Paulowich's Chancellor Chess

David Paulowich proposes a new chess variant, played on a usual board, with each player having one rook less, but in addition they have a chancellor (a piece having combined rook and knight moves.) This variant was invented in 1997. Below, you read what David wrote about his game. Changes to the castling rule in 1999 resulted in King's Leap Chess

Description

This chess variant is played using 30 standard chess pieces and two Chancellors (moving like Rook or Knight). The initial position restores the old Shatranj rule: put the most powerful pieces in the corners. Pawns promote to N, B, R, C, Q of the same color. Note that each player has exactly 3 pieces that can move like a Knight, 3 like a Bishop, 3 like a Rook. There are now 21 possible first moves in the game. Castling rules remain the same for the King, but now involve a Queen or a Chancellor.


        +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+   black
      8 ! c !/n/! b !/r/! k !/b/! n !/q/!
        +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
      7 !/p/! p !/p/! p !/p/! p !/p/! p !
        +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
      6 !   !///!   !///!   !///!   !///!
        +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
      5 !///!   !///!   !///!   !///!   !
        +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
      4 !   !///!   !///!   !///!   !///!
        +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
      3 !///!   !///!   !///!   !///!   !
        +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
      2 ! P !/P/! P !/P/! P !/P/! P !/P/!
        +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
      1 !/C/! N !/B/! R !/K/! B !/N/! Q !
        +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+   WHITE
          a   b   c   d   e   f   g   h

The King's Gambit looks stronger than ever in this variant! If Black attempts counterplay with d7-d5, he may be in for an unpleasant surprise. The Queen's Gambit really does sacrifice a Pawn after:

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 b5?!

This attempt to hang on to the extra Pawn seems unwise, but White must be prepared to face it. Also we must come up with a new name, as the Queen is no longer located on what was once called the "Queenside".

And now, some general comments concerning my invention. Giving up the second Rook seems a fair price to pay in order to get the Chancellor into the game. After all, the Japanese game of Shogi has only one Rook per player. I hope that the Chancellor has the same value as the Queen, but would not be surprised if it turned out to be worth half a Pawn less. On a larger board, say 10x10, Knights and Chancellors are definitely weaker than Bishops and Queens.

I have prepared a positional bonus table, given below, for inclusion in the EVAL.C files of GNU Chess. I would welcome the free distribution of a new version of GNU Chess capable playing of this variant and others with Chancellors on the board.

/* Chancellor positional bonus */
static const SHORT pchancellor[64] =
{0, 2, 4, 6, 6, 4, 2, 0,
 2, 4, 6, 8, 8, 6, 4, 2,
 4, 6, 8, 10, 10, 8, 6, 4,
 6, 8, 10, 10, 10, 10, 8, 6,
 6, 8, 10, 10, 10, 10, 8, 6,
 4, 6, 8, 10, 10, 8, 6, 4,
 2, 4, 6, 8, 8, 6, 4, 2,
 0, 2, 4, 6, 6, 4, 2, 0,};

Next time you are playing an off-hand game, try turning a pair of Rooks upside down and calling them Chancellors. No special board or pieces are required ... just the spirit of adventure. One last thought: some non-European chess variants place the Kings crosswise, instead of opposite each other. This suggests reversing the order of the black pieces, resulting in yet another variant:

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ black 8 ! q !/n/! b !/k/! r !/b/! n !/c/! +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 7 !/p/! p !/p/! p !/p/! p !/p/! p ! +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 6 ! !///! !///! !///! !///! +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 5 !///! !///! !///! !///! ! +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 4 ! !///! !///! !///! !///! +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 3 !///! !///! !///! !///! ! +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 2 ! P !/P/! P !/P/! P !/P/! P !/P/! +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 1 !/C/! N !/B/! R !/K/! B !/N/! Q ! +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ WHITE a b c d e f g h

King's Leap Chess

How often do you play O-O-O in FIDE chess? My Chancellor Chess variant makes O-O-O even less likely - with that Rook blocking the way. This limitation on play has bothered me since the beginning, Besides, a double King move, followed by a piece hopping over the King, makes castling a triple move in the rules of chess. I finally decided to replace the castling rule with the old KING'S LEAP RULE: The King's first move in the game may also be a Dabbaba leap to an empty square (c1, e3, g1 for the WHITE King). The King cannot be in check at the start or the end of a King's Leap (usual restriction). Allow the King to leap over a square occupied by a friendly piece. Do not allow the King to leap over a square that is occupied by a hostile piece, or under attack by a hostile piece.

Perhaps I should point out that King's Leap Chess still includes the modern rules of initial double Pawn advance and en passant capture.

Written by David Paulowich.

WWW page created: August 18, 1997. Last modified: April 6, 1999.

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Created on: August 18, 1997. Last modified on: January 04, 2001.

Paulowich's Chancellor Chess

Description

King's Leap Chess

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