Omega Chess – Could bigger be actually better?
Omega Chess has resurfaced on the internet after a long absence of more than 7 years with a bolder look and a brand new product. Omega Chess, boasting to be the next evolution of Chess, was invented in 1998 by Daniel MacDonald and has received unparalleled international attention from various GMs and Chess Federations. For those of you out there who are not entirely familiar with the game, you can read the large website content at www.omegachess.com, including other reviews, player feedback, puzzles and tactical suggestions.
Interestingly enough, Daniel’s team is also coming out with some computer games and a free Google plug-in which will allow anyone to challenge a partner on the internet.
As you can see, the Traditional Chess piece setup is preserved, with the addition of two new pieces on the side, the Champion (the symbol being a helmet) and he Wizard (the symbol being a crescent moon). The 10×10 board has 4 extra corners where the Wizard is placed which creates very interesting tactical possibilities. With the exception of the Pawn, Wizard and Champion movements, all other rules are unchanged.
To find out more about Omega Chess, visit http://www.omegachess.com/.
…naahhhhh…..
normal chess is perfect. this is just strange…
The link to the SP review doesn’t work. Strange use of the word ‘unparalleled’: perhaps there have been ‘countless’ reviews of Omega Chess as well.
Another hype to sell more kit – same market as Gothic Chess.
There’s more argument for subsetting Chess if virgin territory is what you want, e.g. 6*6 chess without Bs and 2-move Ps.
I’d be disappointed if SP had put her name to this fairly arbitrary naff idea.
I wouldn’t call this “Chess.” Classical chess is just fine. If people want to mix it up a bit, then go with Fischer random. But this???
Nah…it’s an entirely different game.
I’ll stick to chess and checkers.
Looks kinda stupid with the extra square!
How weird!
Where’s the correct link to your review?
When we have mastered chess we can move onto “crap” like this. For most of us Chess will keep us busy for a life time.
Hmmm interesting variant. I used to play Grand Chess back in the days, and this looks actually more polished. I think a lot of non-Chess afficionados do tend to get bored of Chess after a while…perhaps this is a way to revive their interest?? Never really got into Gothic Chess, the board is not symmetric which makes it awkward to play.
I wonder how you can use the extra squares in the corners?
Their site is quite fun but one thing is sure, it won’t replace Chess! Seems too complex somehow. If it takes a lifetime to master Chess how many lifetimes does it take to master this game? Wouldn’t mind trying it out though.
I love chess variants. Thanks for posting this!
Their web site gives no explanation of *why* this is a good variant of chess. What is the philosophy behind this variant?
The addition of two extra rows dramatically increases space, which greatly affects everything.
From brief past experience with extra-space boards, the extra space may eliminate the feeling of chess.
The two extra pieces seem to move approximately like a knight, but with variations or extras.
The wizard piece is bound to one shade of square for the whole game (like a bishop).
The web site says the champion can move “one square orthogonally…”.
Can we play this game at SP’s chess center?
I think I found the explanation a previous anonymous poster was looking for, as to why this is a good variant:
“www.omegachess.com->Game->Omega Chess vs Chess”.
also
“www.omegachess.com->Rules->Game Endings” which shows the reduced stalemates compared to Chess.
(Don’t know how to paste a URL link…sorry.)
Well at least this is their explanation. Most of it kinda makes sense though…The only piece that’s been affected by the larger board in my opinion is the Knight. The Pawns have been adjusted for longer reach, the other pieces move just fine.
Anon 12:27 wrote:
{
The only piece that’s been affected by the larger board in my opinion is the Knight. The Pawns have been adjusted for longer reach
}
The Omega Chess pawn cannot advance 2 squares on its first move, only 1 or 3. Thus it seems the pawn has lost its ability to efficiently combat the frequent B-N5 pins.
GeneM
{
The Omega Chess pawn cannot advance 2 squares on its first move, only 1 or 3.
}
GeneM, if you look at the Pawn movement (http://www.omegachess.com/how-pieces-move.html)
it’s clearly indicated that it can move 1, 2 or 3 squares initially. They even have a picture of the movement.
I have looked a bit more at this variant myself and it’s quite neat. Wish we could play it at the Chess club at UCLA!
Cawabunga, that’s a big board! I do like the way the new pieces move, it’s unlike anything I’ve seen…perhaps using them does make this game appealing. The Wizard looks particularly powerful.
