Symmetric Chess

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Symmetric Chess is played following each and every rules of Chess but making two slight adjustments appropriate to the 9x8 board.

1) When castling king moves 3 squares towards either rook.

2) Both bishops of each player cannot run along squares of a same color. One of them must change in such a manner that it transits through squares of the other color. Being in its original square without having been moved before, it will take an orthogonal step towards any of the 3 surrounding squares that are of the other color, provided that these are empty. This special move is called conversion and it must be done as an ordinary move during the game.

In the following diagram the g1-bishop may make the conversion by moving towards either f1 or g2 or h1.

A player may choose which bishop he converts, but if he makes a normal move with one of them, then the first move made with the other must be a conversion move; and, viceversa, if he first makes a conversion move with one, then the other will have to be moved normally. Thus, a player never can make more than one conversion move in a game, and a promoted bishop does not make conversion moves. It is possible to take a piece of the opponent by conversion. If both bishops are in their original squares without having been moved before and one of them is captured, then the other will retain the option of being converted or move normally according to the color of the square in which it is located.

Review past games of Symmetric Chess on YouTube

Last revised by Carlos Cetina.