Fairy chess piece

Fairy chess piece
Some fairy pieces
Chess all44.pngChess adl44.png Archbishop (knight + bishop compound)
Chess cll45.svgChess cdl44.png Chancellor (knight + rook compound)
Chess gll45.svgChess gdl45.svg Grasshopper (shown as an upside-down queen)
Chess sll45.svgChess sdl45.svg Nightrider (Knightmare) or unicorn (shown as an upside-down knight)

A fairy chess piece or unorthodox chess piece is a piece analogous to a chess piece. It is not used in conventional chess, but is used in certain chess variants and some chess problems. These pieces vary in the way they move and possibly in additional properties.

Because of the distributed and uncoordinated nature of unorthodox chess development, often the same piece is referred to by different names or the same name is used for different pieces in various contexts (chess problems, various chess variants).

Contents

Classification

Fairy chess pieces usually fall into one of three classes, although some are hybrid pieces. Some types of pieces are created by combining the movement powers of two or more different pieces.

A specialized solving program, WinChloe, recognizes more than 1200 different fairy pieces.

Movement type

Leapers

An (m,n)-leaper is a piece that moves by a fixed type of vector between its start square and its arrival square. One of the coordinates of the vector 'start square - arrival square' must have an absolute value equal to m and the other one an absolute value equal to n. A leaper moves in the same way whether or not it captures, the taken unit being on the arrival square. For instance, the knight is the (1,2)-leaper.[1]

The leaper's move cannot be blocked; it "leaps" over any intervening pieces, like the knight in standard chess.

In shatranj, a forerunner to chess, the pieces later replaced by the bishop and queen were also leapers: the alfil was a (2,2)-leaper (moving exactly two squares diagonally in any direction), and the fers a (1,1)-leaper (moving exactly one square diagonally in any direction).[2]

Some pieces can be described as combined leapers, i.e. as pieces having the movement capabilities of multiple leapers. The king in orthodox chess (ignoring check restrictions) is an example of a combination of a (1,1)-leaper and a (1,0)-leaper.

Leapers are not able to create pins, although they are often effective forking pieces. One additional property is that the check of a leaper cannot be parried by interposing.

All orthodox chessmen except the pawn are either leapers or riders, although the Rook does 'hop' when it castles.

The Wazir is a (1,0)-leaper (an "orthogonal" one-square leaper); the Fers is a (1,1)-leaper (a "diagonal" one-square leaper). Both are used in Muslim versions of chess. The King of standard chess combines the two.

The Dabbaba is a (2,0)-leaper; the Alfil is a (2,2)-leaper; the Knight is a (1,2)-leaper. The Alibaba combines the Dabbaba and Alfil; while the Squirrel can move to any square 2 units away. The Arabic word dabbāba formerly meant a type of medieval siege engine, and nowadays means "army tank".

The 'level-3' leapers are the Threeleaper, a (3,0)-leaper; the Tripper, a (3,3)-leaper; the Camel, a (1,3)-leaper; and the Zebra, a (2,3)-leaper.

0 1 2 3
0 Zero Wazir Dabbaba Threeleaper
1 Wazir Fers Knight Camel
2 Dabbaba Knight Alfil Zebra
3 Threeleaper Camel Zebra Tripper

An amphibian is a combined leaper with a larger range on the board than its components. The simplest amphibian is the Frog, a (1,1)-(0,3)-leaper.

Riders

A rider is a piece that can move an unlimited distance in one direction, provided there are no pieces in the way.

There are three riders in orthodox chess: the rook can move an unlimited number of (1,0) cells and is therefore a (1,0)-rider; the bishop is a (1,1)-rider; and the queen is a (1,1)- or (1,0)-rider.

One of the most popular fairy chess riders is the nightrider, which can make an unlimited number of knight moves (that is, (2,1) cells) in any direction (though, like other riders, it cannot change direction half-way through its move).

Sliders are a noteworthy special case of riders which can only move between geometrically contiguous cells. All of the riders in orthodox chess are examples of sliders.

The names of riders are often obtained by taking the name of a leaper which moves a similar cell-size and adding the suffix "rider". For example, the zebra is a (3,2)-leaper, and the zebrarider is a (3,2)-rider.

