Frog/Hannibal/Waffle chess with Gryphon/Manticore and falcon
This is a collection of six games derived from 3 inventions of Kevin Pacey. Kevin has created 3 similar games as far as I can see, that have inspired me to create said collection. These three games are: frog chess, Hannibal chess and waffle chess. I find that the originals have many weak pieces without having strong pieces added, by comparison with regular chess. I have thought about which strong pieces to add. As there are enough leapers I went the road of bent riders. So each of these games also features a gryphon or a manticore. And to have a rook strength piece I have also added a falcon from Falcon Chess . So now there are 6 weak pieces, 3 average strength pieces and 2 strong pieces. This seems to me a good progression pyramid of strength. Because of the increased number of pieced I have also increased the board for each game to a 10x9 size. Pawns will still have only a double move at the beginning and the 2 new pieces will be gated like in Musketeer Chess. The six games of the collection are named after the pieces added to the standard set of orthodox chess. They are frog chess with manticore and falcon, frog chess with gryphon and falcon, Hannibal chess with manticore and falcon, Hannibal chess with gryphon and falcon, waffle chess with manticore and falcon, waffle chess with gryphon and falcon.
Setup
You can play any of the six games against their respective interactive diagrams AI. After pressing a button in ordered to select the desired game, or accepting the random choice given, you are now shown the initial setup. You can click on any of the pieces in order to see their move powers. Also you will notice that the bent rider (manticore/gryphon) and the falcon start on the central rank. From there they must be put "behind" a non-king piece. When said piece moves the gating piece automatically (in the interactive diagram you need to press the cyan diamond on the piece though) moves on the square that was just vacated. At the start (more on that in the rules section) you need to place first the two gating white piece and then the two gating black pieces. Then you may press play, chose your desired search depth, and make a move. The diagram's AI will answer your move.Pieces
There are six non-orthodox pieces present in these games in the combinations mentioned in the introduction section. Those pieces are:
The frog either steps one square diagonally or jumps three spaces orthogonally.
The modern elephant (or elephant-ferz) goes one or two squares diagonally like a bishop but may jump an interviening piece when moving to the second square.
The Waffle either steps one square orthogonally or jumps two squares diagonally.
The gryphon is a bent rider. It starts its move with an diagonal step and then it may slide orthogonally outward (at 45 or -45 degree angle) like a rook.
The manticore is a bent rider. It starts its move with an orthogonal step and then it may slide diagonally outward (at a 45 or -45 degree angle) like a bishop.
The falcon is borrowed from Falcon Chess. It is a multipath mover that must stop (3,1) or (3,2) squares away from the starting square.
Rules
The bent rider (manticore/gryphon) and the falcon start on the central rank. The game begins by white placing each of the two behind two different non-king files (the non-king files part is not enforeced but it's against the rules). Then black does the same for himself. These two pieces enter play when the piece ahead of them vacates its back initial field, by automatically taking that spot.
Pawns must promote on the last rank to any piece except the king.
The castling rule is fast castling, meaning the king may jump sideways to any empty square on the back rank if not in check and if it has not moved yet, provided that the rook on that side is also unmoved. The rook then takes the old king square. Be aware of the fact that the king may jump over intervening pieces.
The 50 moves rule becomes the 75 moves rule.
Other rules are like in orthodox chess.
Notes
Normally I dislike fast castling quite a bit, but in these cases because of the gating of pieces, the back rank is pretty full for a while. Moreover, the gated pieces cannot leap. So it would be difficult to move them from the king's path if an orthodox castling style had been employed. I have changed the 50 moves rule to 75 moves rule, because more complicated situations may occur on a larger board with a larger number of pieces and piece types. Thank you, Kevin Pacey for the games that has inspired this one. Thank you, HG Muller for the interactive diagram. Thank you, Fergus Duniho for maintaining this website. Any of these games can be played through correspondence following one of the following links:
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By Aurelian Florea.
Last revised by Aurelian Florea.
Web page created: 2024-07-02. Web page last updated: 2024-07-02