I can’t find any links with the IOCF site (the omega chess federation)??
That’s certainly one way of making chess more fun. I think chess lacks variety because there aren’t many pieces. I see the same openings all the time. I see lots of draws too because everyone knows how to play the game perfectly.
What’s with the Islamic moons in the corners? Does the winner get to chop off the head of the loser?
Cool game, thanks for the post! I have actually the same problem with Traditional Chess openings. Unless you’re a chess wiz and memorize them, a regular hobbyist player never stands a chance agaist a more seasoned one simply because you always make a small mistake in the beginning which affects your entire game and eventually you lose.
At the same time, pros play openings from memory or books and games tend to look the same after a while. With this new game at least…everybody stands a fair chance.
The “new” pieces in Omega chess are similar to pieces in East Asian variants of chess. It’s well known that chess originated in India (or Persia or Egypt) many centuries ago. What’s less well known (in the West) is that as the game traveled in opposite directions it took on some differences.
In the Korean version of chess, which I’m familiar with (I’ve seen Philippino and Japanese versions and understand that there are some differences), there is an identical piece corresponding to the wizard in omega chess. If I recall correctly, it’s called ‘the elephant’ –it moves like a horse but has a longer range.
The Korean version of chess also has a piece that’s similar to the champion in omega chess. It’s called ‘the cannon.’ The differences are that the cannon can move if and only if it jumps another piece, its range is unlimited, and it can’t move diagonally.
“Cawabunga, that’s a big board! I do like the way the new pieces move, it’s unlike anything I’ve seen…perhaps using them does make this game appealing. The Wizard looks particularly powerful.”
The creators of Omega Chess claim playing their game will sharpen one’s regular chess skills. What do you think, Susan? Would you recommend it for a player under 1600?
If chess can improve other skills like school-work then I don’t see why not Omega chess or even school-work can improve one’s chess!
Improving your chess skills? I can’t really comment since I never played Omega Chess but I’ve played Snooker and once you go back to a regular Boston pool table it seems like you can almost play blidfolded. Of course this is just a parallel and may not apply. I can see how a more complex game can sharpen your skill set, this is valid for any sport for that matter. Pro swimmers will practice with weights tied to their feet and arms and once they compete everything seems easier.
On the other hand Omega Chess seems to have the same pieces Chess has, so you can always master those.
My 2 cents.
I’m not a big fan of variants in general but this one really sparked my interest. It’s about time someone came up with something intelligent! Thanks for posting this.
Seems like a fun and very challenging game! I always like to try out new variants especially if they are more difficult and they help improve my skills.
Despite being a commercial variant, I think this is the best I’ve seen so far. I am working on a 10*10 variant similar to Capablanca (or Gothic) but with more powerful pieces. Super-Knight Grand chess – with 2 bishops, 2 rooks, 2 rook knights, bishop knight, queen knight and queen.
There are no regular knights.
My version or Omega might very well be the future of chess.
Believe it or not, I actually played this game a few years ago at my friend’s house. He got it as a present. Initially I was kind of reserved about it, but 10 minutes into the game and I soon realized this is one of the most captivating chess games I had ever played. I always wanted to move and attack with the new pieces…something about them which makes this game attractive. And despite its size it does take on average the same number of moves as a regular chess game.
Way to go! The Wizard really rocks!
Things like this and the super-duper knight chess described below aren’t the evolution of chess; more like the product of unintelligent design. These might be fun for a diversion, but the future of chess is, well, chess.
Never played it but I checked the strategy on the Omega Chess webiste and it looks indeed very complex. I hope they will have an online version so we can try it!
Where is the link to super-duper knight chess?
Great variant! Chess definitely needs a facelift. Sony comes out with a new Playstation every year…Chess is 2 centuries overdue. Tired of seeing the same Chess games replayed from memory, same openings, same endings, same tactics, same pieces. It’s about time somebody does something!!
Omega Chess is good, but not great. There are better 100-square (or in this case, 104-square) variants. The main problem with Omega Chess is that it is slow. The new pieces are short-ranged leapers, and combined with the extra ranks between the pawns, the importance of pawn structure is diminished. The corner squares make good hiding places for the king, so that K+R vs. K is now a draw. And games typically take 100 moves. For better large-board variants, look at Grand Chess, Centennial Chess, Twin Orthodox Chess, and others. A good place to find them is chessvariants.org, though you might want to stay away from the forum there, which has gotten a little strange lately.
