Implementation of a new variant of chess

Abstract

Implementation of a new variant of chess characterized because it has the following elements: a central processing unit for storing a database of reference, a database of reference created from all recorded chess games in history divided by categories, a selection and filtering process based on a specific algorithm that selects one single game in order to stablish the initial position of the new game, a chess software for installation in any device, electronic devices to play the new game online and unlimited number of users to play the game live; and because the starting position of the game is determined at random just before the start of play, being unknown by the players until the beginning of play and wherein the procedure for obtaining that initial position consists of setting a certain specified number of full moves, said number being called depth, from the starting position of classical chess and being the depths numbers all up to 10 and either integers, except 0, or the result of adding an integer plus 0.5; selecting at random one game from a single reference database made of high-skill human classical chess play and regularly updated; and initiating the game from the initial position the player with the white pieces if the depth number is an integer, otherwise the black pieces would initiate the game.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to chess games and, more specifically, to a new chess variant and method of play thereof affecting the beginning of the game, along with its implementation.DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART[0002]Classical chess (or simply “chess”) is a game of skill for two players, played upon an eight-by-eight square, checkered board. Chess rules and movements of the pieces have been essentially unchanged for several hundred years, except some minor unifications more than a century ago which have resulted in a game which is played across the globe in the same manner.[0003]Chess from its origins has been an “almost infinite” game, where the combinatorial explosion of possibilities gives raise to so many different positions that playing skill and talent have been more important, and overwhelmed attempts at memorising most possible courses of the game.[0004]There have been proposals to modify classical chess, or alter its rules. The reason behind ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0034]A larger value of making the personal “human capital” investment of becoming a chess professional or devoted amateur, with plausibly a longer-duration career, as rote memorisation ability decreases markedly at senior ages and much less short-term memory refreshing is needed.

[0035]All this happens as the new game preserves the legacy and essence of chess, which has been seen empirically very important to the chess community and the major obstacle to the growth of chess960. Our investigations also indicate that the possible initial positions are not excessively forcing or conditioning to a player's style: as strong randomness is reached for departures from the initial position of a very low number of moves.

Problems solved by technology

The reason behind this is that widespread and intense study of the game has made many strategies and aspects of it deeply analyzed, compromising creativity and, crucially, “over-the-board” discovery of the moves on the part of the players.

However while on an abstract level these variations may occasionally be as interesting (or more interesting for some) as the classical game, and have achieved some popularity, they have not made a major impact on the chess-playing world.

We have concluded that changes to the game of chess that feature such profound alterations result simply in wholly different games, and do not offer any hope of creating a variant of the game satisfactory for the current classical chess community.

However, still the weight of chess tradition and the profound influence of the initial position of the pieces in the development of the opening and middle-game phase of the game, have made widespread popularity of FR chess elusive.

Images