Riders can create both pins and skewers.

Hoppers

A hopper is a piece which moves by jumping over another piece (called a hurdle). The hurdle can usually be any piece of any color. Unless it can jump over a piece, a hopper cannot move. Note that hoppers generally capture by taking the piece on the destination square, not by taking the hurdle (as is the case in checkers). The exceptions are called locusts.

There are no hoppers in Western chess, although in xiangqi, the cannon captures as a hopper (when not capturing, it is a rider which can not capture).

The most popular hopper in fairy chess is the grasshopper, which moves along the same lines as an orthodox queen, except that it must hop over some other piece and land on the square immediately beyond it.

Locusts

A locust is any piece which captures by hopping over its victim (as in checkers). It is sometimes considered a type of hopper.

Marine Piece

A marine piece is a combination piece consisting of a rider (for ordinary moves) and a locust (for captures) in the same directions. Marine pieces have names alluding to the sea and its myths, e.g., nereïde (marine bishop), triton (marine rook), mermaid (marine queen), or poseidon (marine king).

Games

Some classes of pieces come from a certain game; often these have a common set of characteristics.

Chinese pieces

Chinese pieces are pieces derived from those found in xiangqi, the Chinese form of chess. The most common Chinese pieces are the leo, pao and vao (each of which are derived from the Chinese cannon) and the mao (derived from the horse). Those derived from the cannon are distinguished by moving as a leaper when capturing, but otherwise moving as a rider. Less frequently encountered Chinese pieces include the moa, nao and rao.

Special attributes

Royal pieces

A royal piece is one which must not be allowed to be captured. If a royal piece is threatened with capture and cannot avoid capture next move, then the game is lost (this is "checkmate"). In orthodox chess, each side has one royal piece, the king. In fairy chess any other orthodox piece or fairy piece may instead be designated royal, there may be more than one royal piece, or there may be no royal pieces at all (in which case the aim of the game must be something other than to deliver checkmate, such as capturing all of the opponent's pieces).

Xed pieces

Name Notes
Crowned pieces Any piece which, in addition to its normal powers, can move like a King.
Knighted piece Any piece which, in addition to its normal powers, can move like a knight. For example, an amazon is a knighted queen.

Notations

Parlett's movement notation

In his book The Oxford History of Board Games[3] David Parlett used a notation to describe fairy piece movements. The move is specified by an expression of the form m={expression}, where m stands for "move", and the expression is composed from the following elements:

  • Distance (numbers, n)
    • 1 - a distance of one (i.e. to adjacent square)
    • 2 - a distance of two
    • n - any distance in the given direction
  • Direction (punctuation, X)
    • * - orthogonally or diagonally (all eight possible directions)
    • + - orthogonally (four possible directions)
    • > - orthogonally forwards
    • < - orthogonally backwards
    • <> - orthogonally forwards and backwards
    • = - orthogonally sideways (used here instead of Parlett's divide symbol.)
    • >= - orthogonally forwards or sideways
    • <= - orthogonally backwards or sideways
    • X - diagonally (four possible directions)
    • X> - diagonally forwards
    • X< - diagonally backwards
  • Grouping
    • / - two orthogonal moves separated by a slash denote a hippogonal move (i.e. jumping like knights)
    • & - repeated movement in the same direction, such as for hippogonal riders (i.e. the nightrider)

Additions to Parlett's

The following can be added to Parlett's to make it more complete:

  • Conditions under which the move may occur (lowercase alphanumeric, except n)
    • (default) - May occur at any point in the game
    • i - May only be made on the initial move (e.g. pawn's 2 moves forward)
    • c - May only be made on a capture (e.g. pawn's diagonal capture)
    • o - May not be used for a capture (e.g. pawn's forward move)
  • Move type
    • (default) - Captures by landing on the piece; blocked by intermediate pieces
    • ~ - Leaper (leaps)
    • ^ - Locust (captures by leaping; implies leaper)
  • Grouping (punctuation)
    • / - two orthogonal moves separated by a slash denote a hippogonal move (i.e. jumping like knights); this is in Parlett's, but is repeated here for completeness
    • , (comma) - separates move options; only one of the comma-delimited options may be chosen per move
    • () - grouping operator; see nightrider
    • - - range operator

