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This page is written by the game's inventor, Nick Wolff.

Jail Cell Chess

Object: To capture, or eliminate, all kings of the opposing color.

Setup

Please refer to Diagram 1 for the board and initial setup. The white player starts at the little numbered end.

Pieces

The pieces used are the same as standard FIDE chess: (The King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight, and Pawn). The only difference is that each side has double the normal amount of each piece.

Rules

Movement of Pieces: Movement of the pieces are the same as FIDE Chess except for the following exceptions:

Special Rules/Movement:

Walls: The walls are denoted by a solid black lines on the board. These walls are impenetrable, except by pawns. Crossing a horizontal wall is just like capturing: you move diagonally. For example, a pawn at A10 can only cross to B11 and a pawn at B10 can cross to both A11 and C11. To cross a vertical wall, you just move your pawn to the adjacent square over the wall. For example, a pawn at L13 can cross to K13 and a pawn at K8 can cross to L8. A pawn cannot cross more than one wall in a move. For example, a pawn at C11 cannot cross to D10. A wall cross is a capturing move, so any pieces on a space a pawn crosses onto will be captured.

Capturing: When a piece is captured, the piece is placed into the "Jail Cell" of the player that captured it. It can be placed into any of the four cells of the captor's choice. The captive now becomes the color of the captor. If a piece is captured but the captor's "Jail Cell" is full, then the piece is "executed" and removed from play completely. Refer to Diagram C for the "Jail Cells".

The Jail Cells: The Jail Cells are the "barbed wire fencing" area near each player's starting area. Pieces can move out of the Jail Cells, but cannot enter unless they are captured. When moving out of a jail cell, pieces do not make FIDE moves. They must be placed on an adjacent square (not diagonal), from the jail cell square they were on. For example, a captured bishop moving out of a Jail Cell on square G17 cannot move to square F16. It must move to either G16 or F17. Pieces are not allowed to move about inside the jail cells.

King Capturing: Kings can be captured and add the amount of the other player. A player loses when they have lost all kings.

Notes

This game was created entirely from the mind of Nicholas Wolff and was not intended to copy any other variants out there. If you believe this to be a copy, please email me. Thank you.

This 'user submitted' page is a collaboration between the posting user and the Chess Variant Pages. Registered contributors to the Chess Variant Pages have the ability to post their own works, subject to review and editing by the Chess Variant Pages Editorial Staff.


By Nick Wolff.
Web page created: 2009-01-01. Web page last updated: 2009-01-01