Name Parlett Betza Found in Notes
Alfil ~2X A Shatranj A (2,2)-leaper. Compare to Elephant. Alternate notation: ~2/2
Alibaba ~2* AD Fairy Chess
Problems
Combines the powers of Alfil and Dabbaba
Amazon n*, ~1/2 QN Knightmare
Chess
Combines the powers of the Queen and the Knight. Also called Superqueen.
Andernach grasshopper
Andernach chess
A Grasshopper that changes the colour of the hurdle it leaps over. Also known as a Chopper.
Archbishop nX, ~1/2 BN Capablanca
chess
Combines the powers of Bishop and Knight. Also called a Princess, Cardinal, Janus or Paladin.
Balloon Four
Dimensional Chess
A Bishop-like piece used in four-dimensional chess, i.e. it changes all coordinates simultaneously while moving.
Basilisk on*
(Immo~1/2)
mQ (Immo-N) Nova Chess A piece that moves as a Queen but immobilizes any piece within a knight's move of itself, that is, it prevents it from moving or taking. If it is a fairy piece with additional powers it may or may not perform these other tasks depending on the case in question. A Basilisk that is caught by another Basilisk in this fashion, for example, may continue to immobilize others, including the other Basilisk.
Berolina pawn o1X>, c1>, io2X>
mfFcfWimfF2 Berolina chess Moves one square diagonally forward (except on its first move, when it may move two), but captures by moving one square straight forward. Compare with Pawn.
Fairy chess piece 158
Bishop nX B Orthodox
Chess
Moves any number of free squares diagonally.
Boyscout zB Fairy Chess
Problems
Moves like a bishop, but takes 90 degree turns after each step. Invented by J.
de A. Almay in the first half of the 20th century. Rediscovered as Crooked Bishop by Ralph Betza.
Bug-Eyed Monster
Fairy Chess Problems
Can jump to any square which would not be reachable by any orthodox chess piece. Since the Amazon is the sum of all orthodox chess pieces, the Bug-Eyed Monster is the complement of the Amazon.
Camel ~1/3 L Tamerlane
Chess
Old historic piece. Jumps 2 squares orthogonally followed by one square diagonally outwards.
Cannon See "Pao" and "Korean Cannon"
Cardinal See "Archbishop"
Champion 1+, ~2* WAD Omega Chess Combines the powers of the Wazir and the Alibaba.
Chancellor n+, ~1/2 RN Capablanca
chess
Combines the powers of the Rook and Knight. Also called Empress or Marshal.
Checkers Multiple captures in one turn, or without capturing can move forward one diagonal space, but cannot move backward until after it has finished a turn on the far rank of the board. (cf. Draughts, Checkers)
Chopper See "Andernach grasshopper"
Moves as forwards and sideways Rook, the forwards moves of a Knight, or a King.
Dabbaba ~2+ D Tamerlane
Chess
Old historic piece, also known as War machine or Machine. Alternate notation: ~0/2
Dayrider n(~2*) AADD Combination of Alfilrider and Dabbabarider. Also known as Alibabarider.
Dummy A piece with no moves at all. It may be captured, gain temporarily moving
ability by relay, or pushed or pulled around by other pieces if there are pushing or pulling pieces on the board. Different from Zero.
Edgehog n* Q Edgehog
Chess[5]
A Queen that can move only to or from the edge of the board. Variant: when it moves from an edge, it may not move to an edge. Represented in diagrams by a Queen rotated 90° counterclockwise. Invented by John Driver in 1966.
Elephant 2X nA Xiangqi
(Chinese)
A (2,2) leaper, but it cannot jump over an intervening piece, like the Ma. In Chinese Chess, the Elephant is restricted to its half of the board.
Empress See "Chancellor"
Fers 1X F Shatranj Move one square in any direction diagonally.
Fusilier o1+, c1X mWcF Centennial
Chess
Moves and captures like a Pawn in all 4 directions. Invented by F. Marinelli in 1770. Also known as Steward or Quadrapawn.
Giraffe ~1/4 Old historic piece. Jumps one square diagonally followed by three squares orthogonally. See also Zurafa.
Gold General 1+, 1X> WfF Shōgi Moves in all 4 orthogonal directions or diagonally forward.
Grasshopper gQ Fairy Chess
Problems
A hopper which moves along the same lines as a queen and lands on the square immediately beyond that of the hurdle. One of the most popular fairy pieces. In diagrams, the Grasshopper is usually represented by an inverted Queen.
Fairy chess piece 159
Graz Pawn 1*> , io2*> fWfFifmW2ifmF2 Fairy Chess Problems
Combines the powers of the Berolina Pawn and the standard Pawn. Also known as the Sergeant, this piece was used as early as 1943 in Arno von Wilpert's Wolf Chess. It occurs (without the initial double move) as Iron General in large Shogi variants from 15th century, e.g., in Tenjiku shogi.
