On Sun, 2 Apr 2017 10:43:39 -0700 Asmus Freytag <asm...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> In these cases, explicit encoding would better cover what is desired: > a reliable way to mark a distinction between different symbols (the > two bishops are separate symbols, that also happen to express > distinct, though related concepts -- it is not a single symbol with > some ignorable attributes). There was no intention to encode the bishops separately. It just happens that the rules of chess allow one to distinguish the bishops simply by recording the colour of the square they are currently on. The basic text elements in the scheme other than boundary markers will be: empty white square empty black square white square with specific piece on it black square with specific piece on it. If the variation selectors are ignored, these simplify to: white square hatched square specific piece This preserves all the information; the pattern of squares is known in advance and therefore redundant. Richard.