Cold War Chess

I do not know what sparked the idea, but I designed this game with the idea of a cold war inspired chess variant.  Cold War Chess is a game for those who are experienced in traditional Chess and can play it well, although it plays very differently.  A game of Cold War Chess can take 1-2 hours and can become very fun over time.  The players are the West (Americans) and the East (Soviets).  War between the two never happened, but this game tries to show how it could go down.  The players play as these massive empires trying to gain advantage over each other.  I recommend listening to some cold war music like in the game Twilight Struggle.

Setup

Pieces

With only a couple of exceptions, pieces move the same as they do in orthodox Chess, although they have different names. The knight is now the KGB (Soviets) or the CIA (Americans); the Rooks are the Red army and the American army; the Bishops are the Comecon and the Marshal plan; the Queens are the Warsaw pact and the NATO; and the pawns are countries of the eastern and the western block.

The pawn has the added ability to step one space backwards without capturing. Any pawn on the first or second rank may make a two-space move.

Rules

Rules are as in orthodox Chess except as described below.

How the game is like the cold war: pieces cannot capture!  The only exception is that a king can capture any piece, and any piece can capture a king.

The game is won by capturing the enemy king or by moving your king to the last rank.  There is no check, checkmate, or stalemate.

Notes

It is common for players to negotiate and make agreements.  A player does not need to follow these agreements, however - he can break his word.

Be aware that this game takes a long time.  Sometimes there might be no way to advance, and you need to make an agreement to do it.  Be aware too that there might be an iron border.  Try to avoid it and gain the upper hand! Good luck commander!

Last revised by Greg Strong.