Fairy chess piece
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 chess problems. Fairy pieces vary in the way they move. Because of the distributed and uncoordinated nature of unorthodox chess development, the same piece can have different names, and different pieces the same name in various contexts. Almost all are usually symbolised as inverted or rotated icons of the standard pieces in diagrams, and the meanings of these "wildcards" must be defined in each context separately. Pieces invented for use in chess variants rather than problems sometimes instead have special icons designed for them, but with some exceptions, many of these are not used beyond the individual games they were invented for.
Background
Today's chess exists because of variations someone made to the rules of an earlier version of the game. For example, the queen we use today was once able to move only a single square in a diagonal direction, and the piece was referred to as a ferz. Today, this piece still starts next to the king, but has gained new movement and become today's queen. Thus, the ferz is now considered a non-standard chess piece. Chess enthusiasts still often like to try variations of the rules and in the way pieces move. Pieces which move differently from today's standard rules are called "variant" or "fairy" chess pieces.The names of fairy pieces are not standardised, and most do not have standard symbols associated with them. Most are typically represented in diagrams by rotated versions of the icons for normal pieces. The following text uses common names for the pieces described whenever possible, but these names sometimes differ between circles associated with chess problems and circles associated with chess variants.
Classification
Many of the simplest fairy chess pieces do not appear in the orthodox game, but they usually fall into one of three classes. There are also compound pieces that combine the movement powers of two or more different pieces.Simple pieces
Leapers
An -leaper is a piece that moves by a fixed type of vector between its starting and destination squares. One of the coordinates of the vector 'start square – arrival square' must have an absolute value m and the other one an absolute value n. [|A] leaper captures by occupying the square on which an enemy piece sits. For instance, the knight is the -leaper. Note that an -leaper is exactly the same thing as an -leaper, so that the knight can also be considered the -leaper. The table to the right shows common names for the leapers with [|0] ≤ m, n ≤ 3, together with the letter used to represent them in [|Betza] notation, a common notation for describing fairy pieces.Although moves to adjacent squares are not strictly "leaps" by the normal use of the word, they are included for generality. Leapers that move only to adjacent squares are sometimes called step movers in the context of shogi variants.
The leaper's move cannot be blocked; it "leaps" over any intervening pieces. Leapers are not able to create pins, but are effective forking pieces. The check of a leaper cannot be parried by interposing.
In shatranj, a Persian forerunner to chess, the predecessors of the bishop and queen were leapers: the alfil is a -leaper, and the ferz a -leaper. The wazir is a -leaper. The dabbaba is a -leaper. The 'level-3' leapers are the threeleaper, camel, zebra, and tripper. The giraffe is a level-4 leaper. Many of these basic leapers appear in Tamerlane chess.
Riders
A rider, or ranging piece, is a piece that moves an unlimited distance in one direction, provided there are no pieces in the way. Each basic rider corresponds to a basic leaper, and can be thought of as repeating that leaper's move in one direction until an obstacle is reached. If the obstacle is a friendly piece, it blocks further movement; if the obstacle is an enemy piece, it may be captured, but it cannot be jumped over.There are three riders in : the rook is a -rider; the bishop is a -rider; and the queen combines both patterns. Sliders are a special case of riders which can only move between geometrically contiguous cells. All of the riders in orthodox chess are examples of sliders.
Riders can create both pins and skewers. One popular fairy chess rider is the [|nightrider], which can make an unlimited number of knight moves in any direction. The names of riders are often obtained by taking the name of its base leaper and adding the suffix "rider". For example, the zebrarider is a -rider. A nightrider can be blocked only on a square one of its component knight moves falls on: if a nightrider starts on a1, it can be blocked on b3 or c2, but not on a2, b2, or b1. It can only travel from a1 to c5 if the intervening square b3 is unoccupied.
Some generalised riders do not follow a straight path. The gryphon from the historical game of Grande Acedrex is such a "bent rider": it takes its first step like a ferz and continues outward from that destination like a rook. The unicorn, from the same game, takes its first step like a knight and continues outward from that destination like a bishop. The rose from Chess on a Really Big Board traces out an regular octagonal path of knight moves: from e1, it can go to g2, h4, g6, e7, c6, b4, c2, and back to e1.
