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Greg Strong wrote on Sat, Jul 2, 2005 04:30 AM UTC:

<p>I will post a ZRF shortly, for completeness. However, a large number of tests have been run with ChessV, and show the armies to be very close. Running tests with searches to different depths or with different time limits lead to wins by different sides. Even tiny tweeks of evaluation parameters that seem like they should be unrelated can flip the victory from one side to the other. I really have no idea which side is better, although you are correct in being suspicious about unbalanced armies. I'm sure if we could perform a perfect analysis we would discover that one side is definitely better. But, it seems that they are so close that I'm pretty confident that even slight miscalculations by the players will override any inherrent unbalance.</p> <p>Also, I should point out that using Zillions of Games as a tool for computer analysis of chess variants is totally pointless. Zillions is an impressive program, and is a very good tool for prototyping games and getting a feel for how they play. Unfortunately, it is useless for analysis because it is incapable of evaluating positions correctly. Even in standard Chess it doesn't have a clue. It thinks that a Queen is worth less than Rook+Bishop, when a thousand years of careful study have shown that a Queen is worth more than the pair. And it can't even play a reasonable opening; it loves to move the Queen to the center of the board as early as possible. You can't really base anything on the results of test-cases run by a program that makes really dumb moves right from the start.</p> <p>A new version of ChessV supporting Angels and Devils will be available very soon, I hope. I'm still trying to stomp out one last annoying bug. Of course, it is worth noting that any existing bugs could skew the results of my computer analysis. Additionally, ChessV still relies on me to provide evaluation parameters, and those could be wrong too. Sadly, there is no perfect tool for testing such things. ChessV is still in its infancy, but for the time being it's the best we've got.</p>

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Comments

Angels and Devils. Chess game where white has two Angels and black has two Devils. (10x8, Cells: 80)

Steve wrote on Sun, Feb 16, 2014 09:29 AM UTC:

opposite colored bishops are only drawish in the endgame. in the middlegame they create a stronger attack. the attacker has enhanced power on squares of one color, and the defender cannot counter it.

(zzo38) A. Black wrote on Tue, Nov 27, 2012 08:56 PM UTC:

If you want to make symmetric game (I prefer symmetric game generally): Each player has one angel at queenside and one devil at kingside. (Or maybe it is better other way around; I have not tried.)

(This is very simple subvariant and so I am not making its own file, unless someone requests or if there is a lot more to write about such things than the comments.)

💡📝Greg Strong wrote on Sun, Jul 17, 2005 06:25 PM UTC:

Thank you all for the usful comments.  I've decided to resolve the problem
with the A-file being safe from angels (at least for now) by reversing the
pieces (both white and black) on the h- and i-files.  This does have the
effect of eliminating the distinction between the light and dark squares;
now white has a light-colored angel and a dark-colored angel, and black
has devils on both squares.  This also addresses Sam's very valid concern
that opposite colors makes the game more draw-ish.  Of course, this means
that all the computer testing that I have done to test the balance will
have to be redone.  I'm afraid that eliminating of the a-file safe-zone
will make White more powerful.  We'll see.  I'll upload a new image and
update this page shortly.  

P.S. the new ChessV version released already incorporates this change.

Sam Trenholme wrote on Sun, Jul 17, 2005 09:44 AM UTC:

My main concern, just looking at this, is the color imbalance; one player
controls the white squares; the other player controls the black squares. 
It is a maxim in traditional FIDE chess that bishops of opposite colors
are draws; I am concerned that this game may be drawish.

I haven't tested it, of course.

- Sam

Jianying Ji wrote on Mon, Jul 4, 2005 07:04 AM UTC:

There's two other ways to eliminate the a-file dead zone without adding a
file:

I. switching one of the angels with one of the pawns that stands on one of
the white squares. and mirror the switch on the other side. This will result in doubled
 pawn in one column, but that could lead to some interesting tactics, or you can change
 the back pawn into a man/minion that moves as a non-royal king.

-or-

II. alter the angel/devil moves by adding noncapturing forward ferz (mfF
in Betza notation) to both pieces. which adds interesting tactical color
to the game, as the players try to block the opponent's angel/devil from
changing quarters. Also the forward ferz will suggest the wings, which is
thematic.

Number of ratings: 3, Average rating: Good, Number of comments: 16

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