chris@leadsv.UUCP (Chris Salander) (09/20/85)
There are many different versions of chess from different places and different times in history. I would like to mention one version of Medieval chess so that you out there can try it. It does not require changing the board or the pieces, and it plays completely differently from "modern" chess. All you have to do is change the way the pieces move: Pawns: One square move only. No double move at the beginning. No capture en passant. Capture is still diagonal. Promotion on the eight row is still possible, but the pawn can only be converted into a piece that has been lost. (reflects the rare case of a peasant ascending to nobility). Knights: Same as today. Bishops: Must move only on "church land". This means one of four squares that are two squares away on the diagonal. They can jump over pieces in the intervening squares. EG: x = valid move x . . . x . = other squares . . . . . . . B . . . . . . . x . . . x Rooks: Same as today. Castling is still allowed. Queen: She can still move in any of eight directions, but she can only move one square at a time! King: He can only move one square at a time, and he can only move in the four straight directions. He cannot move diagonally. EG: . x . x K x . x . Comments on play: The knights and bishops can now hop over the pawns and go into battle alone. Against other bishops and knights there is a lot of "fencing" or manuvering. The pawns slog along like an army of foot soldiers. It is not until the pawns join up with the knights and bishops that the blood begins to spill. The rooks are now the super piece on the board (just as castles dominated medieval warfare). But they must wait for the pawns to get out of the way. The queen is no longer the long range ICBM that must be eliminated with your own queen. Usually, because of her limited movement, and the king's very limited movement, she tends to hang around the king to protect him. (Much more true to life!) Try it, you like it! - Christopher Salander
miller@rochester.UUCP (Brad Miller) (09/26/85)
I was under the impression that in medieval chess the king could not castle, but could move like a knight once per game... Brad Miller