SeptimusHeap
MOD
(Edited uphill both ways)
Mar 20th 2021 at 9:32:48 AM
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Previous Trope Repair Shop thread: Really a Useful Note
, started by MorningStar1337 on Jan 6th 2017 at 12:00:49 AM
AkiTendo
Since: Oct, 2011
Aug 9th 2017 at 9:20:59 AM
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I would like to put in some background on why I changed the description of the knight move to the current, and why the "L" and "Y" descriptions are so awful. It all comes down to processing steps.
If you describe the knight move in "L" fashion (Move two spares along a rank or file, then one square at a right angle, or move one square along a rank or file, then two square at a right angle) or in a "Y" fashion (Move one square along a rank or file, then one square diagonally in the same general direction) you are breaking the move down into 2 discrete steps. All the other chess piece moves take only one step to describe. While my description is more complicated, it still describes the move in 1 step.
This is important because doubling the number of mental steps needed to calculate a single knight move handicaps the beginner. Since it's an unnecessary handicap it's also blatantly unfair to teach it that way.
Perhaps I'll delve into an art program and make a diagram - that makes the nature of the move much clearer than a verbal description. That said, I hope I've made clear why I consider the previous description to be bad.
Madrugada
MOD
Zzzzzzzzzz
Since: Jan, 2001
Zzzzzzzzzz
Jan 5th 2017 at 5:33:21 PM
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Dleted Shoehorned tropes, reason for deletion given in ():
- Dark Action Girl: Your opponent's queen. (The trope is about villains. not merely opponents or about the coloratio. None of the chesspieces are villainous)
- Anachronism Stew (Nothing anachronistic in the example as written, certainly not the mishmash of anachronisms require by the trope.)
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Caïssa, goddess of chess. Yes, chess players have even invented their own goddess. Really. (Not so much an Anthropomorphic Personification — The game given a human form. Would be a better fit under Odd Job Gods)
- Badass Normal: There are some powerful Pawn attacks available, position permitting. (From the trope page:"The Badass Normal only happens as a Muggle to be compared in a world of superpowers, fantastic elements, gods, widespread genetic engineering, tranhumanism or other artificial enhancements (like magic)." Chess has none of those things.)
- Big Bad: Your opponent's king. (As with Dark Action Girl, neither king has any agency within the game. He is not "either be personally responsible for the events, or the biggest force in opposition of the hero's goals".)
- Chekhov's Gunman: Certain pieces inevitably end up this way, especially pawns. Their positioning early on can determine whether a match is a win, loss or draw. (Chekhov's Gunman is " innocuously and unimportantly introduced to the viewer, but who later proves to be important by the end of the episode. " This pawns are a better example ofDestinedBystander, I think, "when a character who first appears as a supporting character eventually turns into something more through Character Development".)
Madrugada
MOD
Since: Jan, 2001
Jan 5th 2017 at 5:58:25 PM
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Continuing:
- In the description, removed the pothole to Creepy Cool Crosses under "The King". (The cross generally found on the top of the king piece is not symbolic of the supernatural, it's a reference to a traditional design of Western royal headwear.)
- Cool Horse: The Knight. (Just being a horse isn't enough)
- Crippling Overspecialization: The vulnerability of the rook and bishop to attack diagonally and horizonally, respectively. ("A crippling overspecialization occurs when an obscenely powerful advantage makes a trade-off that limits how effective it is. ...Don't confuse "having a weakness" or "not being the best at everything" or even "not being quite good enough" as being this trope. Don't be tempted to list something because it failed in some way unless you can point a finger at its crippling specialty! " Neither the rook or the bishop is "obscenely powerful. This is just Game Balance.)
- Critical Existence Failure: Checkmate in less than ten moves tends to feel like this. (Keep in mind that there are only a few ways to lose in that short a time, and most of them require you to either be Genre Blind, be carrying the Idiot Ball, Too Dumb to Live, or flat-out playing to lose.)
- Or a very new player against a more experienced one. Even capable rookies can fall for a four or five move mate if they haven't seen it before.
- In a complex game, checkmates can come out of seemingly nowhere, it really is possible to lose a game before the action started. Of course, less complex games can also fall victim to this; see also Scholar's Mate.
- Quicker (and more humiliating still) is the Fool's mate, ending the game in two moves.note Falling victim to this one is a mistake few players ever make, and only once in a lifetime.
Madrugada
MOD
Since: Jan, 2001
Jan 5th 2017 at 6:12:00 PM
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And still more:
- Diagonal Speed Boost: Averted for the bishop since it can't turn while moving so it takes two turns to get to a position that the rook could reach in one. Played straight for the king and queen.
- Played straight for the bishop since it can reach a position in one move that would take the rook two. Also, for the rook to hit its top speed a file has to be cleared of friendly pawns; it is much easier for a diagonal to be cleared for the bishop.
- The King also has more options when moving diagonally. Richard Reti wrote an endgame study invoking this. (Which is it, averted by the bishop or played straight? Also this is not relevant to the king, his speed does not vary depending on whether he's moving on the rank/file or diagonally. He can move one square no matter which.)
- Denial of Diagonal Attack: (Right there in the trope definition: " Not to be confused with grid-based games not allowing diagonal attacks (though they may certainly qualify if this is a source of constant frustration)" This trope is about varying your aim above or below a set angle.)
- Deliberately Monochrome: Most sets are black and white, or just plain dark and light.("This happens" is not a trope. The trope is using a muted, or desaturated color palette deliberately, to affect the mood of the work. "Its uses vary, but these works are deliberately desaturated to help the general mood and theme of the Film.")
- The Dragon/The Lancer: The Queen, depending on which side she's on.
- Dragon-in-Chief/Hypercompetent Sidekick: The queen is more powerful than the king. (As with Big Bad and Dark Action Girl.)
Gambits (most of them) are actually gambles, in a way. They work best against unprepared and/or inexperienced players, who struggle to defend their king against the attack accelerated by the sacrifice. Chess masters rarely use gambits as they know how to "refute" them - stop the opponent's attack and retain the advantage.