CHESS GAMES BY CHRISTIAAN FREELING (CONGO ⌐ DEMIAN FREELING).
PART 00 - PART 12. THIS IS PART 02.
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General
Chad was my first Chess system, and an attempt to bring the idea Chess down to its essentials. Later I stumbled on Sjakti which, ironically, minimalizes the idea to the point of becoming the touchstone for it. But that was later. For the moment I was involved in a number of questions such as 'do I need different pieces?', 'do I need pawns?' and 'do I need mutual capture between pieces?'. Eventually Sjakti showed that the answer to all of these questions is 'no'. Chad comes a long way in the same direction.
I started out with one type of piece, excluding mutual capture from the onset because this seemed the best way to eliminate the need for pawns. I chose the Rook because it is the basic piece on a square board. I decided for a confined King for two reasons: a 3x3 castle pinpoints it to a high degree, and adding eight Rooks provides a nice initial position.
However, it soon turned out to be possible to force a draw by moving the Rooks on the side one square outward, while leaving those in the corners in their place. Thus the King has room to move and the Rooks form an impenetrable fortress around it. The necessity of somehow breaking this type of defence created the need of mutual capture between Rooks after all. But having them swarm all over the place, slaughtering one another to a general state of amputation and impotence, wasn't what I had in mind.
I'm still extremely happy with the solution I eventually found: the walls and the rule that governs mutual capture. It made Chad the most popular of all Chess games at 'Fanatic', with many high level players, two of which, Wim van Weezep and Mark Waterman, were so outstanding that they eventually only had one another for opponent. I never won a game against either, or it must have been while introducing the game. W&W, the K&K of Chad, were the first players that occasionally reached a balanced draw, though most of the time we didn't understand why they judged a position drawn. Neither cared to explain.
Rules
Diagram 1 shows the Chad board with the pieces in the initial position. Each castle has twelve adjacent squares that together constitute 'the wall'.
>>> The King is confined to his 3x3 castle. He may go and capture using either the King's move or
the Knight's move in Chess.
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Diagram 2 shows the King in three positions. In the center he covers the whole castle, on the side he does not cover the square on the opposite side, and in the corner he does not cover the other cornersquares.
>>> The Rook moves like the Rook in Chess, unhindered by castles and walls. If a Rook ends its
move inside the opponent's castle, it is promoted to Queen.
>>> The Queen moves like the Queen in Chess, unhindered by castles and walls.
>>> The mutual right of capture exists, and only exists, between an attacking piece on the wall and
a defending piece inside the castle. Apart from this situation pieces simply block each other.
This is the key rule! It is illustrated in diagram 3. Black's castle shows a Rook on the wall facing a defender inside. In such a situation both have the right to capture.
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However, in this specific situation only white can capture because the black Rook is pinned! This position shows one of the basics of attack. If it were white's turn he can mate in two.
White' castle shows a black Queen able to capture either Rook and one of them able to capture the Queen. If it were black's turn however, he has better than that, because he too can mate in two!
Strategy
What can I say? I never won a game against either of the W's and had to polish my ego in the sub-levels. Let me try to point out some basics that are easy to grasp.
Consider the position around black's castle in diagram 3, disregarding the other pieces. Of course it is black's turn, otherwise white would mate in two. What must he do? If he can interpose a piece on any of the squares between the black Rook and either of the white Rooks, this would parry the immediate threat. If this isn't possible, his only option is to move the defending Rook towards the pinning one.
Needless to say that this is a basic pattern in attack. It appears in a variety of forms in almost all attacking concepts.
Another basic concept is the 'promotion sacrifice'. It derives from the fact that an attacker, once he is inside the castle (and thus automaticly a Queen), can only be captured by the King. A King on the side leaves one square where a Rook may enter unprotected, and a King in the corner leaves three squares undefended. The sacrifice of a piece to force the King to the side or into the corner, to clear the way for a second piece to poromote on an unprotected square, is very common. A Queen is worth the sacrifice of a piece anytime!