Immobilizer on*
(Immo1*)
mQ (Immo-K) Ultima The Immobilizer, invented by Robert Abbott, moves as a chess Queen. At the end of its move, any enemy piece that is on a square adjacent to the Immobilizer is frozen in place, and can not move away until the Immobilizer moves away or is captured. The Immobilizer can never move to an occupied square and can not capture pieces. If two Immobilizers move next to each other, they are both frozen until the end of the game or until one is captured.
An immobilised piece may commit suicide, e.g., to open a line of attack.
This action counts as a move.
Janus Janus chess See "Archbishop"
King 1* K Orthodox
Chess
Move one square in any direction. Royal in orthodox chess. A non-royal piece which moves in this way is sometimes called a Commoner or Man.
Khohn 1X, 1> FfW Makruk Move one square in any direction diagonally or one square straight forward.
It has the same moves as the Silver General in Shogi.
Knight ~1/2 N Orthodox
Chess
It jumps one square orthogonally followed by another square diagonally.
Korean Cannon
pR Korean Chess
(Janggi)
Moves and captures along orthogonal lines by jumping exactly one piece, called the hurdle. There can be any number of free squares before and after the hurdle. Unlike the Pao it moves the same way for capturing and non-capturing moves. In chess problems it is sometimes called Rook Lion or Rion.
Kraken ~n/m Leap to any square on the board, including the one it is currently on (leaping to the current square has the effect of passing a move). Compare with Universal leaper.
Leeloo Quintessential
Chess
Combines the powers of Quintessence and Rook
Leo on*, c^& mQcpQ Chinese Combines the powers of the Pao and Vao; it moves like a Queen when not capturing (that is, a (1,0) or (1,1) rider), but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Leo's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of squares beyond the hurdle).
Lias' Pawn o1>, o1=, c1X>, io2>
mfsWcfFimfW2 Lias' proposal An extended Pawn which can also step one square sidewards. Proposed in the 1920s by A. G. Lias to improve standard chess
Lion pQ Fairy Chess
Problems
A hopper which moves along the same lines as a Queen and which can land on a square any distance beyond the hurdle.
Maharaja n*, ~1/2 QN Maharajah and
the Sepoys
A royal Amazon, the only piece for white.
Mao Chinese Moves like a Knight except that it does not leap. It first moves one square
orthogonally in any direction, and then continues in the same general direction one square diagonally. The square it is on after its orthogonal move must be vacant. For example, if a white mao is on b2 and there is a white pawn on b3, the Mao cannot move to a4 or c4; if the pawn is on c3, however, it can move to both those squares (because the first part of the move is orthogonal, not diagonal).
Marshal See "Chancellor"
Moa Chinese as the Mao, but the first step is diagonal and the second orthogonal, not the
other way round.
Fairy chess piece 160
Murray Lion ~2*, c1* ADcK Can move and capture as an Alfil or Dabbaba, and capture only as a King.
This piece stems from a misinterpretation of the Lion of Chu Shogi but has become popular in fairy chess problems and chess variants. It is named after the chess historian Harold James Ruthven Murray who brought it up.
Nao mNNcpNN Chinese A Chinese Nightrider —moves as a normal Nightrider (that is, a (2,1) rider) when not capturing, but which captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Nao's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of knight-moves beyond the hurdle).
Nightrider n(1/2) (in same direction)
NN Fairy Chess
Problems
A rider which moves any number of 2,1 cells (i.e., knight moves) in the same direction. A Nightrider on b2 on an empty board, therefore, can move to a4, c4, d6, e8, d3, f4, h5 and d1. A Pawn of the opposing colour on d6 could be captured, but the Nightrider could not move any further in that direction (i.e., it couldn't move on to e8). A pawn on b3, for example, would have no effect. On diagrams, the nightrider is usually represented by an inverted Knight. One of the most popular fairy pieces. See diagram below.
Odysseus Fairy Chess
Problems
The Odysseus' move depends on the file where it is located: It moves as a Rook on files a and h, as a Knight on files b and g, as a Bishop on files c and f, as a Queen on file d and as a King on file e. Also known as Querquisite.
Pao mRcpR Chinese Moves like a Rook when not capturing (that is, a (1,0) rider), but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Pao's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of squares beyond the hurdle). Found in xiangqi (in which context it is normally known in English as a Cannon). Compare with Korean Cannon.
Pawn o1>, c1X>, io2>
mfWcfFimfW2 Orthodox Chess
Moves one square straight forward (except on its first move, when it may move two squares), but captures one square forward diagonally. Compare with Berolina pawn.
Pentere Quinquereme
Chess
Combines the powers of Queen and Quintessence.
