Author: Reinhard Scharnagl
Date: 08:49:19 06/18/04
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On June 18, 2004 at 11:31:58, Tord Romstad wrote: >On June 18, 2004 at 11:06:16, Reinhard Scharnagl wrote: > >>Hello Ed, >> >>there is no need to such a defense. There is no challenge by me against your US >>patent. > >Nor from me. Ed has previously stated that he does not intend to disallow >users to manually set up the Gothic chess starting position on the board in >a Capablanca chess program (unless it is too convenient to save the Gothic >chess starting position), but if he has changed his mind about this I have >no objections against adding this restriction to any CRC program I may write >in the future. > >>As far as there would be no other arrangement I will disable the Gothic >>Chess starting position in distributed progs by making it illegal within CRC. >>There still are not any distributed CRC programs of mine yet. >> >>There are still 47 999 positions left, which could make the CRC an interesting >>challenge to computer chess. > >Actually there are only 48000-12*12 = 47856 positions left, because the >Capablanca starting position can be reached from any position where the >knights and the N+B and N+R pieces are permuted. Tord, I see this slightly different. The one starting position has to be avoided, not only at the starting position, but also (without practical effect) within the game at any time. Therefore 48000-1 positions will do. But (one has to ask a lawer), the Gothic Chess starting position seems to be patented as a starting position, not as a position which might occur within a Capablanca Random Chess based game. But for to avoid silly sophisticated troubles, let have it totally forbidden. >For engine writers the situation is more complicated, because they would >have to write code to detect *all* positions from which the Gothic chess >initial position could be reached, even positions where not all pieces >are placed on the back rank. No, simply all moves which would lead to that position simply are illegal. Permutating the rook will be legal, because original castling rights are affected, and the situation is differing from Gothic Chess starting one in any case by disabled castlings, and it additionally would be no starting position at all. But the goal here should be: avoid any conflicting with GC. May be, I should work out that more precisely. >Given Ed's recent more restrictive interpretation of the patent, it is in >fact likely that even Bill Angel's Capablanca chess program violates the >patent. > >Tord I am not a lawyer, and I am not informed on bilateral agreements which might exist or not. Reinhard.
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