–mh
You can play a java applet omega chess.
http://www.pathguy.com/chess/OmegaChs.htm
The cool thing is once you learn the moves, you can beat it!
Disagree with comment about length of game: Games may take 100 moves between equally skilled players.
See:
http://www.omegachess.com/home.html?action=archives
for some sample games.
Many chess variants at chessvariants.com
(the superknights game should be there soon as well)
Hi I disagree about the previous user’s comments (MH) about the length of the game being 100+ moves. Obviously he has never played it. Omega Chess is on average same length as regular Chess. I played 75 games in the past 2 years on an older board. With a weaker player it takes about 25 moves. A stonger player, perhaps 35-40. Mate can even happen faster actually because of stronger pieces.
If you have an omega chess board, you can try out some of the other large board variants such as:
Flying Bombers chess
and:
Asylum Chess
And grand chess described by a previous commenter cannot hold a candle to omega chess..
But yes, chessvariants.org is a good place to look for variants.
If I had to pick between Omega Chess and Grand Chess…Omega Chess wins by far! It’s got such a modern look to it and plays very well, which surprizes most people at first.
I also tried Gothic Chess but it’s just another ripoff from Capablanca chess with a patent to it. Where is the merit? And the lack of a diagonal just doesn’t do it for me.
The extra squares in Omega Chess really create some nasty tactical situations!!
The extra squares in omega chess are very interesting. The only drawback is that a rook and king cannot mate a king.
Not sure why more people are not open to these great variants!
This variant:
Birds and Ninjas
also has extra squares but they are in the center. Thus, a rook and king can mate. There is no wizard, unfortunately, but the Bird is a sort of funky rook that flies over the enemy piece to capture. Reminds me a bit of the Chinese chess cannon.
I tried this game out using an omega chess set (we had to make our own 2 center squares at the back) with my brother, and it plays great too!
I have tried the gothic as well, and I agree that Omega beats it hands down. I am surprised that they are very few variants (out of 1000s on chessvariants.org) that play very similar to the original chess game.
I really like this variant. It’s one of the most imaginative and creative chess games I’ve seen. I have purchased 2 boards for a chess club that I co-run and within a week almost everybody was queuing up to play. It’s true that you can’t mate with a King and Rook, however you can mate with King + Bishop, King + Wizard, King + Champion…etc…so the possibilities are greater. I found this page for a full side-by-side comparison with chess endings.
http://www.omegachess.com/home.html?action=game-endings
Also one thing that I noticed after playing for a while is that Rook endigs are a lot less frequent than in Chees due to more powerful pieces present and due to more surprise attack possibilities. Thus Rook + King not being able to mate is not a big drawback. One thing to remember is that if Omega Chess had exatly the same endings as in traditional Chess, and pieces would have exactly the same power, then it would simply become Chess…which it is NOT. It’s a different game thus different mentality of play must be used when comparing the two.
I love this variant…a bit awkward at first but you easily get used and hooked to it. Much more fun than regular Chess. I strongly recommend it to anyone.
I will say Omega Chess does interest me. I personally believe that Seirawan-Harper chess variant (Capablanca on an 8×8 board) where a double move introduces new pieces provides a structure to get new pieces into chess. Look up Seirawan chess via google for more info.
I am of the belief there should be a version of chess adapted that every few years changes the rules. Right when they start writing books about the game, the rules changes. I believe Seirawan’s variant is a way to do this.
Anyone who doesn’t like Omega chest is autistic, obsessive compulsive, anal retentive, or just desperately afraid of change and that all their memorized chess “skill” will be made obsolete. Also, no one gives a flying crap if Koreans in 1500 had a piece similiar to any of the new pieces. There are only so many variations of new pieces, unless the Koreans of 1500 have a time machine and come here and start a company and patent their old piece, you need to shut up about the trivia and chill and enjoy the new game. This is why Chess sucks, not because it is stale but because half players are jerks that no one would even want to chat with or have coffee with, let alone play a game with.
More interesting is Modern Grand Chess
http://chess-checkers-go.blogspot.com/2010/02/modern-chess.html
If you want play it write me
kosintsev.i.g@gmail.com