wickart@iuvax.UUCP (04/26/84)
My father used to tellme of this variant. I don't know whether it was ever played, or he made it up to boggle my 8-yr-old mind: There are seven boards stacked up, like levels in a parking ramp. One player plays ALL the white pieces, the other, all the black, alternating single moves. The pieces beginning on the center (4th) level must be marked somehow, as they have the capability of moving through the levels i.e. the rooks can move north-south, east-west, or up-down., and knights can move laterally one square and down two levels, etc. Diagonal moves are extended to include the major diagonals as well, such as from level 1, a1 to level 5, e5. A check need not be parried,; capture of a king removes all of its associated pieces from the board, leaving the victorious army in place, presumably to aid in hunting down the opposing level 4 king. The kings are worth 1 point each, with the level 4 king worth 3 points. A draw can only be offered for the entire match, not for a specific level. I assume that games require a large amount of time; I have never been able to find an opponent to last beyond the early middle game, and lost interest for lack of same during high school. Any comments?