Chess with different armies
Chess with different armies (also known as Betza chess ) is a variant of chess in which the two players control different sets of pieces. The figure sets are designed so that each army is equally strong. The usual chess pieces are one of the possible armies. Chess with different armies was published in 1996 by Ralph Betza with 4 "official" armies to choose from. There are also a large number of experimental armies by different authors.
Basic rules
All the rules of traditional chess apply with the following exceptions:
- Pawns can convert to any piece that was on the board at the beginning of the game (except for the king)
- The castling is - possible to that figure, which is in the a- or h-line at the beginning portion - with the usual limitations. If this piece is tied to a field color, then after long castling the king is in the b-line and the piece is in the c-line.
Choice of armies: The players can either choose the armies or the armies can be drawn. It can also happen that the same armies play against each other.
The official armies
The various armies are designed so that their strength corresponds as closely as possible to that of the normal chess pieces. The pawns and kings always move as in normal chess. As in normal chess, each player has 4 different types of pieces.
The armies often have alliterative names that cannot be translated.
Components of the figures
Many of the figures in the new armies are made up of the basic components Fers , Wesir , Alfil , Springer , Dabbaba and three-jumper. These components are explained in the following diagrams.
Fers . |
Alfil , can skip other characters. |
Vizier . |
Dabbaba , can skip other figures. |
Triple jumper , can skip other pieces. |
The Fabulous FIDEs
The Fabulous fides are the normal chess pieces with Lady , Tower , runners and jumpers .
In the following armies the pieces are always given in the order queen, rook, bishop, knight.
The Colorbound Clobberers
The Colorbound Clobberers consist almost entirely of figures that are tied to a field color. The "lady" is weaker than normal, but the Daf who replaces the runner is stronger than the runner.
Janus ; can move like a runner or like a jumper. |
Bede ; can pull like a runner or like a dabbaba. |
Daf ; can move like a Ferz, an Alfil or a Dabbaba, but can skip other pieces. |
Waffle ; can move like a vizier or like an alfil, can skip other pieces. |
The Nutty Knights
The Nutty Knights have many jumpers moves. A special feature is that most of the pieces have different options for moving forwards and backwards. The fibnif only has the "narrow" half of the knight's moves, and he can move like a Ferz. Batches have the moves of the eponymous figure forwards and sideways, and the moves of the king backwards and sideways.
Colonel ; moves like a king, forwards and sideways like a rook, or forwards like a knight. |
Tower batch ; move forward and sideways like a rook or backward like a king. |
Springer batch ; moves forward like a knight or sideways and backward like a king. |
Fibnif ; pulls like a Ferz or completely forwards or backwards like a jumper. |
The Remarkable Rookies
The Remarkable Rookies are a very tower-heavy army. Their nominal strength is perhaps greater than that of the other armies, but they have a development disadvantage.
Chancellor ; moves like a rook or like a knight. |
Short tower ; moves a maximum of four spaces like a tower. |
Half duck ; moves like a Ferz, like a Dabbaba or like a three-jumper, can skip other pieces. |
Wooden tower ; moves like a vizier or like a dabbaba, can skip other figures. |
Experimental armies
- 10-directional chess (Jörg Knappen)
- All-Around Allstars (Ralph Betza)
- All-Around Allstars (Ralph Betza) (A different Allstar selection than the first)
- Amazon Army (Ralph Betza)
- Avian Airforce (Ralph Betza)
- Breakfast Brutes (John Smith)
- Cylindrical Cinders (Ralph Betza)
- Fighting Fizzies (Peter Aronson)
- Forward FIDEs (Ralph Betza)
- Jovian Army (Ralph Betza) The Jupiter Army dates back to 1980, when Betza began developing chess with various armies. In contrast to the later armies, the peasants and the king are also changed here.
- Pizza Kings (John Lawson)
- Mannis Manglers (Ralph Betza)
- Meticulous Mashers (Ralph Betza)
- Seeping Switchers (Jörg Knappen)
- Shatranjian Shooters (Abdul-Rahman Sibahi and Joe Joyce)
- Spacious Canoneers (Ralph Betza)
Individual evidence
- ^ Pritchard, D .: The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants . Games & Puzzles Publications, 1994, ISBN 0-9524-1420-1 .
- ↑ 10-directional Chess by Jörg Knappen
- ^ The All-Around Allstars by Ralph Betza
- ^ The All-Around Allstars by Ralph Betza
- ↑ The Amazon Army by Ralph Betza
- ↑ Ideal Values and Practical Values (part 3) by Ralph Betza
- ↑ CwDA: Breakfast Brutes by John Smith
- ^ The Cylindrical Cinders by Ralph Betza
- ↑ The Fighting Fizzies by Peter Aronson
- ↑ The Forward fides by Ralph Betza
- ↑ War of Worlds: Jupiter by Ralph Betza
- ↑ The Pizza Kings by John Lawson
- ↑ The Mannis Manglers by Ralph Betza
- ↑ The Meticulous Mashers by Ralph Betza
- ↑ The Seeping Switchers by Jörg Knappen
- ↑ CwDA: the Shatranjian Shooters by Abdul-Rahman Sibahi and Joe Joyce
- ↑ Ideal Values and Practical Values (part 5) by Ralpha Betza