Centaur Chess

Using a very simple rule, it is possible this variant has been invented before, though I do not know of it. Like some other variants, it weakens the backwards moves of pieces, in this case giving them Knight moves instead. This game can feel deceptively familiar at the outset, but everything from the opening to the endgame is transformed. For example, two Rooks on the same file cannot mutually defend each other. And Bishops are no longer colorbound.

Setup

Rules

All pieces (except Pawns) can only move backwards as a Knight. In other words, pieces have their normal forward and sideways moves plus the four rearward moves of a Knight.

Last revised by H. G. Muller.