In positional respect, a Rook on a square diagonally adjacent to the castle covers two segments of the wall. Needless to say these spots are popular.
Finally, every attack eventually draws from defending forces, so a mating attack should drive home. If it fails, 3-fold is one's only hope!
Problems
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Solutions
Problem 1 shows one of many possible opening mistakes that present themselves to a beginner. Black's last move, h8-e8, optimistically aims at h6, but he's knocked out in straight moves:
1. j5-j8 Q + Ki9xj8
2. c10-h10 Q + i8-i9 otherwise mate on the next move.
3. d5-j5 + Kj8-i8 note it attacks the Queen.
4. Qh10-f8 + h9-h8
5. e4-i4 + Ki8-h9
6. Qf8-g9 ++
Problem 2 shows a position from an actual game. Note black's threat j2-e2, capturing on e5 if white plays e3-f3. So white must attack now or defend. A move like d2-i2 comes to mind, with an eye on c8-g8, but black can interpose on both rank and file, and thus has time to answer with f6-f2! which white wouldn't want. So in defensive respect white would have to settle for d2-f2, which still would allow black access to the wall on f4. At this point the sacrifice on h8 comes to mind.
1. c8-h8 Q +
We'll have to look at refusing the sacrifice first. In this case Ki9-j8 and i9-j9 are met by c7-j7 to deliver mate in 3 and 4 respectively.
1. ... Ki9-i10
2. Qh8-k11! threatening Ok11-i11 + followed by Qi11xh10. Black's only defence is:
2. ... i12-i11
3. Qk11-j11 + Ki10-i9
4. c7-j7 Ki9-h8 the only way to avoid mate on the next move.
5. j7-h7 + Kh8-i9
6. h7xh9 Q ++
Now we'll have to look at accepting the sacrifice.
1. c8-h8 Q + Ki9xh8
2. c7-h7 + g4-g8+ is met by Kh8-i9 and there's no mate in 7.
2. ... A: Kh8-i9 B: Kh8-i10 C: Kh8-j9
A (B):
This boils down to the same thing, really.
3. g4-g10! the pointe in both lines and worth a diagram!
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In this line 3. g4-g9 is met by i8-h8, and it's hard to see how white should proceed to mate in 7. As it is, i8-h8 is followed by 4. g10xh10 Q+ and a mate in 6.
The same holds for 3. ... h9xh7, 4. g10xh10 Q+; Ki9-j9, 5. Qh10-j12!
So that leaves:
3. ... h10xg10
4. h7xh9 Q + Ki9-j8(j10)
5. Qh9-k9 + Kj8(j10)-i10
6. h12-h9 Q ++
C:
Giving back the piece with check obviously is not the first idea, yet it allows the longest resistance.
3. h7xh9 Q + a: 3. ... Kj9-j8
4. g4-g9 i12-i9
5. Qh9-j11 + and mate on the next move.
b: 3. ... Kj9-j10
4. g4-g9 i8-i9
5. Qh9-j11(j7) + and mate on the next move.
c: 3. ... i8-i9
4. g4-g9 threatening both Qj11 and Qj7, either followed by
6. g9-h9 Q ++.
d: 3. ... i12-i9 see diagram.
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I've been unable to find a mate in 6 in this line.
Several moves are possible to mate in 7, such as 4. g4-g9, 4. Qh9-j11 and 4. h12-j12.
This flaw is due to the fact that this is an actual game position and not a composed problem.
The one important game in this compilation is Grand Chess. Anyone who wrote a good Chess program and has half a mind to modify it into a Grand Chess program and put a demo on the Net on a fifty fifty basis regarding the codes, is welcome to contact me at the following address:
Christiaan Freeling
Pollenbrink 181
7544 AW Enschede
The Netherlands
+31 53 769075
Net: freeling@euronet.nl
All games: ⌐ Christiaan Freeling, except Congo: ⌐ Demian Freeling.
