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Hybrids. Standard pieces combine and split. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Greg Strong wrote on Wed, May 18, 2005 03:56 AM UTC:Iteresting. What does it mean that equal pieces can form a hybrid? Can a piece be a hybrid of more than two components?
> What does it mean that equal pieces can form a hybrid? It is possible to couple (for example) a pair of rooks. If there are rooks on a1 and a2 it is possible to move one rook from a1 to a2 (I suggest the following notation: Ra1^a2, or breafly R^a2, marking any 'hybridizing' by '^' symbol). As a result a hybrid Rook+Rook appears (designated by 'RR' symbol). The worth of such homogeneous hybrids is dubious, though it may be useful to bring a couple of slow units (knights or guards) across the board; also this maneuver aids to concentrate pressure to a certain point in blockaded position... > Can a piece be a hybrid of more than two components? The rule 2.3 says no. It is noted that this rule is a subject to discuss. I thought about attack/defense balance, it seemed that hybrids are rather strong (note that Rook+Bishop is a little bit stronger than ortodox Queen, and usualy you have several such attackers) while King is too vulnerable, so I decided to restrict attacking possibilities by rules 2.3 and 1 (Queen is replaced by Guard).
Recently I found a similar variant: <a href='http://play.chessvariants.org/erf/ConfedCh.html'>Confederation</a> .
The main difference is that in Confederation a piece cannot leave the hybrid while neither capturing nor forming a new hybrid with another piece. This restriction reduced the combinative power of hybrids and the game seems (for me ;) ) less interesting than Hybrids.
Another way to look at this is as a rex exclusive version of Fusion Chess. In some ways it is closer than that variant to FIDE Chess as the King cannot escape check through fusion with another piece.
I see that in Fusion Chess (like in Confederation and unlike in Hybrids) a compound piece can split only by moving into an empty square.
Of the 20 or 30 clusters we can divide CVs into, Absorption Chess derivatives form a major one after number one Carrera-Birds. In the last comment here, Shvorin mentions two other derivatives, out of over a hundred members so far published, Confederation and Fusion. Some Absorption derivatives are part of a larger theme, or otherwise multifaceted, or rely on mechanism besides immediate capture for change of movement power; probably for example we include Pocket Mutation as subvariant of Absorption for the sake of complete classification into 2 or 3 dozen clusters. (In the full taxonomy, a given CV may be member of two clusters, but try to avoid three.) In Shvorin's preferred embodiment, Hybrid same-side units same-type may even coalesce, he answers Strong in another of these 6 comments. That could be a factor in Stalemate or easily-imaginable convenience, such as getting two Rooks to the other side on one square, where they then re-divide.
Suddenly seen 18.5 years after (so cool that I’ve first seen Russian language version via random game page!) and I have an idea. There’s stated that same pieces can merge, what if they can be upgraded this way? Like Knight to Nightrider, Rook/Bishop to ranger+hopper hybrids, Guard to Torch (slip Queen) or Lion (area mover) ah he can’t.
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