New rules

The question about wether computers will solve chess or not in my mind is not a matter of when it is a matter of if.  I believe that for certain positions there are more than one possible "best move" and it comes down to a matter of creativity.  Chess I do not believe is a purely mathmatical game.  Computers are great at tactics, but most computer programs if you take away there opening books aren't as good as they are with the opening books.

I do not thing computers will "solve" chess.  Ever.  The number of chess games through 40 moves is more than the number of electrons in the universe.

chess960 will probably become a necessity once computers master "regular" chess. So that would probably be our first step if we survive the first stage of perfection.

ONe of my favorite quotes of all time fits this thread: "Before GM's went to computer tournaments to laugh, now they come to watch... soon they will come to learn."

chess boxing sounds dope!  having been once a fan of games with many dice and cards and such I thought of a chess variant, now hear me out.  Arabian Knights chess.  The main two changes are with the King and Queen.  The Queen moves  similiar to the knight, only 3 moves in the diagonal or file and one to the side, to mimick the curve of scimitar.  Limiting the ..female Queen a bit and preventing her from spanning the board in just one move.  The King can move two squares in any direction accept, and heres the kicker, if adjacent to a K or B the king can thus assume that pieces move.  Like fleeing with the bishop, or getting on his horse.  I'm working on an unlimited casleling move making the removal of the rooks and most other peices neccassary to close the game.  Yea I smoke some pretty heady shit back in the day but I think it could work..  I have successfully invented one game that reached mass apeal to my credit.  Thoughts??

Very creative idea Sangwin, we'ld have quite a different game with those rules! Do I understand you right that the Queen can also go 3 moves DIAGONAL plus  one sideways (which would mean it could go from let's say e5 to g4, h3, g2 and f3) ? Please explain.

 "if adjacent to a K or B the king can thus assume that pieces move.  Like fleeing with the bishop, or getting on his horse."

I guess K should be N in this. Never understood btw why you anglosaxons call this piece a kNight. It's a Horse !! Nobody is sitting on it except in those expensive but senseless chess sets, and it causes only notational confusion as we see again here.

If the King "flees"with a Bishop or a Horse, I suppose he remains on the same side of it where it was before the flight?

Oh yes, and as for the Castling Unlimited idea, I'ld say "Roll another one and come up with the final plan!"

If you want to screw up computers, just use variants and combine them

i.e. Monster special ability trust chess with all the pieces or

      Giveaway blackhole chess 960.

There. The computer will likely lose unless someone makes (a) computer(s) that specialize(s) in all variants and variant combonations.

Also, dazbedford is right: the strongest computers can beat the strongest humans already.

An interesting variant to  first pawn move rules would be to allow pawn to reverse into a square vacated behind it... particularly useful to shield kings

 chris212121
thanks for your interest and compliments!  As you can understand I am trying to.. make the king more boss, or perhaps force a "life force" on each side, no sufficated mate here.  But really it would more about making the other pieces a bit more strong while complicating the queens, chess is already about piece combinations but many top level games end in draw.  I'd like to see the King Queen and Knight moving down the board in wolf pack or the king conjuring deep thoughts well guarded in his towers.  How about the Rook moves 3, but can jump his pieces?  Can't hurl bolders through a pawn wall now can ya!?

These are just idea's but my backround is alot with Dungeons and Dragons, I played since the original books and most of the idea's to come out in the expanded editions, like proficiencies, class variants ect. . . me and my group were already doing for years.  As Dm for often up to 15 or more people I had a mixed group, no nerd click here.  Along with my regulars, us stoners and the drama club,  I'd have teammates from the football team, or the guys who did the cars, really all sorts sat in on my game.  Post columbine, we'd a had the fbi too!  In any case we created alot of variants on alot of games, like turning Risk into D100 game.  Open/Low ended rules for the 100% percent system, via ICE were way better the the D20 of G Gygax and D&D.  But this is all completely off topic.

