Play Your Own Chess Variants on Game Courier



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This page is written by the game's inventor, Miguel Villa.

Chess++ or Extended Chess

By Miguel Villa

 

Introduction

Extended chess' principal characteristic is the increased mobility of some pieces and the reduction of some others. This gives the game an equalization of forces.

The idea of modifying the movements of the pieces came by influence of observing the changes that traditional chess suffered in the XVth century.

Setup

Standard setup.

Pieces

1. Pawns can move one step forward, backward and to the sides, like a +. 

They can choose to move two squares forward only at the beginning (as in standard chess). 

They can take diagonally in the four directions of the next squares, like an 'X'.

2. Bishops have a diagonal movement with a maximum range of four squares. They can leap over all pieces.

They can turn the direction of a diagonal move if there is an available free path. They can not leap over pieces while turning the diagonal direction.

They can change the color of square by an intervening movement asides, backward or forward at a free square, like a +. They can not take while they do this move.

3. Knights are allowed to make one or two leaps passing by an empty square in the first leap.

For a check only the last position of the knight counts, not the first leap while in motion.

4. The King moves a square in every direction (as traditional chess) and also has the move of traditional knight, i.e. only one leap.

5. The Queen has a maximum range of four squares laterally, forward, backward or diagonally (as in traditional chess, but only 4 squares).

6. Rooks move as in traditional chess.

 

Rules

The rules concerning the right to move are identical: white moves first and then black. Here are the main innovations of the game:

1. There is no castling and no en passant.

2. Checkmate, stalemate and a bare opponent king are the ways to win.

 

Playing Tips

Extended Chess aims at being a logical evolution to the game of chess and the innovations follow a logical way within the same idea of movement of traditional chess. A series of games played under the Chess++ rules will show that it is needs more visualization than is used with chess. An example of this is the constant planning of the possible moves of the knights, for the objectives are widened.

Equipment

Chess++ uses the same 8x8 checkered board and pieces of traditional chess. 

Sample Game

Here are two games played by these rules. Careful examination will show that it is not a game played without mistakes. Nevertheless the games show the use and movement of pieces. The games can be viewed with "winboard" with the option "test legality" turned off.

 

[Event "Used Car Match"]

[Date "2003.09.17"]

[Round "1"]

[White "Salesman"]

[Black "Singer"]

[Result "0-1"]

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR

1. h4 g5 2. hxg5 Bf8xg5 {Taking via the open path of g7.}

3. f4 {A protected pawn at 2 leaps from the knight on g1.}

3... Bf6 4. Nf3 e5 5. fxe5 Nb8xe5 {A 2 leap move passing by the empty square c6.}

6. Nxe5 Bxe5 7. d4 Bg7 8. e4 f5 9. exf5 Ng8xf5 {Via e7 or h6, both empy squares.}

10. Bd3 Nf5xh1 {Passing by g3 in 2 leaps.} 11. g2xh1 Qe7+ 12. Na3 d5+ 13. Bf4 Be6 14. Bxc7 {c7 was protected for the king in a knightly manner, but was attacked twice by the a3 knight and the f4 bishop.}

14... Be6f6 {The bishop changes of squar color and now attacks c7 square that its within its 4-squares range} 15. Bc7xf6 {Taking via the open path e5.} 15... Ke8xf6+ {A knightly move by the king.}

16. Ke1f3 Raf8 17. Na3xa7 {Taking the unprotected pawn in two leaps.}

17... Kf6d7+ 18. Kg3 Qg5+ 19. Qg4+ Qxg4+ 20. Kxg4 h5+ 21. Kh4 h5g5+ {A lateral move and the pawn is protected by the bishop bya f6 or h6.}

22. Kg4 Rh4+ 23. Kg3 Bg7f4+ {A twisted check the bishop passed by the empty square e5.}

24. Kg2 Rh2+ 25. Kf1 Rxh1+ 26. Kg2 Rxa1 27. Bb5+ Kd7b6 28. a4 g5h5

29. b4 h4 30. a5+ Kb6a8 31. a6 {The b7 pawn is pinned for if it closes the bishops path to the king.}

31... h3+ 32. Kf3 Bd6+ {Winning the knight for the black bishops has a path to it.}

33. Kf3g5 Bd6xa7 {Taking via b8.}

34. Kg5xh3 Rxa6 35. Bxa6 bxa6 36. c3 a6b6 37. Kh4 b6c6 38. Kg5 Ka8c7 39.

Kg4 d5d6 40. Kg5 c5 41. bxc5 dxc5 42. d5 Kc7xd5 43. c4+ Ke5 44. c4d4+

Ba7xd4 {Black wins for white has no pieces.} 0-1

[Event "Used Car Match"]

[Date "2003.09.17"]

[Round "2"]

[White "Salesman"]

[Black "Singer"]

[Result "0-1"]

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nf3xc6 {Taking in 2 moves and passing by the empty square d4.}

3... bxc6 4. Na3 Nf6 5. d4 d6 6. Bd3 exd4 7. Na3xd4 {Passing by b5.}

7... g6 8. g4 h5 9. g4h4 {A lateral move.}

9... Bg7 10. Rg1 Bg7xd4 {The knight was in the 4 squares range of the bishop that jumps above his own knigth.}

11. Bc1xd4 {Also this bishop was in the 4 squares range that turned in the e3 square.}

11... Nf6xh2 {A 2 leap move by the knight passing by g3.}

12. Rg2 { To avoid been taked by the knight in 2 leaps. }

12... Ng4 13. Rg1 Nh2 14. Ke1g2 Nh2xg1 {White decides it's OK and the black knight takes passing by f3.}

15. Kxg1 Rg8 16. Kg1h3 {A knightly move by the king.}

16... Bb7 17. f4 c5 18. Be3 c4 {The pawn is protected by Bb7 passing either at a6 or d5.}

19. Be2 f5 20. Qd4 Qe7 { The queen has a 4 squares range and now aims at e4.}

21. exf5 gxf5 22. Rg1 Kf7 23. Rxg8 Rxg8 24. Bxc4+ Bb7xc4 25. Qxc4+ d6e6 {A lateral pawn move.}

26. Bc5 Qf6 27. Bxa7 Rg4 28. Ba7xc7 {Taking via the open paths of b8 or b6.}

28... Qxh4# {The white king is certainly in the 4 squares range of the queen.}

{Black mates} 0-1

I have published the game in a British correspondence chess website and there is also a short fictional tale about the variation that you may wish to see. The site is schemingmind and the link to the journal is here.

 

Credits