense, it's a contest. Many of us like contests. Lay out the rules, and some of us will enter.'

His answer was:
'Constraints of Joe Joyce remind us of over-four-years-ago Luotuoqi nominations and the game that was designed on 8x8. That effort was whimsical. JJoyce's proposed contest could be instead a group effort at a
serious '10x10' that nobody really seems to get right. Do it by Committee, like Luotuoqi, answering each JJoyce question in turn, and once three or
four agree, that will be the form approved: (1) Minimum # pieces (2) FIDE or not, and so on, as in Joyce 27.Aug.07'

So I propose the entrants first must vote on the specific parameters of the contest, then all have some limited time to design and enter a game.