I tried playing S-Chess at the local chess club and didn't get a lot of interest. But I also play Chess against the owner of fried chicken place near me. He's been refusing to play because he says he has enough trouble with the normal pieces. But last time we played he beat me twice in a row so I figured he had no excuse anymore.

I figured he'd like to play because he likes to bring his queen out early and attack. The first time we played he was a bit confused, and kept asking rules questions. The second time he said he had it down and was going to beat me. He played the Scandanavian (like I said, he likes to bring his queen out early). I responded to 2. ... Qxd5 with 3. Bc4 (H). I think that threw him a bit, because he blundered away a piece a few moves later without a hawk or elephant being involved.

Despite losing twice in a row he really liked the game. Another guy who came into the restaurant while we were playing was really into it too, and googled it on his cell phone so he could play his brother. I was struck by the real interest shown by average guys who know how to play chess compared to the indifference of the club players.

In other news, I've almost finished a Zillions of Games rules file for S-Chess. Given that Seirawan has asked others not to distribute such files, I'm not sure what I'll do with it. But it might be interesting to have ZoG play it against itself and see what it thinks are good openings.