StrongChess - The Evolution of Chess - Pardu S. Ponnapalli, 2015.pdf

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StrongChess: The evolution of Chess

Pardu S. Ponnapalli, Ph.D.

StrongChess:

The evolution of Chess

Pardu S. Ponnapalli, Ph.D.

Dedicated to

My brother Vani who I enjoyed playing chess with.

May your soul rest in peace, brother.

Table of Contents



Preface to the 1st Edition

Chapter 1 StrongChess

Chapter 2 Illustrative Game

Conclusions

Preface to the 1st Edition

“Chess is thriving. There are ever less round robin tournaments and ever

more World Champions.” - Robert Huebner

I am a lifelong fan of chess. I used to play avidly when I was in university, a long time ago. I

have seen the game become increasingly more predictable and too well analyzed. Openings are

memorized 15 moves deep, and computer analysis has made even the middlegame predictable.

The mystery, joy and just human interest have gradually diminished- replaced by deeper and

deeper trees of analysis by computers and people polishing their technique until it’s a lifeless

exercise. Watching games now is almost like watching two machines play.

I wanted to infuse creativity, randomness and bold play back into chess. So I invented a game

called StrongChess. StrongChess consists of a board with 10 columns and 8 rows. The first row

(for the white pieces) consists of a rook, a knight, another knight, a bishop, a queen, a king, a

bishop, another bishop and a rook. The second row consists of 10 pawns. The setup for black

matches the white setup.

The extra pieces add a lot of spice to the game. The openings are uncharted, the middle game is

complex and there are no existing computer programs that can defeat you. StrongChess returns

chess to its roots - a match of intellect and personality between two human beings with a lot of

tension, drama and fun.

I introduced this idea a few years back in my book “Just a Bunch of Crazy Ideas.” .My book had

mixed reviews- in contrast the idea of StrongChess received almost unive rsal praise. The idea of

returning chess to its roots as a conflict between two people with ups and downs, mistakes and

twists during the game struck a chord with people.

Read and enjoy.