Chess Variants
From SnOwy - Ed's Wiki Notebook
The Chancellor and The Archbishop
I like chess. There's nothing really wrong with it. I haven't really memorized enough of the opening games or end games to justify having become a bit bored with it-- I suspect it's the short attention span and the need for creativity and stimulation that has made me want to read about, look at and purchase chess variants. Each variant I encounter manages to fit into a rich culture, a rich cluster of similar variants and the people who are connected with them. The very first one I became interested in is called Gothic Chess. In it are reintroduced the Chancellor and Archbishop pieces that are well known to the variant community. The major revision contributed is a rebalanced and thoroughly analyzed opening array. The board used has cardinality 8-rank by 10-file; two additional files accommodate for each player the additional two pieces. The chancellor moves, captures as a rook ∨ knight, and the archbishop moves, captures as a bishop ∨ knight. These two pieces, being the logical remaining compounds of FIDE chess occur frequently; and indeed, Gothic is neither the first nor last to which incorporates these two pieces. The reader might want to Google "Capablanca Chess" for a history of 8 × 10 chess variants that utilizes chancellors and archbishops in the opening array. It is interesting that although the Bishop is a clerical rank in Catholicism, that the Archbishop is not. Alternatives to these two names that I have seen are Marshall instead of Chancellor and Cardinal instead of Archbishop; whereas a Cardinal is a kind of Catholic priest.
A variant that uses an 8 × 8 board and drops the Elephant (Chancellor) and the Hawk (Archishop) onto the board is Seirawan Chess (also called S-Chess, SChess, Sharper Chess). It is was invented by Seirawan and Bruce Harper in 2007 and was demonstrated at a tournament in Vancouver. The term "drop" indicates a move particle whereby a piece that is not currently on the board is placed onto the board. In SChess, each player gets a single elephant and a single hawk. The players may choose to drop one piece onto the board as a compound move whenever a non-pawn piece is moved from its opening array position; the piece is placed onto the square that said piece has just vacated. In castling, a drop may occur on one of either the King's or Rook's previous square; it is a restriction that one cannot drop both elephant and hawk together in a castle. Critics observe that the Bishop's fianchetto does not work correctly with this variant, as a hawk can immediately defend or reveal an attack on a bishop placed onto this line. Additionally, the queen-like compounds (or "super-knights") are thought to be too overpowering on a 8 × 8 grid. To solve the first problem, some have started to stipulate that bishops are no longer allowed to drop any pieces at all. The second problem remains an open issue that appeals to each player's taste. I personally utilize the stipulation that a dropped piece may not immediately defend the piece that dropped it; that is, a bishop may always drop an elephant, but never a hawk; a queen may drop a hawk if said queen just finished moving as a rook; a knight cannot drop either piece ever. A king is not any kind of special case-- it cannot drop a hawk if it moves diagonally, or an elephant if it moves orthogonally.
- the Chancellor (Marshall, Elephant [Seirawan]) is a Rook ∨ Knight compound
- the Archbishop (Cardinal, Hawk [Seirawan]) is a Bishop ∨ Knight compound
Omega Chess
Omega chess is played on a 10 × 10 board with an additional turret square appended diagonally to each corner of the board. The classic setup is flanked by a Champion each on either side and the turret squares are occupied each by a Wizard.
- the Champion is a (0,1;0,2;2,2) leaper compound
- the Wizard is a (1,1;1,3) leaper compound
I have been playing Omega Chess with Seirawan Chess drops -- no rules about dropping while protecting have been tried yet-- should implement soon and test.
