Scott Baret
Well-known member
Just thought I'd put this out here far ahead of time...
Battle Chess can be played via a dial-up modem. I'd love to get a Battle Chess tournament going, and I figured RetroChallenge would be a good time to do it.
You will need a copy of Battle Chess to play. I'm not sure if the color CD version and monochrome disk version can play each other, but the CD came with the monochrome version alongside the color version. Until someone can verify if the color and monochrome versions can dial each other for a game, I'm tentatively proposing only the use of the monochrome version. Battle Chess is commercial software, must be purchased, and is usually pretty easy to track down on eBay.
There are also versions for other platforms. Again, we'd need to do some pre-tournament testing to see if the DOS and Amiga versions could dial to play the Mac version.
I have run chess tournaments in the past and am proposing the following rules:
1. In each round, three games will be played. Best of three advances (you'll need two wins).
2. Due to the varying levels of skill which undoubtably exist in this community, we will not use clocks.
3. Record your moves. Battle Chess doesn't do this. Submit them, along with results, to me at the conclusion of the round. Use algebraic notation.
4. At the end of the game, record your score. Count YOUR remaining pieces, not the ones you captured. Use pawn = 1, knight or bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9. (There is no point value for a king).
5. Scores will be used as a tiebreaker in the event of a 1-1 tie plus a stalemate after three games. The player with the higher cumulative score will advance.
6. Since we have no prior record of anyone in terms of chess competition, seeding will be done at random.
7. Everyone must have their own legally purchased copy of Battle Chess (monochrome) as well as a Mac with a dial-up modem to participate. (As mentioned earlier, there is the possibility of other platforms/versions being used).
8. When entering, please let me know what hardware you're using. There will definitely be recognition for the most unique setup.
Not sure what we'll do for the winner yet. If there's some serious interest in this, I'll contact the coordinators of RetroChallenge and see if we'll do a prize through RC or if I'll give out some sort of trinket myself.
Since all of us have different schedules, each round will be scheduled at members' convenience. It will be up to paired members to work out times. It's OK if you want to play your three games on different days, but I'll likely have a deadline to complete a round so I can set up the next round. The time to complete a round will depend on how many rounds we are going, which will be determined by how many players sign up.
Between now and July, there are a few things we can do. First, if you want to participate in this, let me know. Second, get yourself Battle Chess if you don't already have it. Third, if you want to help me test the other versions for compatibility, let me know and we can set up a match sometime. Finally, you can use the next few months to improve your chess skills.
A side note: Battle Chess monochrome runs best on 020 and 030 Macs. It tends to have problems with some newer 040s and is a tad slow on 68000s. It won't run on a PPC, but the color version will.
If anyone has any questions please let me know. I want to see if there's any interest in this tournament and if we get at least 8 players, I'll proceed with it. Games will begin in July; we can start scheduling for it in late June. June 10 is the deadline for registration.
Battle Chess can be played via a dial-up modem. I'd love to get a Battle Chess tournament going, and I figured RetroChallenge would be a good time to do it.
You will need a copy of Battle Chess to play. I'm not sure if the color CD version and monochrome disk version can play each other, but the CD came with the monochrome version alongside the color version. Until someone can verify if the color and monochrome versions can dial each other for a game, I'm tentatively proposing only the use of the monochrome version. Battle Chess is commercial software, must be purchased, and is usually pretty easy to track down on eBay.
There are also versions for other platforms. Again, we'd need to do some pre-tournament testing to see if the DOS and Amiga versions could dial to play the Mac version.
I have run chess tournaments in the past and am proposing the following rules:
1. In each round, three games will be played. Best of three advances (you'll need two wins).
2. Due to the varying levels of skill which undoubtably exist in this community, we will not use clocks.
3. Record your moves. Battle Chess doesn't do this. Submit them, along with results, to me at the conclusion of the round. Use algebraic notation.
4. At the end of the game, record your score. Count YOUR remaining pieces, not the ones you captured. Use pawn = 1, knight or bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9. (There is no point value for a king).
5. Scores will be used as a tiebreaker in the event of a 1-1 tie plus a stalemate after three games. The player with the higher cumulative score will advance.
6. Since we have no prior record of anyone in terms of chess competition, seeding will be done at random.
7. Everyone must have their own legally purchased copy of Battle Chess (monochrome) as well as a Mac with a dial-up modem to participate. (As mentioned earlier, there is the possibility of other platforms/versions being used).
8. When entering, please let me know what hardware you're using. There will definitely be recognition for the most unique setup.
Not sure what we'll do for the winner yet. If there's some serious interest in this, I'll contact the coordinators of RetroChallenge and see if we'll do a prize through RC or if I'll give out some sort of trinket myself.
Since all of us have different schedules, each round will be scheduled at members' convenience. It will be up to paired members to work out times. It's OK if you want to play your three games on different days, but I'll likely have a deadline to complete a round so I can set up the next round. The time to complete a round will depend on how many rounds we are going, which will be determined by how many players sign up.
Between now and July, there are a few things we can do. First, if you want to participate in this, let me know. Second, get yourself Battle Chess if you don't already have it. Third, if you want to help me test the other versions for compatibility, let me know and we can set up a match sometime. Finally, you can use the next few months to improve your chess skills.
A side note: Battle Chess monochrome runs best on 020 and 030 Macs. It tends to have problems with some newer 040s and is a tad slow on 68000s. It won't run on a PPC, but the color version will.
If anyone has any questions please let me know. I want to see if there's any interest in this tournament and if we get at least 8 players, I'll proceed with it. Games will begin in July; we can start scheduling for it in late June. June 10 is the deadline for registration.
