Good question. I don’t have the book handy to check, but with students, I’ve always played it that a player who can’t move is forced to pass. (We don’t use stalemate in wolf and sheep.) Of course, regardless of which version is being played, if the wolf blocks the last sheep, all the wolf has to do is step out of the sheep’s way, let it move, then capture it. Unless the sheep is already on its seventh rank, in which case the sheep will win when it advances.
That just brings up more questions. (Sorry about my TD mentality, but I really like to get the rules nailed down.)
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If a player who can’t move must pass, is a player who can move allowed to pass?
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What if the wolf is checkmated? (This may be possible, depending on the initial setup of the sheep.)
Bill Smythe
I’m not sure when points were used to clarify a pieces ability. Certainly the closer it gets to the endgame, the more powerful rooks become.
There’s been other oddball experiments to change the relative point values of pieces over the decades. Apparently the easy to remember version (not surpisingly), is the one that stuck around the longest.
I would think assigning relative values to pieces is best used for strategic planning, and to a lesser extent, positional planning. I suppose concerning tactics, that wouldn’t really effect it (most of the time), since tactics is usually about getting some sort of immediate advantage regardless of the value of pieces.
-Although occasionally it might come into play with tactics if your looking at an unbalanced trade. For example trading a rook -vs- bishop+2 pawns.
I’d say, unless your playing speed chess, when doing an unbalanced trade, I’d be looking at long term strategic and positional advantages for that type of trade.
What is the least number of points needed to checkmate?
That depends.
How many points is a king worth in delivering a mate? (white king h1, black king h3, black pawns h2, g2)
Do you count the points blocking the escape squares in mates? (smothered mate is the most obvious, but another of the many possibilities is white Kh4, white pawns h3, g3, g4, h5, black knight f3)
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No.
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Since a checkmate would be synonymous with inability to evade capture, that would have to count as a win for the sheep.
I’m thinking it can be done with a 2 pawns your side, and at least 1 pawn of the opponent’s side.
But as you see, in my position, black has to blunder to the mate in 1.
7k/5P1p/6PK/8/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1