Modern Chess

Gabriel Maura, from Puerto Rico, invented this game in 1968. According to Pritchard, who describes this game, the game attracted several followers, until 1983, after a serious illness of the inventor. The game has been popular among players in Puerto Rico, Spain, Central America, and South America. Tournaments, including world championships were organised by FENDAM, an international organisation.

The board

The game is played on a 9 by 9 board, which is checkered with a black square in the left corners. Opening setup is as follows:

    RNBQKMBNR
    PPPPPPPPP
    .........
    .........
    .........
    .........
    .........
    ppppppppp
    rnbmkqbnr

R, N, B, Q, K, M, P stand for Rook, kNight, Bishop, Queen, King, Minister, and Pawn. Upper case symbols represent black pieces, lower case symbols white pieces.

Moves

Rook, knight, bishop, king, and queen move as in orthodox chess. When castling, the king always moves two squares in the direction of the rook. Pawns move as in orthodox chess, and can promote to queen, bishop, knight, rook or minister.

The minister has the combined moves of bishop and knight.

Other rules are as in orthodox chess.

Last modified: February 13, 1996.