jeff@heurikon.UUCP (04/15/84)
Time for a discussion in this group.
How about: "Rule variations"? For example:
I recall a story about a group of POW's who were given a ration
of bread every day. They had to divide it equally among themselves.
So, each day a different person (in rotation) would be assinged
the task of cutting the loaf into equal shares. In order to assure
he did his task carefully, each of the others got to choose their
own piece and the poor cutter was left with the last one.
What's this got to do with chess? Well, what if the rules
concerning draws were amended so that the offeree had, in
addition to the choice of either declining or accepting a draw,
the option of EXCHANGING SIDES with the offeror? Example:
1. White to move
2. White offers draw
3. Black turns the board around and plays White from there on.
You wouldn't offer a draw unless you were sure your opponent
couldn't do any better if he were in your position.
I think that would be exciting. What say out there?
--
/"""\ Jeffrey Mattox, Heurikon Corp, Madison, WI
|O.O| {harpo, hao, philabs}!seismo!uwvax!heurikon!jeff (news & mail)
\_=_/ ihnp4!heurikon!jeff (mail - fast)ark@rabbit.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (04/15/84)
How about using a doubling cube, as in backgammon? For those who don't play backgammon, I'll explain. A doubling cube is a die whose sides contain 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64. You start the game with the cube in the middle of the table, signifying that no one 'owns' it yet. If your opponent does not own the cube, then any time it is your turn to move, you can offer a double BEFORE you move. This means that you take the cube, turn it so the next higher power of 2 shows on top (you use 2 the first time, of course), and present it to your opponent. Your opponent has the following options: 1. Refuse the double by resigning. The opponent loses the old (i. e. undoubled) stake. 2. Accept the double. The opponent puts the cube on his side of the board, and play continues at twice the previous stake. Your opponent now owns the cube, and you therefore cannot double again until you have accepted the next double. 3. Redouble. This is the same as accepting the double, but your opponent gives the cube a second twist before accepting it and the game continues at four times the stake. (some backgammon players do not allow redoubles) You might think that it is never right to accept a properly offered double, but this is not tue. Suppose you consider the odds to be about 2:1 that you will win. Then your expectation if you do not double is 2/3 if you win minus 1/3 if you lose, or 1/3. If you double, your expectation is 1 if the double is refused and 2/3 if it is accepted, so you certainly should double. Further, your opponent should accept the double for exactly the same reason: his expectation is -1 if he refuses and -2/3 if he accepts. This overly simplistic analysis does not take cube ownership or redoubling into account.
richard@sequent.UUCP (04/17/84)
And then of cousre, there's... Remember in M*A*S*H when Hawkeye etal are playing checkers using shot glasses, with different liquors in opposing players (prob Vodka and Bourbon). This implies the existance of a similar game for chess - can you imagine having to slug down an 8 oz tumbler's worth of 80 proof? Of course, the game would tend to be self correcting - take to many pieces and you find it difficult to think... whatever. ___________________________________________________________________________ The preceding should not to be construed as the statement or opinion of the employers or associates of the author. It is solely the belief... from the confused and bleeding fingertips of ...!sequent!richard