Flying Bombers with Hangars
This game arose when the author needed to test the game Flying Bombers Grand Chess, but had access only to a standard chessboard.The 8X8 board is extended by one square at each wing to form a hangar which houses the flying bomber. The extra squares can be also visualized quite easily.
It turned out that this game was quite playable, and so is included here as an alternative to Flying Bombers Grand Chess The game proceeds exactly as a regular chess game except for the addition of these new pieces, and the 4 new squares.
The flying bombers may be best developed later in the game since they are blocked by the other pieces and pawns initially.
After castling, the extra square may offer some added protection for the king.
Setup
Pieces
All pieces have identical movement as in orthodox chess.Flying Bomber's Moves
The flying bomber moves exactly like a rook when not capturing, and captures by flying over (or overtaking) a piece and landing on any empty square after it on the same orthogonal line. There must be an empty square after the piece. If there is another piece right after, then it cannot capture.It possesses additional short-range prowess in that it can fly two spaces horizontally or vertically, jumping a friendly piece, if adjacent to it, and capturing (if possible) on the square that it lands.
If two enemy pieces lie on the same line, the first one adjacent to the bomber, and the next two squares away, then the flying bomber can eliminate both pieces by landing on the square of the second enemy piece.
When performing these special moves, it cannot fly beyond 2 squares. Note that it cannot fly over two pieces, and that it can only ‘jump’ over a friendly piece if adjacent.
Also note that it cannot capture an enemy piece adjacent to it if the square immediately after is occupied by a friendly piece.
This short range jumping power is identical to the Dabbabah except for the double capture. It flies two spaces horizontally or vertically, capturing (if possible) on square it lands.
For more info on this piece, including diagrams see Flying Bombers Grand Chess
Rules
Rules are identical to orthodox chess.Notes
- Endgame: During the endgame, flying bombers work better than rooks against pawns. The power of the Flying Bomber poses a serious threat to pawns, so the side with more pawns should attempt to exchange off both flying bombers before they prove to be a liability.
- Ability to Checkmate: The flying bomber with the aid of the king still cannot checkmate a lone king It cannot check the king at the edge of the board unless it is two squares away. There are some situations where it could mate but it cannot be forced.
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Relative Value:
The value of the flying bomber relative to the rook is hard to determine, but as a general rule, the rook is a bit more
powerful than the flying bomber whose action can be blocked.
However, in many cases it can be demonstrated that the bomber is more powerful than the rook because of its ability to land on any empty square when capturing.
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By Charles Daniel.
Last revised by H. G. Muller.
Web page created: 2007-09-20. Web page last updated: 2023-09-18