A limited ranging piece moves like a rider, but only up to a specific number of steps. An example is the short rook from Chess with different armies: it moves like a rook, but only up to a distance of 4 squares. From a1, it can travel in one move to b1, c1, d1, or e1, but not f1. A rider's corresponding leaper can be thought of as a limited ranging piece with a range of 1: a wazir is a rook restricted to moving only one square at a time. The violent ox and flying dragon from dai shogi are a range-2 rook and a range-2 bishop respectively.
There are other possible generalisations as well; the picket from Tamerlane chess moves like a bishop, but at least two squares These are in general called ski-pieces: the picket is a ski-bishop. A skip-rider skips over the first and then every odd cell in its path: it cannot be blocked on the squares it skips. Thus a skip-rook would be a dabbabarider, and a skip-bishop would be an alfilrider. A slip-rider is similar, but skips over the second and then every even cell in its path.
Hoppers
A hopper is a piece that moves by jumping over another piece. The hurdle can be any piece of any color. Unless it can jump over a piece, a hopper cannot move. Note that hoppers generally capture by taking the piece on the destination square, not by taking the hurdle. The exceptions are locusts which are pieces that capture by hopping over its victim. They are sometimes considered a type of hopper. There are no hoppers in Western chess. In xiangqi, the cannon captures as a hopper along rook lines ; in janggi, the cannon is a hopper along rook lines when moving or capturing. The grasshopper moves along the same lines as a queen, hopping over another piece and landing on the square immediately beyond it. Yang Qi includes the diagonal counterpart of the cannon, the vao, which moves as a bishop and captures as a hopper along bishop lines.Compound pieces
Compound pieces combine the powers of two or more pieces. The queen may be considered the compound of a rook and a bishop. The king of standard chess combines the ferz and wazir. The alibaba combines the dabbaba and alfil, while the squirrel can move to any square 2 units away. The phoenix combines the wazir and alfil, while the kirin combines the ferz and dabbaba: both appear in chu shogi, an old Japanese chess variant that is still sometimes played today.An amphibian is a combined leaper with a larger range than any of its components, such as the frog, a --leaper. Although the -leaper is confined to one half of the board, and the -leaper to one ninth, their combination can reach any square on the board.
When one of the combined pieces is a knight, the compound may be called a knighted piece. The princess, empress, and amazon are three popular compound pieces, combining the powers of minor orthodox chess pieces. They are the knighted bishop, knighted rook, and knighted queen respectively. When one of the combined pieces is a king, the compound may be called a crowned piece. The crowned knight combines the knight with the king's moves. The dragon king of shogi is a crowned rook, while the dragon horse is a crowned bishop. The knighted compounds show that a compound piece may not fall into any of the three basic categories from above: a princess slides for its bishop moves, but leaps for its knight moves.
Marine pieces are compound pieces consisting of a rider and a locust in the same directions. Marine pieces have names alluding to the sea and its myths, e.g., nereide, mermaid, or poseidon.
In addition to combining the powers of pieces, pieces can also be modified by restricting them in certain ways: for example, their power might only be used for moving, only for capturing, only forwards, only backwards, only sideways, only on their first move, only on a specific square, only against a specific piece, and so on. The horse in xiangqi is a knight that cannot leap: it can be blocked on the square orthogonally adjacent to it. The gold general from shogi is the combination of a wazir and a forward-only ferz; the silver general from shogi is the combination of a ferz and a forward-only wazir. The pawn has the power of a wazir, but only forward and for movement; the power of a ferz, but only forward and for capturing; the power of a rook with a limited range of 2 squares, but only forward and on its first move; the power of promotion to a more powerful piece, but only on its last rank; and the power to capture an enemy pawn en passant, but only immediately after it has moved two squares past it on an adjacent file. A piece that moves and captures differently, like the pawn, is called divergent.
There are some powerful notation systems, described below, that can more succinctly represent arbitrary combinations of the basic restrictions of basic pieces.
