Norochess

[Paul Bonham]

Non-Royal Chess

In the history of chess variants, there have been several that involve the King being "non-Royal" meaning that it can be left in check and captured.

There is one I've seen called "Take All" in which the game ends only when 1 side has all its pieces captured, including King. But this has a fatal flaw: to use one example, if White has 2 Queens remaining and Black has 1 Rook remaining, the Rook escapes all attempts at capture. The game may never end.

But there is a way to turn "Take All" into a viable game. Simply limit the length of the game to N plies per player. If one side loses all pieces before s/he plays N plies, then s/he loses by a score of (sum of material captured by winner) to (sum of material captured by loser). And if neither side loses by that method, then after N plies per player have been played, the exact same scoring is used to determine the winner. And if the score should be tied, then additional plies are played ("overtime") until after a Black move, one side or the other has a higher score, up to a certain limit N+M moves whereupon if the score is still equal, the game is a draw.

As you might imagine, there would be very few draws. But some games would be declared drawn even after just N moves, such as if White had only a Bishop remaining and Black had only a Knight. An obvious draw if the Bishop cannot be forced into "tesuji".

So I decided to create this as a new chess variant, which I am calling Norochess. "Noro" is a short form for Non-royal. The value I have chosen for N plies per player is 48. And the value I have chosen for M is 12, so that a game cannot last more than 60 moves per player.

One further refinement I added: since the King is non-royal, there is no point to having castling. Therefore castling does not exist in Norochess. This encourages the King to play just like all other pieces, even advancing into the center of the board. It would also mean there could be "Norchess960" without worrying about complicated castling rules.

To formalize the rules, it is stipulated that

A game of Norochess ends when either:

(1) one side has captured all the other sides pieces, or
(2) one side has pieces remaining but all moves are blocked, or
(3) each side has made 48 to 60 moves and one side has a higher score, or
(4) each side has made 60 moves and neither side has a higher score (game drawn).

Points are awarded for a capture as follows:
- Queen capture scores 9 points
- Rook capture scores 5 points
- Bishop capture scores 3 points
- Knight capture scores 3 points
- King capture scores 2 points
- Pawn capture scores 1 point.

Note that if a Pawn is promoted to a piece (such as Queen) and then subsequently captured, the points awarded are for the PROMOTED piece value. This makes Pawn promotion a double-edged sword.

I did think about scoring games based on how many points are remaining on the board at the end of the 48 plies per player. But this would not make Pawn promotion a double-edged sword, because whether you lose a Pawn or you lose a promoted Pawn (Queen), it really just counts as losing a Pawn.

The White advantage of first move in Chess is possibily nullified in Norochess, because Black can capture material on his last move with impunity whereas White cannot. It may be that Black actually has a slim overall advantage.

Note that because games of Norochess end in actual scores (instead of just 1-0 or 0-1 or 1/2-1/2) then tournaments can have tiebreaks based on score differentials. So if two players tie for first because of 4 wins and a draw each in a 5-round tournament, the first tiebreak could be each player's cumulative scores minus each player's cumulative scores allowed. This would add significance to each and every single move in all games. Even if you are winning 35-20 in the late stages of a game, it behooves you to keep playing for more points.

And that addresses a grievance I've long held: chess doesn't account for someone playing a strong game against a much stronger player and eventually losing in say 100 moves. You don't get any bonus points for playing such a good game. It's just 0 points, and that doesn't seem right for a game that prides itself as one of the best games in history.

By the way, I am definitely NOT expecting Norochess to rival Chess as the greatest game in history. In fact Norochess is just a side project of mine and will by this summer be released as an Android / iOS app through my development company.

Finally, here is one of the earliest recorded games of Norochess played under the final rules, with two young chess players (who wish to remain anonymous) trying it out. You cannot play these moves in any chess program that reads pgn format, because of the King being left in check and captured. So to enjoy this at all, you have to actually set up pieces and play the moves. I provide it here for anyone that has the curiosity and the time to play it out:


1.d2-d4 e7-e6
2.c2-c4 f7-f5
3.Ng1-f3 Bf8-e7
4.g2-g3 d7-d5
5.Qd1-c2 Nb8-c6
6.a2-a3 g7-g5
7.Bf1-g2 g5-g4
8.Nf3-e5 Nc6xd4
9.Qc2-d3 d5xc4
10.Qd3xc4 Qd8-d6
11.Bc1-f4 b7-b5
12.Qc4-c3 b5-b4
13.a3xb4 Nd4-b5
14.Qc3-c4 Qd6xb4
15.Qc4xb4 Be7xb4
16.Bg2xa8 Nb5-d4
17.Ra1xa7 Nd4-b5
18.Ra7-a4 c7-c5
19.Ba8-c6 Nb5-c7
20.Ne5-c4 Ke8-d7
21.Bc6xd7 Bc8xd7
22.Ra4-a7 Bd7-c6
23.Rh1-g1 Nc7-d5
24.Bf4-e5 Ng8-f6

Game is half-over, score is 19-15 in White's favor.

25.Ra7-f7 Bc6-b5
26.Nc4-d6 Bb5-a6
27.Be5xf6 Rh8-a8
28.e2-e4 f5xe4
29.Nd6xe4 Ba6-d3

Although White is ahead, Black has very active play.

30.Nb1-a3 Bd3xe4
31.Ke1-e2 Be4-g6
32.Rf7-b7 Bb4xa3
33.b2xa3 Nd5xf6

Black has now made a game of it. Score is 26-25 for White.

34.Rb7-b6 Bg6-f5
35.Rg1-a1 h7-h6
36.Rb6-c6 Nf6-e4
37.a3-a4 Ne4-c3

A critical juncture of the game. Everything rides on White's reply here.

38.Ke2-e3

The only good move that can save the game for White.

38. ... Ra8xa4?

Watching the game, I thought taking with the Knight maintaining the tension was better.

39.Ra1xa4 Nc3xa4
40.Ke3-f4 h6-h5
41.Kf4xf5 e6xf5

Now it is clear that White should win.

42.Rc6-f6 f5-f4
43.Rf6xf4 Na4-b2
44.Rf4-f5 Nb2-d1
45.Rf5xh5 c5-c4
46.Rh5-c5 Nd1-c3
47.Rc5xc4 Nc3-d5
48.Rc4xg4 Nd5-c3 White wins 38 - 33.

[Mathieu Cloutier]

Re: Norochess

Anyone interested in pooling some money so we can pay for his medication?

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: Norochess

Anyone interested in pooling some money so we can pay for his medication?

Its simpler to put him on your ignore list. Miyamoto Musashi says that we should do nothing that is of no use. It has been some time since I have read a Bonham post except when quoted by someone else and its pretty clear from the quotes in posts of people I still read that I haven't missed a thing.

[Garland Best]

Re: Norochess

I don't see a reason to attack Paul for his post. It's simply a post on a chess variant. Other persons post here on chess variants without this sort of treatment.

[Neil Frarey]

Re: Norochess

I don't see a reason to attack Paul for his post. It's simply a post on a chess variant. Other persons post here on chess variants without this sort of treatment.

Yeppers ... +1.

[Nigel Hanrahan]

alarm, outrage and vigorous denunciations

I don't see a reason to attack Paul for his post. It's simply a post on a chess variant. Other persons post here on chess variants without this sort of treatment.

Yup. Anyone who teaches chess to children know that they create their own variants all the time. One variant I saw recently was with the Queen and King switched roles, so that the King, not the Queen, could be captured. At a Catholic Elementary School I once taught at, one variant they invented was with a God piece that was resurrected upon its capture and placed in the center of the board. There were even little hats that I kept in a large yoghurt container to identify the new piece. The problem comes when they want to play exclusively their own variant in the chess club, and propagandize its merits to the other students when the latter haven't properly understood orthodox chess.

The only critique I could make would be that Paul might put more effort into familiarizing himself with the existing variants, of which there are many and magazines that enumerate them, and look for improvements on what already exists. Perhaps it's a matter of taste.

Chess is an enormous universe. It might be useful to remind ourselves that the game we now know is the result of many changes and innovations over the centuries ... changes which, at the time, were looked upon by some with alarm, outrage, and vigorous denunciations.

ETA: Those who might be of the opinion that all significant changes [in chess] are in the past could be reminded of Frances Fukuyama who predicted the "end of history" [in general] and was proven to be wrong even in his own lifetime.

