Category: genie

Posted on in chess, genie, variants

360° Chess Symbols & Counter Pieces

360° Wooden Chess Counters by Jepps
These 360° Chess Counters by Simon Jepps are made from wooden base discs for craft models, which were then hand painted freely with Indian ink. They are only the simplest improvised creation, yet so easy to replace and make again.
This is a personal project I undertook in order to remedy the Chess industry’s apparent inability to manufacture sensible, useable counter Chess pieces.

This project is also a secondary hobby to accompany my Chess variant creation, Genie Of The Lamp.

There are many Chess sets featuring counter pieces, yet for some unknown reason they are always designed featuring standard Chess symbols.

Of course you would ask, “Why, whatever else?”

Aye, if studying a Chess problem, or correspondence position, or indeed teaching strategies to a classroom, of course you would make sure a universally accepted symbol is employed.

However, a problem is encountered when employing the universal symbols into a face to face match, over a real board.

This problem is the inevitable fact that standard Chess symbols are only recognisable if they only face one direction.

Granted, people can play with these symbols, but in reality they are very disorientating and “counter-productive” when trying to study a position… upside down.

It occured to me that since nobody has yet decided to design specific “360 degree” symbols for counter piece Chess sets, that I should publish a public template for such a concept.

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Posted on in chess, games, genie, variants

Genie Of The Lamp

GOL Sondergut Travel Chess
Genie Of The Lamp is designed for the Sondergut Travel Chess Set
Of gods and men, mountains and seas,
Wherefore art thine hearkener of pleas;
A game of Chess, a battle of truths,
Aye, summon ye good Genie, for ’tis time we choose.

Here is another good Chess Variant of mine, which I created a few years ago whilst living in an old Church house.

I have fond memories of that time, a period in my life whence I was enjoying much blissful contemplation.

This blog article will be a purely concise tutorial, that is to say, without detailed intricate diagrams, since the rules to this game are actually fairly straight forward.

Therefore, I hope you enjoy the beauty in its simplicity, which I endeavoured to create.

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