Capturing
All of the above pieces move once per turn and capture by replacement. The lion in chu shogi, as do the pieces in Marseillais chess, can move twice per turn: such pieces are common in the old Japanese variants of chess, termed shogi variants, where they are called lion moves after the simplest example. The lion is a king with the power to move twice per turn: thus it can capture a piece and then move on, possibly capturing another, or returning to its original square. When a double-moving piece captures and then returns to its original square, it acts like a shooting piece, which does not capture by replacement. Such a shooting capture is termed igui 居喰い "stationary feeding" in the old Japanese variants where it is common. Baroque chess has many examples of pieces that do not capture by replacement, such as the withdrawer, a piece which captures an adjacent piece by moving directly away from it.Higher dimensions
Some three-dimensional chess variants also exist, such as Raumschach, along with pieces that take advantage of the extra dimension on the board.Games
Some classes of pieces come from a certain game, and will have common characteristics. Examples are the pieces from xiangqi, a Chinese game similar to chess. The most common are the leo, pao and vao and the mao. Those derived from the cannon are distinguished by moving as a hopper when capturing, but otherwise moving as a rider.Pieces from xiangqi are usually circular disks, labeled or engraved with a Chinese character identifying the piece. Pieces from shogi are usually wedge-shaped chips, with kanji characters identifying the piece.
Special attributes
Fairy pieces vary in the way they move, but some may also have other special characteristics or powers. The joker mimics the last move made by the opponent. So for example, if white moves a bishop, black can follow by moving the joker as a bishop.A royal piece is one which must not be allowed to be captured. If a royal piece is threatened with capture and can not avoid capture the next move, then the game is lost. In orthodox chess, the kings are royal. In fairy chess any other piece may instead be royal, and there may be more than one, or none at all. With multiple royal pieces the game can be won by capturing one of them, or capturing all of them. The rules can also impose a limit to the number of royals that are allowed to be left in check. In Spartan chess black has two kings, and they may not both be left in check even though they can not both be captured in one turn. In Rex Multiplex, a fairy chess condition, pawns can promote to king: a move that checks multiple kings at once is illegal unless all the checks can be resolved on the next move; checkmate happens when a move checkmates all kings of the opposite colour.
Pieces, when moving, can also create effects on themselves or on other pieces. In knight relay chess, a knight grants any friendly piece it protects the ability to move like a knight. This ability is temporary and expires when the piece is no longer protected by a knight. In Andernach chess, a piece that moves or captures changes its colour; in volage, a genre of fairy chess problems, a piece changes colour the first time it moves from a light square to a dark square, after which its colour is fixed. In Madrasi chess, two pieces of the same kind but different colour attacking each other temporarily paralyse each other: neither may move until the mutual attack is broken by an outside piece. The basilisk from Ralph Betza's Nemoroth inflicts a permanent form of this paralysis ; the ghast from the same game restricts friendly pieces within two squares of it to moves that take them geometrically further from it, and compels enemy pieces to do so. The immobiliser from Baroque chess immobilises any piece next to it; the fire demon from tenjiku shogi and poison flame from ko shogi capture any enemy pieces that end the turn next to them. The teaching king and Buddhist spirit from maka dai dai shogi are "contagious"; any piece that captures a teaching king or a Buddhist spirit becomes one.
Pieces may promote to other pieces, as the pawn automatically does in orthodox chess on the last rank: the pawn has a choice of what it promotes to. In xiangqi, pawns automatically promote as soon as they cross the river in the middle of the board, but this promotion is fixed and only gives them the power to move sideways as well as forward. In shogi, the pawn is not the only piece that can promote; promotion can occur if a move takes place partly or wholly in the last three ranks from the player's viewpoint, and is optional unless the piece could not move further, but a piece's promotion is fixed. In dai dai shogi, promotion happens when a piece that can promote makes a capture, and may not be refused.
Pieces may also have restrictions on where they can go. In xiangqi, the general and advisors may not leave their palaces. The topology of the board can also be changed, and some pieces may respect it while others ignore it. In Tamerlane chess, only a king, prince, or adventitious king may enter the opponent's citadel, and only the adventitious king may enter its own citadel. In cylindrical chess, the left and right edges are joined to each other so a rook can continue to the right from h1 and end up on a1. It would be possible to have both cylindrical pieces and normal pieces on the same board.
Such special characteristics of pieces are normally not included in the notations describing the movement of fairy pieces, and are usually explained separately.
