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This page is written by the game's inventor, Stephen Howell.

Hit and Run Chess

Background – in the 80’s a good friend (Galth Ractus) and I decided to see if we could make Chess more challenging, yet still easy to remember. It is already a great game, but I really wanted to see if it could evolve to another level by taking more than one move a turn. So, after much playtesting we decided that upping the number of moves you can make each turn to two dramatically changed the game. (We did try 3 and 4 move variants, but they seemed fraught with issues and would require extensive changes to work.) After working out a few challenges to make sure the game was balanced and fair, we came up with what was dubbed Rune Chess, as I was running a BBS on my C64, dedicated to gaming, called Runestone BBS.

Over the years I have honed the rules and determined that playing Hit and Run Chess adds a whole new dimension to chess. I am not sure if it makes your chess game any better, but it sure makes you think at right angles.

If Chess represents a war, then Hit and Run Chess represents modern warfare. It moves quicker than standard chess while giving you the same challenging strategy and play, only at a new level.

Rules

Hit and Run Chess is played with a normal chess set with normal pieces, placement, and movement.

The big difference is the combination of pieces and moves you can make after the 1st turn.

Setup and Opening Example Game Example EndGame Example

The complete rules and stipulations follow:

Capturing en passant

It’s really simple, especially if you already know how to play chess.

Variations: (No matter the variation, no Kings may be captured without Check. If no Check was called, no King may be captured.)

Enhanced Side-step Capturing en passant

Notes

Also Known as Pirate Chess Also Known as RuneChess

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By Stephen Howell.

Last revised by Stephen Howell.


Web page created: 2020-07-31. Web page last updated: 2020-07-31