The format (not including grouping) is: <conditions> <move type> <distance> <direction> <other>

On this basis, the traditional chess moves are:

  • King: 1*
  • Queen: n*
  • Bishop: nX
  • Rook: n+
  • Pawn: o1>, c1X>, oi2>
  • Knight: ~1/2

Ralph Betza's "funny notation"

Ralph Betza created a classification scheme for fairy chess pieces (including standard chess pieces) in terms of the moves of basic pieces with modifiers.[4]

Capital letters stand for basic pieces and components, besides the standard abbreviation for the chess pieces (R, N, B, Q, and K) the following letters are used: Wazir, Ferz, Alfil, Dabbaba, H (0,3)-leaper, Long Leaper (CameL), J (2,3)-leaper (Giraffe), and G (3,3)-leaper. Riders are denoted by duplication of the letter, e.g., NN is the funny notation for the nightrider piece; restricted range is denoted by a digit after the letter, e.g., R4 is a rook restricted to at most 4 steps.

Small letters in front of the capital letters denote modifications of the component. Often used modifiers are: forward, backward, right, left, sideward, vertical, move only, capture only, z crooked (moving in a zigzag line like the Boyscout), grasshopper, jumping (i.e., it must jump, cannot move without a hurdle), non-jumping like the Chinese Elefant, o cylindrical, pao (like the Chinese Cannon captures), and q circular movement (like the Rose).

In addition, Betza has also suggested adding brackets to his notation: q[WF]q[FW] would be a circular king, which can move from e4 to f5 then g5, h4, h3, g2, f2, e3, and back to e4, effectively passing a turn.

Example: The standard chess pawn can be described in Ralph Betza's funny notation as mfWcfF (ignoring the initial double move).

There is no standard order of the components and modifiers. In fact, Betza often plays with the order to create somehow pronouncable piece names and artistic word play.

Addition to Betza's

Betza does not use the small letter i. It is used here for initial in the description of the different types of pawns.

