I wonder what's the point of these 2 hawks surrounded by pawns so far on the outskirts?
The hawks always seem to be a big factor in this game. They control 16 squares which is twice the power of a knight. But since they start far they need one or two moves to control anything meaningful.
But I do think it might be fun to play a game without the hawks, or the backside pawns. Unfortunately I'm too busy to start another game now though.
also they arent "so far in the outskirts" they are 3 queen moves away from being forked with the king and opening strategy is to bring them in
Yes, I've learned the hard way that an inattentive player can lose a hawk quickly. The hawks aren't defended in their starting position, so they are subject to being forked if one isn't paying attention (like me).
...I don't think we've seen a game yet where any of the hawk's pawns have promoted. I pretty much ignore those pawns, if my opponent wants to waste time picking them up, I'm fine with that as it gives me more time to build an attack.
I haven't see it either, and it would be a most unusual game. In one of my very old games though, almost every piece ended up going into play. In the endgame, Black's king went so far as to try to hoover up all pawns to prevent promotion. But a few got by and I lost (in a game with 169 moves). The game is (here). Here is the ending position:
lol what a position. I'd be so tempted to toy with black here, trap the king and then promote the last pawns to guards and slowly, tediously, move in for the kill.
I doubt I'd do it because it's a bit rude, but I'd definitely think about it!
I wonder what's the point of these 2 hawks surrounded by pawns so far on the outskirts?
The hawks always seem to be a big factor in this game. They control 16 squares which is twice the power of a knight. But since they start far they need one or two moves to control anything meaningful.
But I do think it might be fun to play a game without the hawks, or the backside pawns. Unfortunately I'm too busy to start another game now though.
Yeah, this is what makes me wonder, what is the use of them so far behind. If the purpose is to control the rear in case the opponent invades it, maybe there should have been something more powerful there, like archbishop or an Amazon.
I guess the point is to make draws that little less likely. In fact I think the only draw so far in infinite is me vs Nav, and that was only because the position seemed equal and he had to go travelling so we agreed to draw. I could be wrong, perhaps there are other draws by agreement, but I'd be very surprised if there has been a draw due to insufficient material or stalemate.
My homemade physical infinite plane. 😁 All the foreign kings, rooks, and queens are guards, chancellors, and hawks respectively. Anybody wants a game remotely? You'll just write your move piece/file/rank, and I'll move your pieces for you.
Full view ))
Every game I have played, I have opened by bringing both the hawks into the centre.
I don't think we've seen a game yet where any of the hawk's pawns have promoted. I pretty much ignore those pawns, if my opponent wants to waste time picking them up, I'm fine with that as it gives me more time to build an attack.