OC – Ortho or Advanced

Fool me once …

Readers of this site may have noticed a certain bias with regard to Omegachess, I freely admit it and I thought perhaps I ought to explain this bias in this short article. I am referring to my preference for the ‘Advanced Rules’ over ‘Standard’ or ‘Ortho’ Omegachess. 

Whilst the Standard rules make for an interesting variant to play in my opinion the ‘Advanced’ additions transform the game. The addition of the Fool adds a twist to the games strategy that balances the increased power of the Queen (because of the 10×10 board) it also requires caution in the move structure due to its mirroring quality. As much strength as you attack the Fool with the piece will return it. Attack a fool with a Queen you lose your Queen – its that simple. The immobilisation rule makes the fool even more flexible in his deviousness. Allow the fool too close and your pieces are frozen and if this is used as part of a concerted and coordinated attack the possibilities are perilous for your opponent. With all this power is the Fool too strong and does he destabilise the balance of the game? A short answer is no, because like Midas turning everything to gold can boomerang back on the user of the power. A fool cannot be relied upon to do ones bidding, your opponent can purposely and strategically move his pieces to cripple the fool so that he has no ability to go where you wanted him to go. The Fool, in my opinion is a great addition to the game.

Those Wizard Squares 

W1 to W4 occupied initially by the Wizards are the ‘Fools’ paradise. An often overlooked ability the Fool has is to jump between the squares if they are unoccupied and to use them as sort of ‘wormholes’ to get behind enemy lines, very effective; and giving the ‘Fool’ a sort of spectral quality. It must be emphasised that the squares must be unoccupied to facilitate this move, the fool cannot use this move to take an unsuspecting Wizard, though playing a variant here where the Fool can take could make the game very interesting. It has to be said though the ‘portal’ can be easily closed by refusing to move those pieces who have diagonal or leaping capability imprisoning the poor fool in a limbo.

Templar Knights

A brilliant touch to increase the Knights power without making it too powerful. The normal Knight move is enhanced with a non-taking move of 3,2 or 2,3. This compensates magnificently for the larger playing area and allows the Knight to get into the frontline quickly and efficiently. The extra manoeuvrability brings the Knight on an equal par with the ‘new’ leapers of Omegachess.

Conclusion 

In my opinion these rule extensions to the standard game take it to the next level. It brings the game to a ‘wholeness’ that is difficult to describe. I personally have never used Queen ‘gaurding’ or ‘Castling for the Queen’ but in certain circumstances I can see it being a useful addition but possibly only in a minor way, the opening development usually takes longer in OC so the Queen is usually deployed before such a move would be useful but I wait to be proven wrong. OC Advanced in my opinion is the future of this game and I personally would find it rather crippling to return to the Standard Rules. Give it a try and see the transformation that these extensions give the to the game. 

Addenda

Beyond Omega Chess Advanced

Where everything changes, nothing is fixed. Where immobilisation of the Fool is possible, where the board itself becomes spart of play. Where Wizard squares keep their identity even if they wander far from their starting position. Now playable on Tabletop Simulator at Steam - contact me there for a game or if you want to learn.

Beyond Omega Chess Advanced, move 53 Checkmate - only the second time in history such a game has ever been played. I proved to be balanced, eminently playable, intriguing and frustrating, forget normal Chess this is a challenge for the 21st Century.