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QB Goes East 162 squares

Having created Quadruple Besiege Chess on twin FIDE boards for armies twice FIDE size, I naturally wondered whether I could do likewise with East Asian variants and their offshoots. I identified two approaches to this - using single sets on a pair of 7x7 boards, and using pairs of sets minus second Kings or Generals on a pair of Shogi boards. Here are the double-set ones. The single-set ones have their own page.

Setup

SHO QB162
XIANG QB162
SHOXIANG QB162
BISHO QB162
WILDEBISHO QB162 (Shogi-style promotion/reintroduction) and GNU QB162 (XQ River)
SOUTHWARK QB162
TAISHI SHO QB162
ALIBABA QB162
TURN QB162
YANG QB162
HALF-WILDEURASIAN QB162
ECUMENICAL QB162
4 LINEPIECE FUSION QB162
As with 128- and 98-cell QB Chess, the diagrams show one of the four joins. The thing to remember is that left and right wrap round to each other, but the top-bottom wrap is skewed, so that the left half of the top continues to the right half of the bottom and vice versa. Note the arrangement so that only minor pieces are initially threatened by enemy Cannons and always protected by an ally.

Pieces

Pieces, including promotees, are the same as in the simple face-to-face variants, with a ban on null moves. Shoxiang QB162 combines the Shogi first rank, Xiang Qi non-fortress pieces, and both variants' front ranks. Forward-only pieces head for the nearest join on their own board and the nearest long diagonal (and no further) on the enemy one, except that in Turn QB162 Clockwazirs always go left and Anticlockwazirs right.

Rules

There is no initial double-step move, En Passant, or Castling. Yang QB98 inherits Yang Qi's King swap.

Sho/Bisho/Wildebisho/Southwark/ Taishi Sho QB162 have the promotion zone on the enemy long diagonals, except corner cells. Promotion is compulsory for forward-only pieces and optional for all others. Golds (array or promotee) and Silvers may leave long diagonals only by the symmetric element of their move, although Golds may also follow them away from their own King cell or toward (but not if already on) the enemy one. Players can reintroduce, unpromoted and not on a long diagonal, pieces that they capture from the enemy in place of a normal move.

In Xiang QB162 the joins serve as Rivers. The promotee's sideways move is parallel to the nearest join. Should this bring it to the enemy long diagonal it can subsequent leave this along any orthogonal not crossing back to its own board. Elephants cannot cross joins at all, confining each to 10 cells of their own board. Generals and Ferzes are confined to a Fortress in the central 5x5 area of their own board - larger than the standard one to accommodate 4 Ferzes.

Shoxiang QB162 follows Xiang QB162 for Rooks/Knights/Elephants, and Sho QB162 for the rest.

In Gnu QB162 the King, Queen, and Gnu cannot enter the enemy board. Pawns reaching it are promoted to full Wazirs and remain Wazirs even if they return to their own board.

Alibaba QB162 allows pieces to cross to the enemy board by orthogonal and Knight moves but not diagonal or Camel ones.

Turn QB162 gives Clockwazirs and Anticlockwazirs reaching the enemy board an extra move either way at right angles to their original one. On returning to their own board by any route they are promoted to full Wazirs.

The King or General (as applicable) must be kept out of Check. In Xiang and Yang QB98 they must also not face each other along any (possible) radial without an intervening piece.

4 Linepiece Fusion QB162 inherits the Fusion and Fission rules of the face-to-face variant.

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By Charles Gilman.
Web page created: 2006-05-28. Web page last updated: 2006-05-28