Gleeok
09-14-2012, 08:15 AM
Anyone ever play this?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Glinski_Chess_Setup.png/300px-Glinski_Chess_Setup.png
There's also a few other variants regarding board shape and piece layout but the rules are mostly the same with a few exceptions -- explained here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonal_chess). The main qualm I feel about the general setup is that it is almost completely unbalanced. Pawns are generally weaker and contribute less (the fact that moving them from their initial position slightly weakens them doesn't help either). Bishops can only occupy 1/3 of the board (so you get 3 of them) instead of the previous 1/2 and can move "through" pieces like knights because "diagonals" aren't really diagonals at all. Knights.. well, knights are hard to develop because of the threat of constant harassment by bishops -- there's diminished hex attacking and occupation options early on from this also. Rooks are overly powerful, attacking on a whopping 6 files instead of 4, and the Queen, well, the Queen is just ridiculous. These are just my initial assessments from only a few games so their accuracy is debatable; I do not have an array of hex chess stratagems or knowledge by any means.
Anyway, if you play normal chess this will really screw with your head. ;) Something to check out if you get bored.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Glinski_Chess_Setup.png/300px-Glinski_Chess_Setup.png
There's also a few other variants regarding board shape and piece layout but the rules are mostly the same with a few exceptions -- explained here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagonal_chess). The main qualm I feel about the general setup is that it is almost completely unbalanced. Pawns are generally weaker and contribute less (the fact that moving them from their initial position slightly weakens them doesn't help either). Bishops can only occupy 1/3 of the board (so you get 3 of them) instead of the previous 1/2 and can move "through" pieces like knights because "diagonals" aren't really diagonals at all. Knights.. well, knights are hard to develop because of the threat of constant harassment by bishops -- there's diminished hex attacking and occupation options early on from this also. Rooks are overly powerful, attacking on a whopping 6 files instead of 4, and the Queen, well, the Queen is just ridiculous. These are just my initial assessments from only a few games so their accuracy is debatable; I do not have an array of hex chess stratagems or knowledge by any means.
Anyway, if you play normal chess this will really screw with your head. ;) Something to check out if you get bored.