Nimrod Chess

A generic term for forward-X-plus-backward-Y pieces is hunters, but the Rook-Bishop hunter is often called simply Hunter as a "default value" with specific single-word names for other pieces of the family. I follow the latter practice here, keeping close in theme to other usages but with names that are:
(a) distinct from names of other pieces of quite different derivation;
(b) of a compact form comprising the suffix -er preceding a single other syllable for 3-direction pieces;
(c) the same names with a different suffix for 5-direction pieces.

The variant's own name is after a Bible character, described as "a mighty hunter" but otherwise obscure save in name. He might have remained obscure even in name, had not the composer (in its musical sense) Edward Elgar named after him what would become the most famous of his Enigma Variations (ditto). I am surprised that no previous variant uses so imposing a name as Nimrod thus became.

I have since used Nimrod pieces in three other variants. The small variant Bachelor Nimrod has one Knight and no array Queen - although as the name implies it has promotee Queens which have special powers. The large variant Hunterbeest extends the partial swapping round of moves to Wildebeest Chess' oblique pieces. Finally Bachelor Hunterbeest combines all three strands.

My piece article Man and Beast 12: Alternative Fronts describes a wider range of pieces of the kind used here. Pieces in the subsequent Man and Beast 21: Lords High Everything-Else include "dragon" versions of these pieces (in the Ryu Shogi sense), and this has inspired a further pair of subvariants, which I term DRAGON NIMROD.

Setup

On a corner orientation the 3-way pieces are defined in the same forward-plus-backward way but have two Rook and one Bishop move instead of vice versa. The 5-way ones however have sideways Bishop rather than Rook moves, so I consider them different pieces. I give these my usual pair of radially-enhanced-Bishop images and names based on a particular kind of hunter associated with the same English countryside as the established church - and as Elgar. All four pieces have destinations range from 7 to 14, but with the 5-way pieces having more squares with the larger numbers of destinations.

Pieces

	The KING moves one step orthogonally or diagonally.
	The QUEEN moves any distance orthogonally or diagonally through empty intermediate cells.
	The KNIGHT makes any 2:1 leap, and cannot be blocked.

Pieces as they move in the FIDE orientation:

	The PAWN moves one step forward, diagonally when capturing, orthogonally otherwise.
	The HUNTER moves forward as a Rook, or backward as a Bishop. It appears under the name Grey Whale in Whale Shogi.
	The HAWKER moves forward as a Bishop, or backward as a Rook.
	The HUNTRESS moves forward or sideways as a Rook, or backward as a Bishop - five directions including two opposite Rook ones.
	The HAWKRESS moves backward or sideways as a Rook, or forward as a Bishop - five directions including two opposite Rook ones.

	The PAWN moves one step forward, diagonally when capturing, orthogonally otherwise.
	The HUNTER moves forward as a Rook, or backward as a Bishop. It appears under the name Grey Whale in Whale Shogi.
	The HAWKER moves forward as a Bishop, or backward as a Rook.
	The HUNTSMAN moves backward or sideways as a Bishop - five directions including two opposite Bishop ones.
	The HAWKSMAN moves forward or sideways as a Bishop, or backward as a Rook - five directions including two opposite Bishop ones.

Rules

The King may Castle with either five-way piece in the FIDE orientation, exactly as with Rooks in FIDE Chess itself. There is no Castling in the corner orientation.

Promotion occurs on reaching the starting square of an enemy non-Pawn, and if possible is required. Pawns are promoted to any other capturable piece type in the same variant's array, except in Dragon Nimrod where they are promoted to either a Queen or the promoted form of another array piece. In Dragon Nimrod all pieces are promoted there except King and Queen.

Check, Checkmate, and Stalemate are standard.

Notes

Any new piece can theoretically give Checkmate in conjunction with just their own King, but only the Huntress and Hawkress have full powers in this respect including changing ends as the enemy King approaches, when pushing the King against either end rank. That alone may seem reason enough to distinguish these pieces from the Huntsman and Hawksman, but there is another. On a 3d board (extrapolating the 2d "sideways" to "same-rank") both pairs of pieces can exist independently in the usual 3d orientation. Indeed one might well swap moves round to replace a Rook and Bishop with a Huntress and Hawksman or a Huntsman and Hawkress, should this variant ever be extrapolated to 3d. All four pieces would have 9 directions (the average of the Rook's 6 and Bishop's 12) on such a board, while the plain Hunter and Hawker would have 5. There are also a Huntswoman and Hawkswoman having the same-rank moves of both simple pieces, with 13 directions each.

Returning to 2d, a simpler extrapolation would be that of the corner subvariant to 4 players on a 10x10 board. Two other interesting 2d extrapolations might be swapping moves of long-range pieces within the Mitregi army and the Yang Qi ones. In the first case a Hawkress replacing the left Rook, Hunter the left Bishop, Hawker the right Bishop, and Huntress the right Rook. These would be promotable to Dragonhawkress, Dragonhunter, Dragonhawker, and Dragonhuntress by adding remaining King moves. In the second case, terming forward Cannon plus backward Arrow Shooter and vice versa Fowler, one might have Hunter/Hawkress/Fowler/Shootress to the left of the King and Hawker/Huntress/Shooter/Fowlress to the right.