Notations
Parlett's movement notation
In his book The Oxford History of Board Games David Parlett used a notation to describe fairy piece movements. The move is specified in the form m=, where m stands for "move", and the expression is composed from the following elements:- Distance
- *1 – a distance of one
- *2 – a distance of two
- *n – any distance in the given direction
- Direction
- ** – orthogonally or diagonally
- *+ – orthogonally
- *> – orthogonally forwards
- *< – orthogonally backwards
- *<> – orthogonally forwards and backwards
- *= – orthogonally sideways
- *>= – orthogonally forwards or sideways
- *<= – orthogonally backwards or sideways
- *X – diagonally
- *X> – diagonally forwards
- *X< – diagonally backwards
- Grouping
- */ – two orthogonal moves separated by a slash denote a hippogonal move
- *& – repeated movement in the same direction, such as for hippogonal riders
- *. – then,
Additions to Parlett's
- Conditions under which the move may occur
- * – May occur at any point in the game
- *i – May only be made on the initial move
- *c – May only be made on a capture
- *o – May not be used for a capture
- Move type
- * – Captures by landing on the piece; blocked by intermediate pieces
- *~ – Leaper
- * ^ – Locust
- Grouping
- */ – two orthogonal moves separated by a slash denote a hippogonal move ; this is in Parlett's, but is repeated here for completeness
- *, – separates move options; only one of the comma-delimited options may be chosen per move
- * – grouping operator; see nightrider
- * - – range operator
On this basis, the traditional chess moves are:
- King: 1*
- Queen: n*
- Bishop: nX
- Rook: n+
- Pawn: o1>, c1X>, oi2>
- Knight: ~1/2
Ralph Betza's "funny notation"
| −3 | −2 | −1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 3 | [|G] | [|J] | [|L] | [|H] | L | J | G |
| 2 | J | A | [|N] | [|D] | N | A | J |
| 1 | L | N | [|F] | [|W] | F | N | L |
| 0 | H | D | W | 0 | W | D | H |
| −1 | L | N | F | W | F | N | L |
| −2 | J | A | N | D | N | A | J |
| −3 | G | J | L | H | L | J | G |
Ralph Betza created a classification scheme for fairy chess pieces in terms of the moves of basic pieces with modifiers.
Capital letters stand for basic leap movements, ranging from single-square orthogonal moves to 3×3 diagonal leaps: Wazir, Ferz, Dabbaba, [|K]Night, Alfil, [|T]Hreeleaper, [|C]amel, Zebra, and G -leaper. C and Z are equivalent to obsolete letters L and J which are no longer commonly used. Longer leaps are specified here by a vector, such as for the giraffe.
A leap is converted into a rider by doubling its letter. For example, WW describes a rook, FF describes a bishop, and NN describes a nightrider. The second letter can instead be a number, which is a limitation on how many times the leap motion can be repeated; for example, W4 describes a rook limited to 4 spaces of movement.
Combining multiple movement letters into a string means the piece can use any of the available options. For example, WF describes a king, capable of moving one space orthogonally or diagonally.
Standard chess pieces except pawns and knights have their own letters available; K = WF, [|Q] = WWFF, [|B] = FF, [|R] = WW.
All mentioned capitals refer to a maximally symmetric set of moves that can be used for both moving and capturing. Lowercase letters in front of the capital letters modify the component, usually restricting the moves to a subset. They can be distinguished in directional, modal and other modifiers. Basic directional modifiers are: forward, b, right, left. On non-orthogonal moves these indicate pairs of moves, and a second modifier of the perpendicular type is needed to fully specify a single direction. Otherwise, when multiple directions are mentioned, it means that moves in all these directions are possible. sideways and vertical are shorthands for lr and fb, respectively. Modal modifiers are move only, capture only. Other modifiers are jumping, non-jumping like the Chinese elephant, grasshopper, pao, o cylindrical, z crooked, q circular movement, and then.
In addition, Betza has also suggested adding brackets to his notation: q
Example: The standard chess pawn can be described as mfWcfF.
There is no standard order of the components and modifiers. Betza often plays with the order to create somehow pronounceable piece names and artistic word play.
Addition to Betza's notation ('XBetza'https://www.gnu.org/software/xboard/Betza.html "XBetza". ''GNU XBoard''.)
