Baroque chess is a chess variant invented in 1962 by Robert Abbott. In 1963, at the suggestion of his publisher, he changed the name to Ultima, by which name it is also known. Abbott later considered his invention flawed and suggested amendments to the rules, but these suggestions have been substantially ignored by the gaming community, which continues to play by the 1962 rules. Since the rules for Baroque were first laid down in 1962, some regional variation has arisen, causing the game to diverge from Ultima.
Circe chess is a chess variant in which captured pieces return to their starting positions as soon as they are captured. The game was invented by French composer Pierre Monréal in 1967 and the rules of Circe chess were first detailed by Monréal and Jean-Pierre Boyer in an article in Problème, 1968. It is named for the enchantress Circe, who in the Odyssey instructs Odysseus on how to enter the Underworld and return, just as pieces in Circe chess can return after being killed.
A fairy chess piece, variant chess piece, unorthodox chess piece, or heterodox chess piece is a chess piece not used in conventional chess but incorporated into certain chess variants and some unorthodox chess problems, known as fairy chess. Compared to conventional pieces, fairy pieces vary mostly in the way they move, but they may also follow special rules for capturing, promotions, etc. Because of the distributed and uncoordinated nature of unorthodox chess development, the same piece can have different names, and different pieces can have the same name in various contexts.
This glossary of chess problems explains commonly used terms in chess problems, in alphabetical order. For a list of unorthodox pieces used in chess problems, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms used in chess is general, see Glossary of chess; for a list of chess-related games, see List of chess variants.
Fairy chess is the area of chess composition in which there are some changes to the rules of chess. It may involve changes to the board, pieces, or rules to express an idea or theme impossible in orthodox chess. An altered piece used in fairy chess is known as a fairy chess piece. The term fairy chess was introduced by Henry Tate in 1914. Thomas R. Dawson (1889–1951), the "father of fairy chess", invented many fairy pieces and new conditions. He was also problem editor of Fairy Chess Review (1930–1951).
An Albino is a type of chess problem, "in which, at some point in the solution, a white Pawn on its starting square makes each of its four possible moves ." When a Black pawn exhibits similar activity or a quadruple defense instead of "Albino" it is termed a "Pickaninny". The Albino is, "the four possible moves of a WP [white pawn] on its initial square ," and, the Pickaninny, "the four possible moves of a BP [black pawn] on its initial square ". The latter term was coined by Frank Janet by 1916.
Andernach chess is a chess variant in which a piece making a capture changes colour. For instance, if a white bishop on a2 were to capture a black knight on g8, the result would be a black bishop on g8. Non-capturing moves are played as in orthodox chess. If a pawn captures on eighth rank, it is promoted first and then changes colour.
Vernon Rylands Parton was an English chess enthusiast and prolific chess variant inventor, his most renowned variants being Alice chess and Racing Kings. Many of Parton's variants were inspired by the fictional characters and stories in the works of Lewis Carroll. Parton's formal education background, like Lewis Carroll's, was in mathematics. Parton's interests were wide and he was a great believer in Esperanto.
Checkless chess, also known as prohibition chess, is a chess variant where neither player may give check unless it is checkmate. All other rules are as in regular chess. The origin of the game is unknown, dating from the mid-19th century. The variant is a popular problem theme, usually requiring a fairy mate.
Hexagonal chess is a group of chess variants played on boards composed of hexagon cells. The best known is Gliński's variant, played on a symmetric 91-cell hexagonal board.
Thomas Rayner Dawson was an English chess problemist and is acknowledged as "the father of Fairy Chess". He invented many fairy pieces and new conditions. He introduced the popular fairy pieces grasshopper, nightrider, and many other fairy chess ideas.
Grasshopper chess is a chess variant in which pawns can promote to the fairy piece grasshopper. The grasshopper moves as a queen but must jump over a piece and land one square past the piece that they jump in order to move or capture.
The Berolina pawn is a popular fairy chess piece based on the pawn. It may move one vacant square diagonally forward, it may move two vacant squares forward along a diagonal on its first move, and it may capture one square vertically forward. It was invented by Edmund Nebermann in 1926, who named it after the city of Berlin in which he worked. The Berolina pawn is featured in several chess variants, including Berolina chess, and these variants have been played in tournaments. Additionally, the Berolina pawn has found frequent use in chess problems.
2000 A.D. is a chess variant created by V. R. Parton which employs fairy chess pieces on a 10×10 board. Parton published the variant in his 1972 monograph My Game for 2000 A.D. and After.
Wildebeest chess is a chess variant created by R. Wayne Schmittberger in 1987. The Wildebeest board is 11×10 squares. Besides the standard chess pieces, each side has two camels and one "wildebeest" - a piece which may move as either a camel or a knight.
The amazon, also known as the queen+knight compound or the dragon, is a fairy chess piece that can move like a queen or a knight. It may thus be considered the sum of all orthodox chess pieces other than the king and the pawn. The amazon can force checkmate on an enemy king without the help of any other friendly piece.
Chesquerque is a chess variant invented by George R. Dekle Sr. in 1986. The game is played on a board composed of four Alquerque boards combined into a square. Like Alquerque, pieces are positioned on points of intersection and make their moves along marked lines ; as such, the board comprises a 9×9 grid with 81 positions (points) that pieces can move to.
The dabbaba, also known as the dabaaba or dabbabah, is a fairy chess piece that jumps two squares orthogonally, leaping over any intermediate piece. In algebraic notation, it is given the symbol D.
The camel or long knight is a fairy chess piece with an elongated knight move. It can jump three squares horizontally and one square vertically or three squares vertically and one square horizontally, regardless of intervening pieces. Therefore, it is a (1,3)-leaper. The piece commonly represented in diagrams as an inverted knight.
