Tiling Rider Chess

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If four pieces of the same type occupy a similarly colored unit (in this case, blue - e.g., {c1, c2, d1, d2} - or orange - e.g., {a1, a2, b1, b2}) they can act as a rider piece, an "aggregate piece." Four wazirs become a rook (wazir rider). Four ferzes become a bishop (ferz rider). Four guards become a queen (guard rider). Four knights become a nightrider. An aggregate piece in this game can capture four units at once, but only its parts can be captured, one at a time, with this exception: Aggregate pieces can capture other aggregate pieces all at once, if they are moving as aggregates.

Opposing pieces can occupy the same tile.

To move knights, guards, wazirs and ferzes, just ignore the tiles and pretend it's a regular chess game, except that when you move to a new tile, you can move to either side of it. For example, if I am a ferz moving from i4 to j5, I can also move to j6! This rule might be described as the elongated movement rule. This rule extends the number of squares any non-rider piece can move to considerably.

A tile is anything of its own exact color, for example, a1-a2 is a tile, b1-b2 is a tile, c1-d1 is a tile, c2-d2 is a tile. Elongated move rule: So the pieces all move as you would expect them to move normally, except that you can shift them to the opposite side of the tile you're moving them to, if that side is empty. Okay, for example if I move my ferz from a4-b5, I can optionally shift it to b6. If I move my wazir from b4-b5, I can shift it to b6. If I move my guard from c4-c5, I can shift it to d5 and vice versa. If I move my knight from d4 to e6, I can shift it to e5. If I move my knight from d4 to c6, I can shift it to d6. If I move my knight from d4 to b5, I can shift it to b6.

The giant wazirs of this game are the kings. Kings are in check if any square on which they are situated is attacked.

One should adopt Moderate Progressive method for movement, with the exception of rules number two and three; multiple checks can be given at the same time (king can not be captured but must get out of check) and check need not be nullified on the first turn, but only by the end of the turn.

The game begins in the following way, recommended by David Paulowich to eliminate White's potential first move advantage:

TURN ONE: White makes exactly 4 moves and Black makes exactly 8 moves.

TURN TWO: regular rules apply, with White moving up to 9 times and Black moving up to once more than White.

An alternate method, suggested by Larry Wheeler:

Starting with 4 moves, for white, then "increasing in increments of 4 (if you play less than a multiple of 4, say 3, your opponent can treat that as 4, so can play up to 8). Rider moves and King moves count as 4. An attack on any of the King's squares is check."

Be sure to note the number of moves you make in the notes each time you take a turn. Movement of aggregate pieces shall count as one movement for the Moderate Progressive tally.

A couple of questions that occurred to me since first posting this game:

1) Can you form a rider piece and then move it in the same turn?

Yes, you can move the rider piece once after it is formed in the same turn.

2) Can you take advantage of the elongated move rule if the initial space is filled as long as the space you are moving to is empty?

No, in order to take advantage of the elongated move rule, the initial side of the tile has to be empty when you are moving (though either can be filled later during the same turn).

Logs of Tiling Rider Chess

David Paulowich proposed the following variant:

"I am tempted to place a nonroyal Giant Ferz on k1, k2, l1, l2 (also k15, k16, l15, l16) and then remove the a1-a16 and b1-b16 columns from the board. This results in a 16x16 variant giving each player 14 copies of each small piece. The (NEW) a1 to p16 diagonal will be shades of blue - which matches the 'black' squares in standard 8x8 chess. The (NEW) locations of the royal giants match that in the 8x8 Shatranj setup."

Logs of Square Tiling Rider Chess

This game is less exotic than Tiler Rider Chess in that there is no elongated movement rule (since there are no "tiles"), but the lines of direction for diagonal moving pieces are less easy to observe. In this variant, any time four pieces of the same color and type form a square, they can move like an aggregate piece (see above), a wazir rider, ferz rider, guard rider or nightrider. Color Rider Chess is more flexible than Tiler Rider chess in that the aggregates can take place any four square set and not just on every other square set as in Tiler Rider Chess. Other rules are the same as in Tiler Rider Chess.

Logs of Color Rider Chess

Notes

This game is partly inspired by such aggregate pieces as the Dev in Köksal Karakus's Giant Chess, the Cobra in Derick Peterson's Cobra Chess and The Wall in Mark Hedden's Ganymede Chess, also used in David Howe's Chess on a Longer Board with a Few Pieces Added.

David Howe wrote a small essay on pieces that occupy more or less than one square.

However, please note: The rules for capturing an aggregate piece in this game are distinct from the rules for capturing Devs or Cobras and Walls, in that damage to a part is destruction of the whole in those variants, but not in this one.

The game was also inspired by the chess-go variants, to which it is even more closely akin than the ones mentioned above. These include Gess, which has been attributed to the Archimedeans Mathematics Society's Puzzles and Games Ring, and Alexandre Muñiz's Diffusion Chess.

There is also a similarity between this game and Joe Joyce Hyperchess in that there are smaller and bigger ways of moving. In Joyce's game, it's an option to move on the larger squares and in this one, it's only when similar pieces congregate together on similar colors.

Joe Joyce commented that this game reminded him of PiRaTeKnIcS

I added the elongated movement rule so that players could experience the peculiar charm of playing on tiles and to make it easier for players to form aggregate pieces.

Merry Christmas, everyone.