Betza does not use the small letter i. It is used here for initial in the description of the different types of pawns. The letter a is used here to describe again, indicating the piece can make the move on which it is prefixed multiple times, possibly with new modifiers mentioned behind the a, which then apply to the second 'leg' of the move. Directional specifications for such a continuation step should be interpreted relative to the first step.To handle some frequently encountered special moves, e can be used next to m and c to indicate en-passant capture, i.e. capture of the piece that just made a move with i & n modifier, by moving to the square where the n implies it could have been blocked. An [|O] with a range specifier is used to indicate castling with the furthest piece in that direction in the initial setup, the range indicating the number of squares the king moves. XBetza overloads some modifiers, by giving them an alternative meaning where the original meaning makes no sense. [|E].g. i in a continuation leg indicates the length must be the same as the previous riding leg, useful for indicating rifle captures.
Non-final legs of a multi-leg move also have the option to end on an occupied square without disturbing its contents. To indicate this the modifier p is used, and thus has a slightly different meaning than on final legs; the traditional meaning can then be seen as shorthand for paf. To make the a notation more versatile, it can also be used when the moves of the two legs are not exactly congruent: g is an alternative to indicates a non-final leg to an occupied square, but in contrast to p it specifies a 'range toggle', converting a mentioned rider move into the corresponding leaper move for the next leg, and vice versa. A similar range toggle on reaching an empty square can be indicated by y, to indicate a slider spontaneously turns a corner after starting with a leap. Continuation directions will always be encoded in the 8-fold system, even when the initial leg only had 4-fold symmetry. Mention of an intermediate direction on a 4-fold-symmetrical move would then swap orthogonal moves to the corresponding diagonal moves, and vice versa.
List
The following table shows some game pieces of unorthodox chess, from fairy chess problems and chess variants, and the six orthodox chess pieces. The columns "Parlett" and "Betza" contain the notation describing how each piece moves. The notation systems are explained in the last sections of this article.A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – [|I] – J – K – L – [|M] – N – O – [|P] – Q – R – [|S] – T – [|U] – [|V] – W – [|X, Y, Z]
| Name | [|Parlett] | Betza | Found in | Notes |
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| Aanca | 1X.n+ | t | Grant Acedrex | See "Gryphon". Spanish Gryphon or Elephant Bird or Eagle |
| Advisor | 1X | F | Xiangqi | Chinese Queen. Ferz that can't leave the palace. Originally 士 shì and 仕 shì in Chinese. Also known as Counsellor, Mandarin, Guard, Officer and, ambiguously, Minister. |
| Alfil | | ~ 2X | A = | Chaturanga, Shatranj | Elephant in Shatranj. A -leaper. Originally Fil in Persian. Also called Gaja, Hasty, and Pil. Alternate notation: ~ 2/2 |
| Alfilrider | n | AA | Fairy Chess Problems | A rider which moves any number of cells in the same direction in a straight line. |
| Alibaba | ~ 2* | AD | Fairy Chess Problems | Combines the powers of alfil and dabbaba |
| Amazon | | n*, ~ 1/2 | QN | Knightmare Chess, Musketeer Chess, Waterloo | Combines the powers of queen and knight. Also called Dragon, Queen, and Superqueen. |
| Andernach grasshopper | Andernach chess | A Grasshopper that changes the colour of the hurdle it leaps over. | ||
| Antelope | ~ 3/4 | Fairy Chess Problems | Jumps three squares diagonally followed by one square orthogonally outwards. | |
| Anti-King | 1* | K | This piece is in check when not attacked. If a player's anti-king is in check and unable to move to a square attacked by the opponent, the player is checkmated. A king may not attack the opponent's anti-king. The anti-king may not check its own king. | |
| Princess | | nX, ~ 1/2 | BN | Amsterdam Medieval Chess, Capablanca Chess, Janus Chess, Quintessential Chess, Seirawan Chess, Musketeer Chess | Combines the powers of bishop and knight. Also called Princess, Cardinal, or Janus, Hawk. |
