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H. G. Muller wrote on Thu, Jul 17, 2008 08:04 AM UTC:
Sorry the link went down: stupid auto-updates rebooted my computer
overnight... I restarted it now.

And yes, it is difficult to find a satisfactory array where all Pawns are
protected, because initially the Falcon can't protect anything. If one
sticks to conventional castling and quasi-symmetry (corner Rooks and
central KQ), the only possibility is RBFN. This is awkward, though, as it
gives a bad conflict between developing the Knight and opening a diagonal
for the Bishop. Plus the Bishops would look each other in the eye.

It does not seem too bad, though, to have unprotected Pawns in this
variant. The Falcons are not superstrong pieces, and also take time to
develop. This much unlike Carrera variants, where the (BN) and (RN) can
get into play and attack enemy Pawns on the first move, and are
super-dangerous pieces even in solo action. In Falcon Chess, by the time
the opponent can muster an attack on your Pawns, they are likely to have
already moved to a completely different position.

I would also be interested to have some feedback on the graphics design.
In WinBoard I used the pre-existing Lance symbol (a wildcard piece, for
which WinBoard accepts any move) to represent the Falcon. In the html
page, I have of course infinite freedom, (the board is simply a table of
gif files) and provided 2 alternative representations. But I must say I
still like the Lance symbol best: it sticks out most clearly from the
other symbols. Especially the bird-like symbol is difficult to spot. This
might change if I would depict the entire bird, rather than just is head.
I don't like that stylistically, though, as the Knight symbol also only
depicts the head (as is the WinBoad Elephant).

The Cobra symbol was inspired by the way the Falcon moves on a crowded
board. It does not stick out as clearly as the Lance, but can still be
spotted at a glance, due to its characteristic asymmetry. Problem of
course is that it is not really compatible with the name 'Falcon', and
that the C is already such an overloaded letter. The V is much less used,
but a Viper does not make such a nice picture. S for Snake is both an
available letter and compatible with the Cobra picture. But renaming the
piece is a big step.

A Lance also seems to have little bearing on a Falcon. Lance woud not be
such a bad name for the piece either, as its moves stick through openings
in the crowd to fairly large, but limited distance. Another interpretation
of the symbol, however, could be a feather. With a vary small change, it
could actually be made to look more like a feather, and it would stick out
similarly as it does now.

So I am inclined to stick to the Lance-like symbol, and say it represents
a feather. A more detailed symbol set could make this more explicit. (Note
that WinBoard_F does allow redefinition of piece ymbols, for thos not
satisfied with the pre-defined bitmaps. All you have to do is supply a
Chess font for WinBoard to render the pieces.)