Notable examples

Name Parlett Betza Found in Notes
Alfil ~2X A Shatranj A (2,2)-leaper. Compare to Elephant. Alternate notation: ~2/2
Alibaba ~2* AD Fairy Chess Problems Combines the powers of Alfil and Dabbaba
Amazon n*, ~1/2 QN Knightmare Chess Combines the powers of the Queen and the Knight. Also called Superqueen.
Andernach grasshopper Andernach chess A Grasshopper that changes the colour of the hurdle it leaps over. Also known as a Chopper.
Archbishop nX, ~1/2 BN Capablanca chess Combines the powers of Bishop and Knight. Also called a Princess, Cardinal, Janus or Paladin.
Balloon Four Dimensional Chess A Bishop-like piece used in four-dimensional chess, i.e. it changes all coordinates simultaneously while moving.
Basilisk on* (Immo~1/2) mQ (Immo-N) Nova Chess A piece that moves as a Queen but immobilizes any piece within a knight's move of itself, that is, it prevents it from moving or taking. If it is a fairy piece with additional powers it may or may not perform these other tasks depending on the case in question. A Basilisk that is caught by another Basilisk in this fashion, for example, may continue to immobilize others, including the other Basilisk.
Berolina pawn o1X>, c1>, io2X> mfFcfWimfF2 Berolina chess Moves one square diagonally forward (except on its first move, when it may move two), but captures by moving one square straight forward. Compare with Pawn.
Bishop nX B Orthodox Chess Moves any number of free squares diagonally.
Boyscout zB Fairy Chess Problems Moves like a bishop, but takes 90 degree turns after each step. Invented by J. de A. Almay in the first half of the 20th century. Rediscovered as Crooked Bishop by Ralph Betza.
Bug-Eyed Monster Fairy Chess Problems Can jump to any square which would not be reachable by any orthodox chess piece. Since the Amazon is the sum of all orthodox chess pieces, the Bug-Eyed Monster is the complement of the Amazon.
Camel ~1/3 L Tamerlane Chess Old historic piece. Jumps 2 squares orthogonally followed by one square diagonally outwards.
Cannon See "Pao" and "Korean Cannon"
Cardinal See "Archbishop"
Champion 1+, ~2* WAD Omega Chess Combines the powers of the Wazir and the Alibaba.
Chancellor n+, ~1/2 RN Capablanca chess Combines the powers of the Rook and Knight. Also called Empress or Marshal.
Checker cn(^2X>), o1X>
King: cn(^2X), o1X
Checkers Multiple captures in one turn, or without capturing can move forward one diagonal space, but cannot move backward until after it has finished a turn on the far rank of the board. (cf. Draughts, Checkers)
Chopper See "Andernach grasshopper"
Colonel n>, n=, 2/1> 1* KfsRfN Chess with different armies Moves as forwards and sideways Rook, the forwards moves of a Knight, or a King.
Dabbaba ~2+ D Tamerlane Chess Old historic piece, also known as War machine or Machine. Alternate notation: ~0/2
Dayrider n(~2*) AADD Combination of Alfilrider and Dabbabarider. Also known as Alibabarider.
Dummy A piece with no moves at all. It may be captured, gain temporarily moving ability by relay, or pushed or pulled around by other pieces if there are pushing or pulling pieces on the board. Different from Zero.
Edgehog n* Q Edgehog Chess[5] A Queen that can move only to or from the edge of the board. Variant: when it moves from an edge, it may not move to an edge. Represented in diagrams by a Queen rotated 90° counterclockwise. Invented by John Driver in 1966.
Elephant 2X nA Xiangqi (Chinese) A (2,2) leaper, but it cannot jump over an intervening piece, like the Ma. In Chinese Chess, the Elephant is restricted to its half of the board.
Empress See "Chancellor"
Fers 1X F Shatranj Move one square in any direction diagonally.
Fusilier o1+, c1X mWcF Centennial Chess Moves and captures like a Pawn in all 4 directions. Invented by F. Marinelli in 1770. Also known as Steward or Quadrapawn.
Giraffe ~1/4 Old historic piece. Jumps one square diagonally followed by three squares orthogonally. See also Zurafa.
Gold General 1+, 1X> WfF Shōgi Moves in all 4 orthogonal directions or diagonally forward.
Grasshopper gQ Fairy Chess Problems A hopper which moves along the same lines as a queen and lands on the square immediately beyond that of the hurdle. One of the most popular fairy pieces. In diagrams, the Grasshopper is usually represented by an inverted Queen.
Graz Pawn 1*> , io2*> fWfFifmW2ifmF2 Fairy Chess Problems Combines the powers of the Berolina Pawn and the standard Pawn. Also known as the Sergeant, this piece was used as early as 1943 in Arno von Wilpert's Wolf Chess. It occurs (without the initial double move) as Iron General in large Shogi variants from 15th century, e.g., in Tenjiku shogi.
Immobilizer on* (Immo1*) mQ (Immo-K) Ultima The Immobilizer, invented by Robert Abbott, moves as a chess Queen. At the end of its move, any enemy piece that is on a square adjacent to the Immobilizer is frozen in place, and can not move away until the Immobilizer moves away or is captured. The Immobilizer can never move to an occupied square and can not capture pieces. If two Immobilizers move next to each other, they are both frozen until the end of the game or until one is captured. An immobilised piece may commit suicide, e.g., to open a line of attack. This action counts as a move.
Janus Janus chess See "Archbishop"
King 1* K Orthodox Chess Move one square in any direction. Royal in orthodox chess. A non-royal piece which moves in this way is sometimes called a Commoner or Man.
Khohn 1X, 1> FfW Makruk Move one square in any direction diagonally or one square straight forward. It has the same moves as the Silver General in Shogi.
Knight ~1/2 N Orthodox Chess It jumps one square orthogonally followed by another square diagonally.
