I dont know which one is better but playing white feels much easier, a "small" blunder for black a pawn and holes start appearing, so suddenly all black structure is weak and It has to tempo hurry to checkmate white or promote.
It may be a zugwang game from the black side, white has the advantage of choosing moves but black always moves forward, not many options.
For a weak Horde player like me, white's strategy is pretty clear, but I don't know what to do with black.
I wish Toadofsky, goldilocks, or some stronger Horde player would weigh in on black's strategy.
I found it really nice! Although as someone suggested it might be a different matter once the novelty wears off.
As a beginner I actually found it much easier to play black, but maybe my opponent made it look a little too easy. Still, how often do you get to play chess like you were driving a bulldozer... and what's not to like about that??
I found it a lot easier to play with white.
All white has to do is sac a bishop or knight and create a hole for his queen, to tear up the back of black's pawns.
I still have no clue what to do with black.
Hi Dionysus. I thought that was the thing, that one could rather easily anticipate this kind of sack and not let the queen in, but the more I read about this and the more I feel I need to get my arse kicked by stronger opposition. The games I played were my opponent's first, too.
And yeah, the stats do seem to prove me wrong;
Good fun nonetheless!
To ilustrate my last two games
I lose easily with black
http://en.lichess.org/onv1vFuMu8yeI win easily with white
http://en.lichess.org/AcnFyJ3DGsK4despite that my opponent is a better chess player,
now this sample is ridiculous but I dont know, I feel more comfortable playing white
In a few days We will have more volume and statistics and see if the game is balanced.
With black, it may be that taking *towards the center* is better than taking towards the edges.
Central control is a very well-established theory in chess, and it may apply in this variant.
Excellent news! I got the beating I was looking for...
http://fr.lichess.org/rOj4pMCoC4mDI thought I wasn't doing too badly but eventually it did turn out to be some zugzwang style one-way street. I haven't taken the time to analyze it but let me know if you find an improvement.
With nine games in I have to say I prefer white now, although this Hoplite-like kind of surge forward where you should never leave any holes feels counter-intuitive after playing chess for some time.
Any checkers artists around here?
***rather, if you find a way to win this thing.
"find an improvement" sounded like it wasn't packed with inaccurate moves.
[Ending my own monologue.]
I thought maybe 39.A5 and pushing towards the king but even then this thing is beat.
Ok, no need to waste time on that !
Ciao.