Questions on who is "up" only apply to positions beyond calculation such that one can estimate the long run outcome or probable outcome. Here that is not the case. White wins the queen on the next move and subsequently checkmates the black king on a1 or h8. SF could tell you that in a second if it didn't go mad under the persistent attack of 32 bishop-bugs.
Who is up in material in this position?
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Oct 15, 2019
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#3
So if I give another position
In the second position there are no clear forced wins for either player, but I don't know if it's a draw with perfect play from both players or if there is a forced mate over the horizon, so in the second position would this mean that neither players is up in material considering, that the black bishops can't move, and nothing that is not already on a black square can move to a black square, the queens can only move like bishops, both kings can only ever move one square diagonally, and the number of queens is the same as the number of white bishops?
This one is relatively simple because the queens are black just like the 32 bishops. White queens could potentially eliminate some of those bishops which might complcate things. The black queens are provably equivalent to the white bishops. Since the formations (without the 32 bishops) are symmetrical you might expect the side on move to have an advantage - just as in standard chess. Intuitively it still feels like a draw though unless there are strategies to win a simple "equal" ending like K+B vs K+B or K+2B vs K+2B. Seems unlikely to me. You can probably win once you are a bishop up but how do you come to that point?
Black has a king, 32 bishops, and a queen, however non of blacks bishops can ever move, or be captured, and the queen is forced to move only like a bishop, making it about equal in value to a bishop. White has a king and 2 bishops, and so has more pieces that can actually move than black. So who is actually up in material in this position?