Some links follow.

http://www.chessvariants.com/

http://www.mayhematics.com/s/index.htm [for The Variant Chess Website w/ no update since 2010 however]

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: alarm, outrage and vigorous denunciations

It might be useful to remind ourselves that the game we now know is the result of many changes and innovations over the centuries ... changes which, at the time, were looked upon by some with alarm, outrage, and vigorous denunciations.

I think there were no changes for about 200 years to "real" rules of chess. All kind of 50/75 move rules & exemptions have not changed the game. Probably introducing a double chess clock was the major force popularizing chess as sport.

[Kevin Pacey]

Re: alarm, outrage and vigorous denunciations

I've gotten the sense that if I post on chesstalk about chess variants, anything lengthy that I may otherwise post here, by way of further elaboration, seems best to be linked to instead, so that anyone who's at all curious might check it out if they wish. It seems there are few things considered more vile by many chesstalk viewers than chess variants, perhaps even including real life (or chess) politics.

[Peter McKillop]

Re: Norochess

I don't see a reason to attack Paul for his post. It's simply a post on a chess variant. Other persons post here on chess variants without this sort of treatment.

Well said!

[Mathieu Cloutier]

Re: Norochess

I don't see a reason to attack Paul for his post. It's simply a post on a chess variant. Other persons post here on chess variants without this sort of treatment.

I'm not attacking Paul, I'm trying to help him! :p

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: Norochess

I don't see a reason to attack Paul for his post. It's simply a post on a chess variant. Other persons post here on chess variants without this sort of treatment.

I was not attacking Paul, I was simply pointing everyone towards the freedom of not reading Paul's posts. I did not read his original post. How many electrons were sacrificed to propogate his overly long diatribes. How many moments were lost that could have been put to better use by reading something else? Chesstalk is a much more enjoyable experience when you cut the Paul Bonham's out of the equation.

[Fred Harvey]

Re: Norochess

I was not attacking Paul

How many electrons were sacrificed to propogate his overly long diatribes. How many moments were lost that could have been put to better use by reading something else? Chesstalk is a much more enjoyable experience when you cut the Paul Bonham's out of the equation.

You really are a silly prat, aren't you!

[Paul Bonham]

Re: alarm, outrage and vigorous denunciations

I've gotten the sense that if I post on chesstalk about chess variants, anything lengthy that I may otherwise post here, by way of further elaboration, seems best to be linked to instead, so that anyone who's at all curious might check it out if they wish. It seems there are few things considered more vile by many chesstalk viewers than chess variants, perhaps even including real life (or chess) politics.

Hi Kevin, I've read a lot of your posts on chess variants and I don't recall seeing vile responses to your posts like you are describing. Perhaps you've been getting such responses in PMs or conversations?

Anyway, my development company will be releasing an Android / iOS version of Norochess probably in June. It won't be all that fancy or polished, just functional. I already have the app working, so all that remains is some graphics work and a few features.

The idea is not to attract people who currently play serious chess (so ChessTalkers reaction to Norochess is not that important). The idea is to get people who know how to play chess but seldom if ever play it to think differently about it. The number of such people (globally) is in the millions. And it solves many problems of regular chess: much fewer draws thanks to "overtime", an actual score attached to each and every game, a limit on game length (for a tournament, time control of 2 hours / 48 moves with 30 second increment, with 12 overtime moves per player at 30 seconds / overtime move would mean maximum game length of 5 hours exactly), and it would also end one of the worst aspects of regular chess: if you are up a whole piece or even a Pawn, YOU WIN! No draws because you don't have mating material, no stalemates, no 50 move rules, no perpetual checks. There would have to be a rule that 3-time repetition loses for the side that creates the 3rd repetition. And there's no castling, so you can have Norochess960 with no castling complexity.

It's a simpler vision of chess, which a lot of people would like imo. So what could happen is that a parallel group of chessplayers gets created, playing Norochess instead of regular chess. There might be some very small crossover among the two.

Now wouldn't it be something if this simpler chess became much larger in years to come than standard chess? Not saying that would happen, I'm not even predicting or expecting it would happen, but it would certainly be a wake up call for standard chess.

Norochess is actually an initial foray, if you like..... there are even more interesting releases to come after it....

Incidentally, Norochess lends itself to new puzzle / problem creation. Each problem position would have to specify a move number, a game score, and many of them could include overtime moves into the solution.

[Mathieu Cloutier]

Re: alarm, outrage and vigorous denunciations

Seriously guys, the medication can't be that expensive....