Princess See "Archbishop"
Pterodactyl ~3/3, ~5/5,
~0/15
Chess
mathematics The simplest triple range amphibian. George Jelliss demonstrated a pterodactyl's knight's tour on a 16×16 board in 1985[6]
Quang trung rook
Quang Trung Chess
Moves as Rook but when capturing must move on square away from captured piece in the same direction.
Queen n* Q Orthodox
Chess
Combines the powers of the Bishop and Rook.
Quintessence Quintessential
Chess
A Nightrider who takes 90-degree turns in a zig-zag manner on each step.
First described in 2002 by Jörg Knappen and found in several chess variants since then.
Rao mqNcpqN Chinese A Chinese Rose —moves as a normal Rose when not capturing, but captures
by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Rao's destination square. The captured piece can be any distance beyond the hurdle.
Reflecting
Bishop Moves like a bishop, but additionally is allowed to "bounce" off the edge of the board when making a move, similar to a hockey puck or billiard ball. Its path continues down the diagonal to any legitimate square after the
"bounce".[7]
Fairy chess piece 161
RennCavalier Renniassance
Chess
Moves in the same move one square diagonally and any number of squares othogonally or any number of squares orthogonally and one diagonally. It has two paths to the same target square and must make at least a blockable knight's move. Called Cavalier in RennChess, but the name Cavalier is used for other pieces as well. Renniassance Chess was invented by 1980 by Eric V. Greenwood.
RennDuke Renniassance
Chess
Moves in the same move one square orthogonally and then any number of squares diagonally or any number of squares diagonally and then one straight. It has two paths to the same target square and must make at least a blockable knight's move. Called Duke in RennChess, but the name Duke is used for other pieces as well.
Rook n+ R Orthodox
Chess
Moves any number of free squares orthogonally.
Rose qN Fairy Chess
Problems
Moves as a Nightrider, except that rather than moving in a straight line, it moves along pseudo-circular ones. A rose standing on e1 on an empty board, for instance, can move to any of the squares on the large circle c2, b4, c6, e7, g6, h4 and g2; as well as c2 and a1; or d3 and b4; or d3, e5 and g6; or f3, e5, c6 and a5; or f3 and h4. As with the nightrider, an opposite-coloured piece on any one of these squares can be captured, but prevents the rose from progressing any further along that line. See diagram below.
Spy 2>, 2=,
(1/1)>
fsDfF Chess Empire The Spy can move two spaces forwards or sideways, or can move like a knight one forward and then one horizontally or vice versa. It can leap over pieces and can only move two spaces; thus, it is "trapped" on its own color like a Bishop.
Squirrel ~0/2, ~1/2,
~2/2
DAN Fairy Chess
Problems
Jumps to any field in a distance of 2. It was discovered independently several times and is also known as Centurion or Castle.
Superpawn on>, cnX> mfRcfB Fairy Chess
Problems Moves without capture any number of fields forward, captures diagonally forwards like a Bishop. Promotes on the 8th rank. Cannot capture en passant nor be captured en passant. May be placed in the first rank. Invented by Werner Speckmann in 1967.[8]
Superqueen See "Amazon"
Taxi Fairy Chess
Problems
Moves without capture one step forward or backwards, captures one square diagonally forwards like a Pawn. When in the second rank can move one, two or three steps forward or one backwards. Can promote on the 8th rank or continue to be a Taxi. Can capture en passant other Pawns or Taxis. May be placed in the first or eight ranks.
Universal leaper
Leap to any square on the board apart from the one it is on. Compare with Kraken.
Unicorn Raumschach In Raumschach it is a triagonal rider, moves through the vertices of the cubes. See diagram below. The name Unicorn is also used for several pieces in 2 dimensions, e.g., for the Archbishop or for the combination of Bishop and Nightrider also known as Banshee.
Vao mBcpB Chinese Moves like a Bishop when not capturing (that is, a (1,1) rider), but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Vao's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of squares beyond the hurdle).
Wazir 1+ W Tamerlane
Chess
Moves one square orthogonally in any direction.
Wizard 1X, ~1/3 FL Omega Chess Combines the movement of Fers and Camel.
Zebra ~2/3 J Old historic piece. Jumps one square orthogonally followed by two squares diagonally outwards.
Fairy chess piece 162
Zero ~0/0 A piece which can make a zero move, i. e., jump and land on its starting
square without any side effects. This gives the player the option to pass a move. Sometimes used as a component to more complex pieces. It is different from the piece with no move at all called Dummy
Zurafa Tamerlane
Chess
Starts with a (1,4) leap (like the modern Giraffe) and may continue moving outwards as a Rook.
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Nightrider makes any number of knight moves in the same direction.
a b c d e f g h i j
10 10
9 9
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h i j
Rose. Moves as Nightrider, but along pseudo-circular lines. (two possible paths depicted.) Of course it may move clockwise or counter-clockwise.