| Archbishop | nX | B | Fairy Chess Problems | Reflecting Bishop limited to a single bounce. |
| Archchancellor | n+, ~ 1/2, 1X | RNF | Teutonic Knight's Chess | Crowned Chancellor: Combination of empress and ferz. Originally Erzkanzler in German. |
| Arrow Pawn | o2+, c1X | mR2cF | Arrow Pawn Chess | Moves orthogonally one or two squares and captures diagonally one square. |
| Assassin | Stealth chess | |||
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| B4nD | 1-4X, 2+ | B4nD | Chess with different armies | |
| Barc | ~ 2/1>, ~ 1/2< | fsNbbN | Wide/Narrow-Hunter: moves forward as a wide knight, and backward as a narrow knight | |
| Basilisk | o1*>, c1*> | mfFfbWcfK | Dragonchess | Bound to lower board. 3D movement: Can freeze any opposing piece on the cell directly above it automatically until the basilisk moves away or is captured. |
| Bede | nX, ~ 2+ | BD | Chess with different armies | Combination of bishop and dabbaba. |
| ' | o1X>, c1>, io2X> | mfFcfWimfF2 | Berolina chess | Moves one square diagonally forward, but captures by moving one square straight forward. Compare with pawn. |
| Berolina Plus Pawn | o1X>, c1>=, io2X> | mfFcsfWimfF2 | Berolina Plus chess | Berolina pawn which can also capture one step orthogonally to the side. |
| Bion | pB | Fairy Chess Problems | Lion confined to bishop lines. Also known as Bishlion and Bishop-lion-hopper. | |
| Bishight | nX>, ~ 1/2< | fBbN | Chess with different armies | Bishop/Knight-hunter: moves forward as a bishop, and backward as a knight. |
| Bishop | | nX | B = FF | Grande Acedrex, Orthodox chess | Moves any number of free squares diagonally. Also called Cocatriz, or Ferz-rider. |
| Bishopper | ^nX | gB | Fairy Chess Problems | Grasshopper confined to bishop lines. Also known as Bishop-hopper. |
| Bison | ~ 1/3, ~ 2/3 | LJ | Fairy Chess Problems | Combination of camel and zebra. |
| Blind Dog | 1<=, 1X> | sbWfF | Wa shogi and Taikyoku shogi variants | Combination of flying cock and backslider. Also known as Yen. |
| Blind Monkey | 1=, 1X | FsW | Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of drunk and ferz. Also known as Drunken Ferz and Diabolo. |
| Blind Tiger | 1X, 1<= | FsbW | Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of ferz and drunken backslider, or drunk and old monkey. Moves one square in any direction except orthogonally forward. |
| Boat | ~ 2X | A = | Chaturaji | See "Alfil". |
| 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. Also called Crooked Bishop. | |
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| Caliph | nX, ~ 1/3 | BL | Ecumenical Chess | Combination of bishop and camel. |
| Camel | | ~ 1/3 | C = L = | Tamerlane Chess, Wildebeest Chess, Chess with Pawns | Old historic piece. Jumps 2 squares orthogonally followed by one square diagonally outwards. Also called Jamal. |
| Cannon | mRcpR | Xiangqi, Shako, Metamachy | See "Pao". Compare with "Korean Cannon", Originally 砲 pào and 炮 pào | |
| Cannon | 1*, ~2+, ~1/2 | Moves like a Commoner, Dabbaba and limited knight sideways | ||
| Canvasser | n+, ~ 1/3 | RL | Ecumenical Chess | Combination of rook and camel. |
| Capricorn | 2000 A.D. | Captures by charging an enemy piece. | ||
| Cavalier | 1X.n+, n+.1X | tt | Mideast Chess | More than an aanca / gryphon: either one square diagonal followed by an orthogonal slide outwards or an orthogonal slide followed by one square diagonal outwards. |
| Centaur | ~ 1/2, 1* | NK | Fairy Chess Problems | Combination of knight and mann. Also known as Crowned Knight. |
| Centurion | ~ 0/2, ~ 1/2, ~ 2/2 | NAD | Arciscacchiere, Quintessential Chess | See "Squirrel". Although in Arciscacchiere, the Centurion cannot jump over an intermediate piece when jumping like A or D. |
| Champion | 1+, ~ 2* | WAD | Omega Chess | Combines the powers of the wazir and the alibaba. |
| Empress | | n+, ~ 1/2 | RN | Chancellor Chess, Capablanca Chess, Seirawan Chess, Musketeer Chess, Chess on an Infinite Plane, Etchessera | Combines the powers of the rook and knight. Also called Empress, Marshall, or Elepahnt . |
