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This page is written by the game's inventor, Charles Gilman.

Horn Rimmed Hex 2: 61 to 91

This page continues the theme of Horn Rimmed Hex 1 but starting from the smaller board of Compact Hex Chess. As with the first page the first array, a Wellisch-orientation one, doesn't actually have Horns, but to compensate it does have Supersaltires rather than plain Saltires, which would be very weak indeed in the Wellisch orientation, and six aside to boot.

I again relegate Shogi-style generals to be promotees only, rather than include them in some arrays as I did with Mitred Framing. This means that the physical Silvergeneral can be used to represent other pieces, usually Unicorns. The Mitred Framing rule of not promoting trhem further becomes even more important on the hex board, as this page's variants inherit Hex Frontofhouse's promotion based on running out of moves rather than entering a set promotion zone.

Setup

The complication of the Unicorn having three bindings as against the Bishop's two means that the basic "inner" array is not always left fully intact. They are all designed for two players, and a three-players version is either impossible or not recommended. All these variants have an intimate connection between how pieces are represented and how they are promoted. Therefore the same array with different physical representations is a different variant, with different promotion rules. In particular, only pieces represented by Shogi pieces are promotable and can return from capture. For this reason unpromoted Shogi Points always represent the relevant Pawn analogue. Unless otherwise stated other standard-hex pieces represent themselves, as do unpromoted Wings.

HORN-RIMMED COMPACT WELLISCH uses Wellisch sets for symmetric pieces, and a mixture of Silvers and Helms from Shogi sets for Supersaltires. HORN-RIMMED COMPACT WELLISCH FRONTOFHOUSE uses only Shogi sets with the King as General and unpromoted/promoted Rooks as Virago/Vicereine, Wings as Wing/Rook, and a mixture of Shogi Bishops and Silvers as Supersaltire/Viceroy.

HORN-RIMMED COMPACT REVERGENT uses McCooey sets for symmetric pieces and Helms for Senhelms, and a mixture of Shogi Bishops and Silvers for Horns. HORN-RIMMED COMPACT REVERGENT FRONTOFHOUSE uses only Shogi sets with the King as Grandduke and unpromoted/promoted Rooks as Countess/Duchess, Wings as Wing/Rook, Helms as Senhelm/Sennight, and a mixture of Bishops and Silvers as Horn/Unicorn.

HORN-RIMMED COMPACT MCCOOEY uses McCooey sets for symmetric pieces and Helms for Senhelms, and a mixture of Shogi Bishops and Silvers for Horns. HORN-RIMMED COMPACT MCCOOEY FRONTOFHOUSE uses only Shogi sets with the King as Grandduke and unpromoted/promoted Rooks as Countess/Duchess, Wings as Wing/Rook, Helms as Senhelm/Sennight, and a mixture of Bishops and Silvers as Horn/Unicorn.

Pieces

Pieces common to all variants: The WING is the Rook restricted to the two Wellisch, or single Glinski/McCooey straight, forward orthogonal(s). It returns from capture as itself. In Frontofhouse variants it is promotable to the Rook immediately above. In Non-Frontofhouse variants it is promotable to a BRASSGENERAL, which moves one step along any of the six orthogonals and the single Wellisch straight, or two Glinski/McCooey, forward hex diagonal(s).
The ROOK moves any distance through empty intermediate squares along any of the six orthogonals. It is unpromotable. In non-Frontofhouse variants it cannot return from capture. In Frontofhouse ones it returns as the Wing immediately below.
Pieces specific to Wellisch-style variants:
The GENERAL moves one cell along any of the six orthogonals, and must be kept out of Check. It is unpromotable, and return from capture does not arise.
The VICEROY moves one step along any of the six hex diagonals, and is unpromotable. In non-Frontofhouse variants it cannot return from capture. In Frontofhouse ones it returns as the Supersaltire immediately below.
The SUPERSALTIRE is the Viceroy restricted to the single straight forward, and two half-forward, diagonals. It returns from capture as itself. In Frontofhouse variants it is promotable to the Viceroy immediately above. In Non-Frontofhouse variants it is promotable to an AZUREGENERAL, which moves one step along any of the six hex diagonals and the two forward orthogonals.
The VICEREINE is the compound of Rook and Viceroy. It is unpromotable. In non-Frontofhouse variants it cannot return from capture. In Frontofhouse ones it returns as a VIRAGO, a Wing that can also move one step along the straight-forward hex diagonal.
Pieces specific to other variants:
The GRANDDUKE moves one cell along any of the twelve radials, and must be kept out of Check. It is the G/McC analogue to the King, under whose page its hex move may be found. It is unpromotable, and return from capture does not arise.
The UNICORN moves any distance through empty intermediate squares along any of the six hex diagonals. It is the G/McC analogue to the Bishop, under whose page its hex move may be found. It is unpromotable. In non-Frontofhouse variants it cannot return from capture. In Frontofhouse ones it returns as the Horn immediately below.
The HORN is the Unicorn restricted to the two forward hex diagonals. It returns from capture as itself. In Frontofhouse variants it is promotable to the Unicorn immediately above. In Non-Frontofhouse variants it is promotable to an AZUREGENERAL, which moves one step along any of the six hex diagonals and the single straight forward orthogonal.
The DUCHESS is the compound of Rook and Unicorn. It is the G/McC analogue to the Queen, under whose page its hex move may be found. It is unpromotable. In non-Frontofhouse variants it cannot return from capture. In Frontofhouse ones it returns as a COUNTESS, the same piece restricted to the straight forward orthogonal and two forward hex diagonals.
The SENNIGHT makes any root-7 leap and cannot be blocked. It is the G/McC analogue to the Knight, under whose page its hex move may be found. It is unpromotable. In non-Frontofhouse variants it cannot return from capture. In Frontofhouse ones it returns as the Senhelm immediately below.
The SENHELM is the Sennight restricted to the two leaps flnking the straight forward orthogonal. It returns from capture as itself. In Frontofhouse variants it is promotable to the Sennight immediately above. In Non-Frontofhouse variants it is promotable to a DUKE, which moves like the Grandduke above but is capturable.
Pawnlike pieces
The POINT moves one step along either orthogonal. It returns from capture as itself and is promotable to a WAZIR, which moves like the General above but is capturable.
The BROKER moves one step forward at a time, along a hex diagonal if capturing otherwise along the straight forward orthogonal. It is the McCooey analogue to the Pawn, under whose page its hex move may be found. It returns from capture as itself and is promotable to a WAITER, which moves one step along any hex diagonal if capturing otherwise along any orthogonal.

Rules

Play alternates between players starting with White..

There is no double-step move, En Passant, or Castling

A forward-only piece reaching a cell whence it has no further move within the original 61 cells in unpromoted form can immediately be promoted to its symmetric form. Promotion is optional if a move is available to a cell on the board's rim, and required if there is no further move anywhere on the board.

Check, Checkmate, and Stalemate are as usual.


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By Charles Gilman.
Web page created: 2010-11-20. Web page last updated: 2016-04-01