5 ms·
I can't tell if this is sarcasm, but anyways: obviously an actual chessboard is indeed 3d - as are all physical objects in our world. Yet a chessboard is effect
by throwaway744678 6y ago
I can't tell if this is sarcasm, but anyways: obviously an actual chessboard is indeed 3d - as are all physical objects in our world. Yet a chessboard is effectively a 2d space: any piece position is completely defined by a row and a column.
- dane-pgp 6y agoIt's true that at the beginning and end of each move, every piece has a specific coordinate in a 2D space, but it is still nice to imagine that knights' moves (and castling) involve travelling through a third spatial dimension. And yes, the pieces themselves are conventionally thought of as volumes in 3D space rather than areas of a 2D plane.
- baddox 6y agoThere’s nothing wrong with defining the 2D world such that knights can pass through intermediate pieces or can simply teleport to a new location.
- dane-pgp 6y agoYes, but to maintain the conceit of chess being like a battlefield, it is nicer to think of knight pieces as being jumping cavalry (however unrealistic that is) rather than ghosts or owning a portal gun. I suppose the actually intended analogy is that by riding a horse, the character is more evasive and can slip past another unit without being blocked. Also, I suppose that rooks must have wheels on, and a door that a king can only walk through in rare circumstances.
- smichel17 6y agoThere's a similar discussion upthread where someone points out this is a matter of representation -- you could "unwind" the chess board into 1d just as easily.