Querquisite Chess

While reading through the article : Two's Company, in the British Chess Variants Society's website, a small paragraph caught my attention, describing a wild and whimsical piece called the Querquisite. (For the desription see 'Pieces' below.)

Needless to say, I was intrigued by this piece. And adding it to the normal chess set seemed the most natural thing to do. A simple Google search didn't find anything about a game which uses the piece. So I created one.

Setup

To use this piece properly, it shouldn't disturb the pieces arrangement on files. The Templar Chess board seemed perfect for this purpose, since it also allows for the normal chess openings. Simply replace the Templar with the Querquisite (see note.)

In the starting setup and notation, the Querquisite is symboled by the letter U. Since the letter Q is already taken by the Queen.

           +---+---+---+---+          
9          |:::| u |:u:|   |          
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  
8  | r |:n:| b |:q:| k |:b:| n |:r:|  
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  
7  |:p:| p |:p:| p |:p:| p |:p:| p |  
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  
6  |   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|  
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  
5  |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |  
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  
4  |   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|  
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  
3  |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |  
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  
2  | P |:P:| P |:P:| P |:P:| P |:P:|  
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  
1  |:R:| N |:B:| Q |:K:| B |:N:| R |  
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+  
0          |   |:U:| U |:::|          
           +---+---+---+---+          
     a   b   c   d   e   f   g   h    

For those who can't see the ASCII diagram, the board and setup is the normal chess setup, with the c, d, e, and f file are extended two squares, one on each side. The Querquisites start behind the King and the Queen.

NOTE : Originally, I had the Querquisites behind the Bishops, like the Templar was, but this somehow left the f-pawn too weak.

Pieces

All piece move and capture as in normal chess. There is no Castling (as in Templar Chess.) Pawns are a little different.

There's only one unorthodox piece, the Querquisite (U). To quote from the article Two's Company :

   "The Querquisite can be thought of as a type of Chameleon; it has
    the power of movement of the piece upon whose file it stands, e.g.
    a rook on the a- and h- files, a king on the e-file, etc. [...].
    The piece was invented by J. E. H. Creed, FCR  June 1947 (and, as
    the Odysseus, by H. Schmid 10 years ago)."

The King's Querquisite starts the game by moving like a King. The Queen's Querquisite starts the game by moving like a Queen.

Pawns move and capture as they do in normal Chess (for this article's purposes, they start on the second rank.) Pawns promote upon reaching the 8th rank to any normal Chess piece. Pawns on the Bishops' and central files, however, can refrain from promotion when reaching the 8th rank, to promote the next step. When reaching the ninth rank, they also can promote to Querquisites.

For example, let's assume white has two pawns, on f7 and g7. The g-Pawn, if advances, has to promote immediately to a Queen, a Rook, a Knight, or a Bishop. The f-Pawn, may or may not promote when moving 1. f8 . However, when it moves 2. f9 , it may promote to any of the afore mentioned pieces or to a Querquisites. ( 2. f9=U )

Rules

All rules are as in Standard Chess, except what is noted above. There is no Castling.

OPTIONAL RULE - 2007-08-20 : The King's Leap. A King on his starting square has the right to leap in his first move like a Knight. He may not do so when he is in check or to capture a piece.

--

Since It's easy to create positions where a King a Querquisite checkmate a lone King, a Querquisite is enough mating material. I believe it can be forced, but not quite sure how.

Notes