MISSOUM PERSPECTIVE CHESS

Missoum Perspective Chess is a chess variant, played on a board with a strange, and at first hard to understand board. It has been invented by A. Missoum from Hull, Canada, of which the following rules are. Missoum is a mathematician, and his design clearly shows this. This game has probably not been played often.

See also:

• Four Handed Perspective Chess: variant for four players

Missoum Perspective Chess

by A. Missoum 101 Eddy Street, Hull, Que, Canada

I) Description of the game

The game is played on a board, consisting of 128 positions: one can view this as a double chessboard, one is formed by the two triangles ABO and ODC (or, the shapeABODC) (see Figure 1), hence it has 64 positions or cells, (these cells have a name that is a pair, consisting first of a letter a, b, c, d, e, f, g, or h, and then a number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8); the other board is formed by the shape ADOCB, and the cells on this board have a name, starting with i, j, k, l, m, n, o, or p, followed again by a number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8. The cells in the perspective chessboard are of two types: perspective square cells in the zone between ADCB and EHGF, and triangular cells in the square EHGF. The board is shown in figure 1.

The game is played by two players; one has white pieces, the other has black (or red) pieces. The initial arrangement of pieces and pawns on the chessboard is as in figure(1). The frontier between white and black is the point O (a vanishing or the point at infinity). The fundamental center cells of the chessboard are represented by the cross IJOKLOMNOUVO. (See figure 1.)

II) Rules of the game

The pawns move and capture along the chessboards ABODC, or ADOCB as the pawns of the classical 8x8 chess game. However, when a pawn moving on the board ABODC crosses the point O, it can take on anyone of the files h,g,f,e,d,c,b of the opposite side and it can be promoted when it reaches the cells h8, g8, f8, e8, d8, c8, b8, or a8 for white, respectively a1, b1, c1, d1, e1, f1, g1, or h1 for black.

In addition, the pawns of the a and h files can moves up frontally along the adjacent cells of the boards ADO and BCO. Once on a frontal cell ,they can either continue moving on the file of that cell or move up again frontally to the next adjacent cell. Moreover when a pawn moving frontally reaches the upper cells limited by the lines OD or OC, he can move to the adjacent cell of the board ODC for white , resp OAB for black and be promoted when it reaches the cells h8, g8, f8, e8, d8, c8, b8, or a8 for white , resp a1, b1, c1, d1, e1, f1, g1, or h1 for black. This means that the pawns of the a and h files can be promoted either by moving along the board ABODC or ADOBC.

Example:

1. Pa2-a3 Pe7-e5
2. Pd2-d4 Pe5xPd4
3. Ng1-f3 Pf7-f4
4. Pa3-i2 Ng8-f6
5. Pi3-i4 Pd7-d5
6. Pi4-j4 etc...

The pieces Rook, Knight, Queen and King move and capture on the board ABODC as the pieces of the classical 8x8 chess game. When they cross the point O they also can move along anyone of the files h,g,f,e,d,c,b,a of the opposite side. In addition these pieces can move and capture frontally along the board ADOBC.

Example:

1. e2-4 e7-e5
2. Ng1-f3 Nb1-c3
3. Qd1-f3 Pa7-p2
4. Qf3-a3 Pp2-o2
5. Qa3-o3 (queen moves up frontally along the board ADO) etc.

Remark:

The queen and the bishop move and capture diagonally only on the board ABODC , see paths of these pieces of figure(1).

In conclusion, the perspective chess game can be played in two dimensional or a three dimensional way. If the players use only the board ABODC the game is a 2D game , but if the pieces and pawns move along the boards ABODC and ADOBC the game becomes a 3D game.