Mann (chess)

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A common icon for the mann used in diagrams Chess flt45.svg
A common icon for the mann used in diagrams

The mann (plural mannen [1] ) or man is a fairy chess piece that may move to any adjoining square. It is similar to the king, but it is not a royal piece (i.e. it is not subject to check and checkmate), and it cannot castle. [2] The mann is used in many chess variants. In this article the mann is represented by an inverted king.

Contents

Movement

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Possible moves of the unhindered mann

The mann has the basic move of a king in chess: it may move to any adjoining square. It is otherwise treated as a normal chess piece (i.e. it can be captured and is not subject to check or checkmate). The mann is unable to castle. It can be thought of as the combination of a ferz and a wazir.

Value

In general, the mann is approximately equal in strength and value to the knight. The mann often takes a few moves to get properly developed in the opening. It is effective at close proximity, where its striking power is considerable. Although it is rather slow, the mann is excellent at both attacking and defending nearby pieces and pawns, similar to the king. [3] The mann reaches its peak strength during the endgame, in which its value is slightly more than a knight, despite being slightly less than a knight in the opening. [4] It is possible to force checkmate with a mann and a king against a lone enemy king; since the enemy king cannot move to attack either, it is quite easy to box the king into a corner.

History

Chess piece Sage.jpg
The Sage as how it may have appeared in Courier chess [5]
Illustration of Chess Piece Man by Gustav Selenus (1616).jpg
Illustration of the chess piece "Mann" by Gustav Selenus from the book Das Schach-Oder Konig-Spiel (1616)

The mann is one of the most simply described chess pieces and as such has a long history and has gone by many names. [a] A similar piece known as the dabbaba was described c. 950 in a form of chess on a 10×10 board. [2] The mann is used in Courier chess, invented in the 12th century and commonly played until the 18th century. [5] Many chess variants have used the mann; modern instances include Quatrochess (as mann), Roman chess (as archer or chariot), Knightmate (as commoner), and 5D Chess with Multiverse Time Travel (as common king).

Examples

Each mann is represented by an inverted king in the following examples.

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Knightmate starting position. To win, the royal knight must be mated .
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10 Chess rdl45.svg Chess ndd45.svg Chess fdl45.svg Chess bdd45.svg Chess qdl45.svg Chess kdd45.svg Chess bdl45.svg Chess fdd45.svg Chess ndl45.svg Chess rdd45.svg 10
9 Chess pdd45.svg Chess pdl45.svg Chess pdd45.svg Chess pdl45.svg Chess pdd45.svg Chess pdl45.svg Chess pdd45.svg Chess pdl45.svg Chess pdd45.svg Chess pdl45.svg 9
8 Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg 8
7 Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg 7
6 Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg 6
5 Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg 5
4 Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg 4
3 Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg Chess d45.svg Chess l45.svg 3
2 Chess pll45.svg Chess pld45.svg Chess pll45.svg Chess pld45.svg Chess pll45.svg Chess pld45.svg Chess pll45.svg Chess pld45.svg Chess pll45.svg Chess pld45.svg 2
1 Chess rld45.svg Chess nll45.svg Chess fld45.svg Chess bll45.svg Chess qld45.svg Chess kll45.svg Chess bld45.svg Chess fll45.svg Chess nld45.svg Chess rll45.svg 1
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Roman chess starting setup. White's mannen are on c1/h1; Black's are on c10/h10.
Quatrochess starting setup. Mannen are on e5/e10/j10/j5. Quatrochess gameboard and init config.PNG
Quatrochess starting setup. Mannen are on e5/e10/j10/j5.

Notes

  1. Names including: Man (in Courier chess), der Mann (im Kurierschach), Rath, Counsellor, Sage.

References

  1. "chessvariants.com -- Comment Listing". www.chessvariants.com. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
  2. 1 2 Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 244. Mann.
  3. ( Ward 1996 :13)
  4. Betza, Ralph. "The WF (or Commoner)". The Chess Variant Pages .
  5. 1 2 "Courier chess". The Saint Thomas guild. June 21, 2014.

Bibliography