Spherical chess

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Spherical chess refers to a group of chess variants played on boards composed of fields arranged on the surface of a sphere.

Contents

Miller's spherical chess

A variant described by Don Miller in 1965 [1] and later modified by Leo Nadvorney. The fields of the board form eight rings around the sphere each consisting of eight squares and with the fields touching the poles degenerated into spherical triangles. [2]

Murali's spherical chess

This variant is played on a board obtained by drawing two sets of circles with orthogonal axes of rotation on the sphere. Both players pieces are initially arranged on opposite hemispheres. Each player has a standard set of king, queen, bishop, knight and rook arranged in a square pattern surrounding a central empty square. These pieces are surrounded by 16 pawns in another square layer. Pawns move one field orthogonally away from their initial position with the exception of the four pawns at the four corners of the setup, which have two possible directions. They all capture one field diagonally forward. The other pieces have the moves from standard chess adapted to the spherical geometry. For example, the rook can move any number of fields orthogonally up to one of the "poles" of the grid and continue on the other side of the sphere, except that a "null move" is not allowed. This rule regarding "null move" also applies to the bishop and the queen. Pawns promote when reaching the fields where the opponents pieces other than pawns are initially placed. [3]

Tuveson and Saul's spherical chess

A variant developed by Jared Tuveson and Lukas Saul. The board has differently shaped fields, some of them being triangles and others squares. Special rules govern the moves of the pieces on the triangular fields. [4]

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Rhombic chess Chess variant

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Triangular chess (game) Chess variant

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EuroShogi

EuroShogi is a shogi variant invented by Vladimír Pribylinec starting in 2000. The game developed from an early version of chess variant Echos in 1977, leading to Cubic Chess, then later to Cubic Shogi, and finally to EuroShogi. Instead of the classic figures, 18 black and 18 black cubes are used, which are on two opposing sides without symbols. The other two cubes on the opposite sides have one white and one black symbol. The other opposing sides are the same symbols of the opposite color - their promotion is indicated by a circle around symbol. Symbol on top of its mobility. The pieces are placed on the board so that they are oriented towards players without any symbolic surfaces. Plays on a board with 8x8 fields of the same color.

Chesquerque

Chesquerque is a chess variant invented by George R. Dekle Sr. in 1986. The game is played on a board equaling four Alquerque boards combined, and like Alquerque, pieces move along marked lines (9×9) to the points of intersection. All the standard chess pieces are present, plus one additional pawn and one archbishop fairy piece per side. The pieces move in ways specially adapted to the Alquerque-gridded board.

Three-man chess Chess variant intended for three players and played on a hexagonal board

Three-man chess is a chess variant for three players invented by George R. Dekle Sr. in 1984. The game is played on a hexagonal board comprising 96 quadrilateral cells. Each player controls a standard army of chess pieces.

Quatrochess

Quatrochess is a chess variant for four players invented by George R. Dekle Sr. in 1986. The board comprises 14×14 squares minus the four central squares. Each player controls a standard set of sixteen chess pieces, and additionally nine fairy pieces. The game can be played in partnership or all-versus-all.

Rollerball (chess variant)

Rollerball is a chess variant invented by Jean-Louis Cazaux in 1998. The game was inspired by the 1975 science-fiction movie Rollerball, specifically the futuristic and violent sport portrayed in the film.

Diplomat chess

Diplomat chess is a chess variant invented by Carlos Martín-Fuertes in 2003 as a contribution to a Contest to design a chess variant on 43 squares, organised by The Chess Variant Pages. It is played on a circular board with 43 cells, including the center circle which is considered orthogonal and diagonal to every adjacent cell. The game includes a fairy piece called 'diplomat' which instead of capturing can suborn enemy pieces.

References

  1. Pritchard, D. B. (2007). The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants (PDF). England: John Beasley. pp. 223–224. ISBN   978-0-9555168-0-1.
  2. Castelli, Alessandro. "Spherical chess". The Chess Variant Pages . Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  3. Murali, Alavoor Venkatavaradhan (2011). Chess Variants and Games. Mumbai, India: Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd. ISBN   978-93-81115-74-9.
  4. USapplication 20030020236A1,Jared Mathew Tuveson&Lukas Amadeo Saul,"Spherical Chess Board",published 30 January 2003