Korean Cannon pR Korean Chess (Janggi) Moves and captures along orthogonal lines by jumping exactly one piece, called the hurdle. There can be any number of free squares before and after the hurdle. Unlike the Pao it moves the same way for capturing and non-capturing moves. In chess problems it is sometimes called Rook Lion or Rion.
Kraken ~n/m Leap to any square on the board, including the one it is currently on (leaping to the current square has the effect of passing a move). Compare with Universal leaper.
Leeloo Quintessential Chess Combines the powers of Quintessence and Rook
Leo on*, c^& mQcpQ Chinese Combines the powers of the Pao and Vao; it moves like a Queen when not capturing (that is, a (1,0) or (1,1) rider), but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Leo's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of squares beyond the hurdle).
Lias' Pawn o1>, o1=, c1X>, io2> mfsWcfFimfW2 Lias' proposal An extended Pawn which can also step one square sidewards. Proposed in the 1920s by A. G. Lias to improve standard chess
Lion pQ Fairy Chess Problems A hopper which moves along the same lines as a Queen and which can land on a square any distance beyond the hurdle.
Maharaja n*, ~1/2 QN Maharajah and the Sepoys A royal Amazon, the only piece for white.
Mao Chinese Moves like a Knight except that it does not leap. It first moves one square orthogonally in any direction, and then continues in the same general direction one square diagonally. The square it is on after its orthogonal move must be vacant. For example, if a white mao is on b2 and there is a white pawn on b3, the Mao cannot move to a4 or c4; if the pawn is on c3, however, it can move to both those squares (because the first part of the move is orthogonal, not diagonal).
Marshal See "Chancellor"
Moa Chinese as the Mao, but the first step is diagonal and the second orthogonal, not the other way round.
Murray Lion ~2*, c1* ADcK Can move and capture as an Alfil or Dabbaba, and capture only as a King. This piece stems from a misinterpretation of the Lion of Chu Shogi but has become popular in fairy chess problems and chess variants. It is named after the chess historian Harold James Ruthven Murray who brought it up.
Nao mNNcpNN Chinese A Chinese Nightrider —moves as a normal Nightrider (that is, a (2,1) rider) when not capturing, but which captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Nao's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of knight-moves beyond the hurdle).
Nightrider n(1/2) (in same direction) NN Fairy Chess Problems A rider which moves any number of 2,1 cells (i.e., knight moves) in the same direction. A Nightrider on b2 on an empty board, therefore, can move to a4, c4, d6, e8, d3, f4, h5 and d1. A Pawn of the opposing colour on d6 could be captured, but the Nightrider could not move any further in that direction (i.e., it couldn't move on to e8). A pawn on b3, for example, would have no effect. On diagrams, the nightrider is usually represented by an inverted Knight. One of the most popular fairy pieces. See diagram below.
Odysseus Fairy Chess Problems The Odysseus' move depends on the file where it is located: It moves as a Rook on files a and h, as a Knight on files b and g, as a Bishop on files c and f, as a Queen on file d and as a King on file e. Also known as Querquisite.
Pao mRcpR Chinese Moves like a Rook when not capturing (that is, a (1,0) rider), but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Pao's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of squares beyond the hurdle). Found in xiangqi (in which context it is normally known in English as a Cannon). Compare with Korean Cannon.
Pawn o1>, c1X>, io2> mfWcfFimfW2 Orthodox Chess Moves one square straight forward (except on its first move, when it may move two squares), but captures one square forward diagonally. Compare with Berolina pawn.
Pentere Quinquereme Chess Combines the powers of Queen and Quintessence.
Princess See "Archbishop"
Pterodactyl ~3/3, ~5/5, ~0/15 Chess mathematics The simplest triple range amphibian. George Jelliss demonstrated a pterodactyl's knight's tour on a 16×16 board in 1985[6]
Quang trung rook Quang Trung Chess Moves as Rook but when capturing must move on square away from captured piece in the same direction.
Queen n* Q Orthodox Chess Combines the powers of the Bishop and Rook.
Quintessence Quintessential Chess A Nightrider who takes 90-degree turns in a zig-zag manner on each step. First described in 2002 by Jörg Knappen and found in several chess variants since then.
Rao mqNcpqN Chinese A Chinese Rose —moves as a normal Rose when not capturing, but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Rao's destination square. The captured piece can be any distance beyond the hurdle.
Reflecting Bishop Moves like a bishop, but additionally is allowed to "bounce" off the edge of the board when making a move, similar to a hockey puck or billiard ball. Its path continues down the diagonal to any legitimate square after the "bounce".[7]
RennCavalier Renniassance Chess Moves in the same move one square diagonally and any number of squares othogonally or any number of squares orthogonally and one diagonally. It has two paths to the same target square and must make at least a blockable knight's move. Called Cavalier in RennChess, but the name Cavalier is used for other pieces as well. Renniassance Chess was invented by 1980 by Eric V. Greenwood.
RennDuke Renniassance Chess Moves in the same move one square orthogonally and then any number of squares diagonally or any number of squares diagonally and then one straight. It has two paths to the same target square and must make at least a blockable knight's move. Called Duke in RennChess, but the name Duke is used for other pieces as well.
