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Charles Gilman wrote on Thu, May 9, 2013 05:58 AM UTC:
While looking to see whether the recently updated Zillions programs Dunkeys (sic) and Mustang had rules pages to go with them, and having misread Dunkeys as the real English word Donkeys, I rediscovered the Donkey Chess page. The eponymous Donkey is a compound of Knight and Noncapturing Short-leap Charolais. Short-leap forms of non-coprime obliqure pieces make a succession of coprime leaps between empty cells - like Stepping radial piece such as the Xiang - and Noncapturing means that the destination too must be empty. The name Donkey has no alternative meaning in Man and Beast and it would be logical for me to add it.

The Donkey has an interesting collection of analogues in other directions - Camel plus Noncapturing Short-leap Crane, Gnu plus Noncapturing Short-leap Catamaran, Wazir plus Noncapturing Stepping Dabbaba, Ferz plus Noncapturing Xiang, Prince plus Noncapturing Stepping Alibaba, Princeling plus Noncapturing Stepping Thief, Goldgeneral plus Noncapturing Stepping Goldthief, et cetera.

It is worth qualifying such pieces, but in what context? Should they be seen as an enhanced Knight, Camel, Gnu, Wazir, Ferz, Prince &c or as a restricted Nightpotentate, Camelpotentate, Gnupotentate, Wazbaba, Fearful, Pasha &c? I can see advantages to both. The view of them as enhanced pieces can be extrapolated to compounds such as Marshal plus Noncapturing Short-leap Charolais, Cardinal plus Noncapturing Short-leap Charolais, Canvasser plus Noncapturing Short-leap Crane, Chatelaine plus Noncapturing Xiang, and Primate plus Noncapturing Short-leap Stepping Dabbaba. It is also the way that -snatchers, -pacifiers, and Ajax pieces are described. On the other hand, the view of them as restricted pieces could be extended to a restricted Watcher (Wazir plus Noncapturing Stepping Trebuchet), Waffle (Wazir plus Noncapturing Xiang), Sow (Wazir plus Noncapturing Stepping Dabchick), Boar (Ferz plus Noncapturing Stepping Tusk), Memsahib (Point plus Noncapturing Stepping Dabbaba), and the like. Which would be the more useful - or I should I describe it both ways?


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