Bob Greenwade wrote on Fri, Dec 1, 2023 03:33 PM UTC:
136. Retreating Bishop. When I posted yesterday's piece, the Zorse, I fully intended that today's would be its inverse, the Hebra (Knight forward, Zebra back). Instead, I'm bringing another piece that's in the spirit of both that and the Anti-Pawn.
Like the latter piece, the Retreating Bishop is not meant for use on an opening setup; rather, it's to be kept in reserve as a piece that Pawns (et al) promote to. Its main movement is backward, and like the Anti-Pawn it promotes upon reaching the player's own first row.
Its move is, as the name suggests, the inverse of the Charging Bishop: it moves forward like a Mann, but backward like a Bishop. (fKbB)
This naturally implies other Retreating pieces, like the Retreating Rook, Retreating Knight, Retreating Queen, and so forth.
On the piece itself, the notch in the Bishop's top distinguishes it from the Charging Bishop; the notch should always go on the player's own left. (There's no turning it around and claiming it's a Charging Bishop! That's cheating!)
136. Retreating Bishop. When I posted yesterday's piece, the Zorse, I fully intended that today's would be its inverse, the Hebra (Knight forward, Zebra back). Instead, I'm bringing another piece that's in the spirit of both that and the Anti-Pawn.
Like the latter piece, the Retreating Bishop is not meant for use on an opening setup; rather, it's to be kept in reserve as a piece that Pawns (et al) promote to. Its main movement is backward, and like the Anti-Pawn it promotes upon reaching the player's own first row.
Its move is, as the name suggests, the inverse of the Charging Bishop: it moves forward like a Mann, but backward like a Bishop. (fKbB)
This naturally implies other Retreating pieces, like the Retreating Rook, Retreating Knight, Retreating Queen, and so forth.
On the piece itself, the notch in the Bishop's top distinguishes it from the Charging Bishop; the notch should always go on the player's own left. (There's no turning it around and claiming it's a Charging Bishop! That's cheating!)