The grasshopper is a fairy chess piece that moves along ranks , files , and diagonals (like a queen) but only by hopping over another piece. The piece to be hopped may be of either color and any distance away, but the grasshopper must land on the square immediately beyond it in the same direction. If there is no piece to hop over, it cannot move. If the square beyond a piece is occupied by a piece of the opposite color, the grasshopper can capture that piece.[1]
The grasshopper was introduced by T. R. Dawson in 1913 in problems published in the Cheltenham Examiner newspaper. It is one of the most popular fairy pieces used in chess problems.[2]
In this article, the grasshopper is shown as an inverted queen and notated as G, as used by the British Chess Problem Society[3].
The grasshopper must hop over other pieces in order to move or capture. Here, it can move to any square marked "x", or it can capture the pawn on a7.
In the diagram, the white grasshopper on d4 can move to the squares marked with crosses (b2, d1, d7, and h8) or capture the black pawn on a7. It cannot move to g4, as there are two pieces to hop over. Black's king is not in check, as in order to attack a piece there must be an in-between piece to hop over.
The problemist tradition includes several other types of pieces that also move by hopping other pieces. Variations include changing how many steps are made before or after the hurdle, how many pieces are hopped, or adding another move before the hopping move.
The BCPS classifies the Grasshopper under the larger family of Riderhoppers, which includes the rookhopper, bishopper, and nightriderhopper. Also included are the eagle, hamster, moose, and sparrow, which move and capture like the grasshopper but are deflected (to either side) 90°, 180°, 45°, and 135°, respectively, upon passing the hurdle.
The Locust family of pieces move like a grasshopper but capture the hurdle rather than the piece on the landing square. They can only move when the hurdle is an enemy piece and the landing square is vacant. This is similar to checkers but without limiting the range from the captured piece.
Xiangqi and janggi feature a cannon with similar abilities
References
↑Pritchard (1994), p.227: "It moves and captures on Q-lines by hopping over a man of either colour to the next square beyond."
↑Dickins (1971), p.8: "[...] the Grasshopper (G), (), which moves and captures on Queen lines by hopping over the first man of either colour standing on one of those lines to the square next beyond that man. This, the commonest and most familiar of the Fairy Pieces, was invented by T. R. Dawson at the end of 1912, the first G Problem being published in the Cheltenham Examiner, 3rd July 1913. [...] Some thousands of problems using Grasshoppers have been published."
12Emmerson, Stephen (July 2018). Foster, Geoff; Friedgood, David (eds.). "A GLOSSARY OF FAIRY CHESS DEFINITIONS". The Problemist (Supplement). Lavenham Press, Suffolk: British Chess Problem Society.
Bibliography
Dickins, Anthony (1971) [corrected repub. of 1969 2nd ed., The Q Press, Richmond, Surrey, England]. A Guide to Fairy Chess. New York: Dover Publications Inc. pp.8, 65. ISBN0-486-22687-5.
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