Rook n+ R Orthodox Chess Moves any number of free squares orthogonally.
Rose qN Fairy Chess Problems Moves as a Nightrider, except that rather than moving in a straight line, it moves along pseudo-circular ones. A rose standing on e1 on an empty board, for instance, can move to any of the squares on the large circle c2, b4, c6, e7, g6, h4 and g2; as well as c2 and a1; or d3 and b4; or d3, e5 and g6; or f3, e5, c6 and a5; or f3 and h4. As with the nightrider, an opposite-coloured piece on any one of these squares can be captured, but prevents the rose from progressing any further along that line. See diagram below.
Spy 2>, 2=, (1/1)> fsDfF Chess Empire The Spy can move two spaces forwards or sideways, or can move like a knight one forward and then one horizontally or vice versa. It can leap over pieces and can only move two spaces; thus, it is "trapped" on its own color like a Bishop.
Squirrel ~0/2, ~1/2, ~2/2 DAN Fairy Chess Problems Jumps to any field in a distance of 2. It was discovered independently several times and is also known as Centurion or Castle.
Superpawn on>, cnX> mfRcfB Fairy Chess Problems Moves without capture any number of fields forward, captures diagonally forwards like a Bishop. Promotes on the 8th rank. Cannot capture en passant nor be captured en passant. May be placed in the first rank. Invented by Werner Speckmann in 1967.[8]
Superqueen See "Amazon"
Taxi Fairy Chess Problems Moves without capture one step forward or backwards, captures one square diagonally forwards like a Pawn. When in the second rank can move one, two or three steps forward or one backwards. Can promote on the 8th rank or continue to be a Taxi. Can capture en passant other Pawns or Taxis. May be placed in the first or eight ranks.
Universal leaper Leap to any square on the board apart from the one it is on. Compare with Kraken.
Unicorn Raumschach In Raumschach it is a triagonal rider, moves through the vertices of the cubes. See diagram below. The name Unicorn is also used for several pieces in 2 dimensions, e.g., for the Archbishop or for the combination of Bishop and Nightrider also known as Banshee.
Vao mBcpB Chinese Moves like a Bishop when not capturing (that is, a (1,1) rider), but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Vao's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of squares beyond the hurdle).
Wazir 1+ W Tamerlane Chess Moves one square orthogonally in any direction.
Wizard 1X, ~1/3 FL Omega Chess Combines the movement of Fers and Camel.
Zebra ~2/3 J Old historic piece. Jumps one square orthogonally followed by two squares diagonally outwards.
Zero ~0/0 A piece which can make a zero move, i. e., jump and land on its starting square without any side effects. This gives the player the option to pass a move. Sometimes used as a component to more complex pieces. It is different from the piece with no move at all called Dummy
Zurafa Tamerlane Chess Starts with a (1,4) leap (like the modern Giraffe) and may continue moving outwards as a Rook.
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
8  black king  black king  black king  black king  cross  black king  black king  black king 8
7  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king 7
6  black king  black king  black king  cross  black king  black king  black king  black king 6
5  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  cross 5
4  cross  black king  cross  black king  black king  cross  black king  black king 4
3  black king  black king  black king  cross  black king  black king  black king  black king 3
2  black king  white upside-down knight  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king  black king 2
1  black king  black king  black king  cross  black king  black king  black king  black king 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
Nightrider makes any number of knight moves in the same direction.
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h i j Solid white.svg
10 a10 black king b10 black king c10 black king d10 black king e10 black king f10 black king g10 black king h10 black king i10 black king j10 black king 10
9 a9 black king b9 black king c9 black king d9 black king e9 black king f9 four g9 black king h9 black king i9 black king j9 black king 9
8 a8 black king b8 black king c8 black king d8 three e8 black king f8 black king g8 black king h8 five i8 black king j8 black king 8
7 a7 black king b7 black king c7 black king d7 black king e7 black king f7 black king g7 black king h7 five i7 black king j7 black king 7
6 a6 black king b6 black king c6 two d6 black king e6 black king f6 black king g6 black king h6 black king i6 six j6 black king 6
5 a5 black king b5 black king c5 black king d5 black king e5 black king f5 black king g5 black king h5 black king i5 black king j5 black king 5
4 a4 black king b4 black king c4 black king d4 one e4 black king f4 black king g4 black king h4 seven i4 black king j4 black king 4
3 a3 black king b3 two c3 black king d3 black king e3 black king f3 white knight g3 black king h3 black king i3 black king j3 black king 3
2 a2 black king b2 black king c2 black king d2 black king e2 black king f2 black king g2 black king h2 black king i2 black king j2 black king 2
1 a1 three b1 black king c1 black king d1 black king e1 black king f1 black king g1 seven h1 black king i1 black king j1 black king 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h i j Solid white.svg
Rose. Moves as Nightrider, but along pseudo-circular lines. (two possible paths depicted.) Of course it may move clockwise or counter-clockwise.
Ea5 Eb5 Ec5 Ed5 Ee5
Ea4 Eb4 Ec4 Ed4 Ee4
Ea3 Eb3 Ec3 Ed3 Ee3
Ea2 Eb2 Ec2 Ed2 Ee2
Ea1 Eb1 Ec1 Ed1 Ee1