Fairy chess piece 163
E D C
B A
The unicorn, represented here by an upside-down knight, moves through the vertices of cubes (triagonally). A unicorn from its starting position can reach only 30 cubes. The white unicorn's destination squares are marked with a
circle, black's with an X. The boards are stacked, with board E on top.
Notes
[1] Poisson, Catégories de pièces - Types of pieces, section "Bondisseur(m,n) - (m,n)Leaper".
[2] Poisson, Pièces – Pieces, sections Alfil, Fers [3] Parlett, 1999
[4] http://www.chessvariants.org/piececlopedia.dir/betzanot.html Betza Notation by Glen Overby II [5] http://www.chessvariants.org/dpieces.dir/edgehog-chess.html Peter Aronson, "Edgehog Chess"
[6] G. Jelliss, Theory of Moves (Retrieved on 2009-07-18) (http://www.ktn.freeuk.com/9a.htm)
[7] The Piececlopedia: Reflecting Bishop (http://www.chessvariants.com/piececlopedia.dir/reflecting-bishop.html) by Peter Aronson.
[8] Märchenfiguren und ihre Grundtypen (pdf, in german) (http://www.problemschachbuch.de/Materialien/Maerchenschach.pdf)
References
• David Parlett (1999). The Oxford History of Board Games. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0-19-212998-8.
• Christian Poisson. "Catégories de pièces - Types of pieces" (http://christian.poisson.free.fr/problemesis/
categories.html). Retrieved 2008-04-18.
• Christian Poisson. "Pièces – Pieces" (http://christian.poisson.free.fr/problemesis/pieces.html). Retrieved 2008-04-18.
• Ralph Betza's funny notation (http://www.chessvariants.org/d.betza/chessvar/pieces/notation.html)
• George Jelliss. "All the King's Men" (http://www.mayhematics.com/v/gm.htm). Retrieved 2010-07-20.
Fairy chess piece 164
External links
• Piececlopedia (http://www.chessvariants.org/index/mainquery.php?type=Piececlopedia&
orderby=LinkText&displayauthor=1&displayinventor=1&usethisheading=Piececlopedia) - an extensive list of fairy chess pieces, their history and movement diagrams
• Who is Who on Eight by Eight (http://www.chessvariants.org/piececlopedia.dir/whos-who-on-8x8.html) Compiled by Ivan A Derzhanski, shows also piece values
• Jerome Grimbert's List of Fairy Chess Pieces (french) (http://jgrimbert.free.fr/pieces/indexa.html)
• Fairy chess pieces and fairy problem conditions (german) (http://www.hilmar-ebert.de/VV1000.htm)
• Märchenschachlexikon (http://www.dieschwalbe.de/lexikon.htm) (Die Schwalbe, German)
Hippogonal
A hippogonal chess move is one similar to a knight's move. That is, a leap m squares in one of the orthogonal directions, and n squares in the other, for integer values of m and n. It need not be a 2:1 ratio for m and n. A specific type of hippogonal move can be written (m,n), usually with the smaller number first.
For example, the knight itself moves two squares in one orthogonal direction and one in the other—it moves hippogonally. It is a (1,2) hippogonal mover, sometimes referred to as a (1,2) leaper.
Other hippogonally moving pieces include the camel, a fairy chess piece, which moves three squares in one direction and one in the other, and thus is a (1,3) hippogonal mover.
External links
• Piececlopedia: knight [1]
References
[1] http://www.chessvariants.com/piececlopedia.dir/knight.html
Grasshopper 165
Grasshopper
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Grasshopper (shown as an inverted white queen with notation G) must hop over other pieces in order to move or capture. Here, it can capture the pawn in a7.
The Grasshopper is a fairy chess piece that moves along ranks, files, and diagonals (as ordinary queen) but only by hopping over another piece at any distance to the square immediately closest. 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. The grasshopper may jump over pieces of either color; the piece being jumped over is unaffected.
On the diagram it is shown as an inverted queen with notation G.
For an example of grasshopper movement see the first diagram. The white grasshopper on d4 can move to the squares marked by cross (b2, d1, d7 and h8), as well as capture the black pawn on a7. It cannot move on g4, because there are two pieces to hop over.
Grasshopper was introduced by T. R. Dawson in 1913 in problems published in the Cheltenham Examiner newspaper. Nowadays it is one of the most popular fairy pieces used in chess problems.
V. Onitiu, N. Petrović, T. R. Dawson & C. M. Fox (1930)
a b c d e f g h
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
a b c d e f g h
Mate in 8 (with grasshoppers Ga8, f7, h2 and h1)
Grasshopper 166
Solution of the problem on the second diagram is:
1.Gh3! Gh4 2.Gh5 Gh6 3.Gh7 Gh8 4.Ge7 Gd7 5.Gc7 Gb7 6.Ga7+ Ga6 7.Ga5+ Ga4 8.Ga3#.