Ok so the Queen goes UP TO 3 spaces diagonal horizontal or vertical and one up and to the corner.  Its complicated but once you get it and understand the expanded strength of the king you'd get it, to wit from d1 the queen could occupy moving vertically c3,4,5 and e3,4,5.  But none of the d file squares.  As she must move 1, like the knite not the c2, or e2 squares.  It would take her two moves to get onto her own dfile.  ok now onto the diagonal from d1, c3 b2, b4 a3 and a5, not a4, b3, or c2.  Same rules apply for the kings side with slightly greater reach.  Basically like the knight but with more reach and must be a legal move.  Play around with the squares and it should make sense, we are just used to a knight only moving the technical one and one, not 2 or 3 and one. 

The King can move two and lets just say here and know the rook can only move 3 squares and can jump pieces, i like this idea.  But still only on the non diagonal file.  If at any time the the king and rooks movement can intersect on the hori or vert squares they may swap or castle, THE LINE MUST BE CLEAR(no jumping here) or like the king can't flee through an infantry line.. and THE Castled Squares Can Not be Impeaded by opponents pieses or checked. (would be hard to castle near an opponents rook)   The King can in fact move out of check, thats the whole Idea, and the squares exchaged are the kings discretion.  So if rook is on a1 and king on g1, No Castle as rook can only move 3 king 2 so close but not close enough.  If however Rook on a1 and king on f1, the castle could look like this rc1o-okb1, or even rf1o-oke1, rook d1 king c1 and so on. 

The King is adjacent to his bishop or Knight. If both agian kings discretion.  The Bishop or knight takes the kings square and the king can make any legal move the Bishop or Knight could of made from their repective starting squares.  Of course the king may not end up in check but may do this even if B or N are threatened.  effectively the king can sacrifice at his discretion a lesser subject to flee.

Well this is the crap I think about at a shiit job every day.  Any expanded idea's or thoughts cool, not to much or go make your own variant, lol. 

I have some real chess to go play!

the king being able to move 2 sqaures would make the game quite hard to mate.  for instance, a Q+R wouldn't be able to mate anymore without other pieces.  two bishops couldn't chase a king into a corner.  seems like most everything would have to be smothered mates.  i see a lot of draws in the king moves two squares game, especially when you limit the queen and let the king absorb the powers of bishops and knights.   

Chess will never be solved :) there are over 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000 different game possibilities requiring full analysis.

 I hadn't really thought about it like that, or had a good occasion too ;)... Harder to mate the king yes, but with the expanded strength of the king I see alot full frontal attacks early.  Indeed this could wreak havoc for one side and leave them badly needing the extra defensive powers of the king.  The King being able to move up to two squares with a whole host of defensis would fully compensate the limited queen.   A tweek could always be made to pawns or we could give the king hitpoints and make the pawn goblins, with grenades of course. 

maybe we should add an archbishop (bishop+knight) and a chancellor (rook+knight) and play bughouse advanced chess960 with the added pieces on 2 10x8 boards and the boards' edges are connected.

The bishop should have the power to move horizontal one square, the knight should have the power to go on in that direction infinitely, the board should be 10x8 or 10x10, we should be able to promote pawns into pawns, Silver Generals (from Shogi), Cannons (from Xiangqi), and other pieces that you might think of.

Another idea is to play on hexagonal boards!!!

 Like I said too much and you might as well play mtg or buy a playstation, ;) But I do like the idea of turning pawns into cannons!  Sure would simplify the c and e pawn breaks a bit, lol. 

and therefore, neither will the universe  be solved

cannons can move one square any direction but it will take two moves.  a cannon attacks a little box of 2 x 2 but you have to roll a die to figure out which of the four squares it would actually hit.  yeah, this is turning from a varient of chess into a cross of chess and world of warcraft. 

This is the reason for Chess 960, but  there are versions of chess out there that computers can't touch yet. For instance there is a hybrid boxing-chess. Computer can't box yet and chess with a concussion is fun.

You could have a version of Chess 960 that allows an opponent to place a random fairy peice from a table anywhere on the board each time he captures a pawn. When a pawn Queens it can be promoted to any fairy peice.

would you be our fairy peice  DA_Jones?

Has anyone tried playing Arimaa?  Surprised nobody has mentioned it.