E

Da5 Db5 Dc5 Dd5 De5
Da4 Db4 Dc4 Dd4 De4
Da3 Db3 Dc3 Dd3 De3
Da2 Db2 Dc2 Dd2 De2
Da1 Db1 Dc1 Dd1 De1

D

Ca5 Cb5 Cc5 Cd5 Ce5
Ca4 Cb4 Cc4 Cd4 Ce4
Ca3 Cb3 Cc3 Cd3 Ce3
Ca2 Cb2 Cc2 Cd2 Ce2
Ca1 Cb1 Cc1 Cd1 Ce1

C

Ba5 Bb5 Bc5 Bd5 Be5
Ba4 Bb4 Bc4 Bd4 Be4
Ba3 Bb3 Bc3 Bd3 Be3
Ba2 Bb2 Bc2 Bd2 Be2
Ba1 Bb1 Bc1 Bd1 Be1

B

Aa5 Ab5 Ac5 Ad5 Ae5
Aa4 Ab4 Ac4 Ad4 Ae4
Aa3 Ab3 Ac3 Ad3 Ae3
Aa2 Ab2 Ac2 Ad2 Ae2
Aa1 Ab1 Ac1 Ad1 Ae1

A

The unicorn, represented here by an upside-down knight, moves through the vertices of cubes (triagonally). A unicorn from its starting position can reach only 30 cubes. The white unicorn's destination squares are marked with a circle, black's with an X. The boards are stacked, with board E on top.

Notes

  1. ^ Poisson, Catégories de pièces - Types of pieces, section "Bondisseur(m,n) - (m,n)Leaper".
  2. ^ Poisson, Pièces – Pieces, sections Alfil, Fers
  3. ^ Parlett, 1999
  4. ^ http://www.chessvariants.org/piececlopedia.dir/betzanot.html Betza Notation by Glen Overby II
  5. ^ http://www.chessvariants.org/dpieces.dir/edgehog-chess.html Peter Aronson, "Edgehog Chess"
  6. ^ G. Jelliss, Theory of Moves (Retrieved on 2009-07-18)
  7. ^ The Piececlopedia: Reflecting Bishop by Peter Aronson.
  8. ^ Märchenfiguren und ihre Grundtypen (pdf, in german)

References

External links


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