| Charging Knight | >, 1*< | fhNsbK | Chess with different armies | Moves forward as a knight, or backwards as a king. Also known as forfnibakking |
| Charging Rook | n>=, 1*< | fsRsbK | Chess with different armies | Moves as a rook forwards and sideways, or as a king backwards. Also known as furlrurlbakking |
| Chariot | n+ | R = WW | Chaturanga, Xiangqi | Moves as rook. In Xiangqi originally 車 jū and 俥 jū. |
| Checker | cn, o1X> | Checkers | Moves forward one diagonal square without capturing, or captures by jumping diagonally over an opponent's piece. Promotes to checker king after it reaches the far rank. Also called Draughts Man. | |
| Checker King | cn, o1X | Checkers | Promoted checker that can move diagonally backward. Also called Draughts King. | |
| Chinese Pawn | Xiangqi | See "Soldier", or "Drunken Soldier" . Originally Zú and Bīng in Chinese. | ||
| Cleric | Dragonchess | See "King". 3D movement: Can move or capture to the square directly above or below it. | ||
| Cloud Eagle | n<>, 1*, 3X> | fbRKfB3 | Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of flying stag and a forward bishop limited to 3 squares |
| Colonel | n>, n=, 2/1>, 1* | KfsRfhN | Chess with different armies | Combination of charging knight and charging rook: moves forward as knight or rook, sideways as rook, or backwards as king. |
| Commoner | 1* | WF | Chess with different armies | See "Guard" or "Mann" |
| Congo Pawn | 1*>, o1<, o2< | fWfF | Congo | Iron general that can also move one or two steps straight backward without jumping when past the river. It promotes to congo superpawn. |
| Congo Superpawn | 1*>=, o1<, o2<, o1X<, o2X< | sfWfFmbQ2 | Congo | Congo pawn that can move and capture one step straight sideways, and move the intersection of its own file and the king's rank, and b) the intersection of the king's file and its own rank. |
| Copper General | 1*>, 1< | fFfbW | Chu shogi, Taikyoku shogi, Wa shogi, and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of iron general and backslider: moves one square in any direction forward or one square straight backward. Also known as Climbing Monkey, Flying Goose, or Yale. |
| Counsellor | Xiangqi | See "Advisor" . Also spelled Councellor. | ||
| Courier | Courier Chess | See "Bishop" | ||
| Crab | ~ 1/2>, ~ 2/1< | ffNbsN | Chess with different armies | Narrow/Wide Knight-Hunter: Moves forward as a narrow knight, and backward as a wide knight. |
| Crocodile | 1*, n>; n=; n< | Congo | It's a mann, a file-restricted rook towards the river, or a rank-restricted rook | |
| Crown Princess | nX, ~ 1/2, 1+ | BNW | Teutonic Knight's Chess | Combination of princess and wazir. Originally Kronprinzessin in German. |
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| Dabbaba | | ~ 2+ | D = | Chaturanga , Tamerlane Chess | Old historic piece, also known as War machine. The Arabic word dabbāba formerly meant a type of medieval siege engine, and nowadays means "army tank". Alternate notation: ~ 0/2 |
| Dabbabarider | n | DD | Fairy Chess Problems | A rider which moves any number of squares in the same direction. |
| Debtor | vDsN | Knavish Chess | A six-directional piece, moving sidewards as a knight and forwards and backwards as a dabbaba. Also see Knave. | |
| Dog | 1>, 1X< | fWbF | Taikyoku shogi, Tenjiku shogi, Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Moves one square directly forward, or diagonally backward. Also called Strutting Crow, Swooping Owl, or Wazir/Ferz-Hunter. |
| Donkey | 1=, ~ 2<> | sWfbD | Maka dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Jumps 1 square sideways, or 2 squares forwards and backwards. |
| Dragon | o1>, c1X>, io2>, ~ 1/2 | NmfWcfFimfW2 | Fairy Chess Problems | Combination of knight and pawn. |
| Dragon | Dragonchess | See "Dragon Horse" . 3D movement: Can capture remotely one cell below it or like a wazir pattern. | ||
| Dragon Horse | nX, 1+ | BW | Shōgi, Quintessential Chess | Combination of bishop and wazir. Also known as Crowned Bishop. |
| Dragon King | n+, 1X | RF | The Duke of Rutland's Chess, Shōgi | Combination of rook and ferz. Also called Crowned Rook. |
| Drunk Elephant | 1X, 1>= | FsfW | Sho shogi, Tori shogi, Wa shogi, and other large Shōgi variants | Moves one square in any adjacent direction except orthogonally backward. Called Falcon in Tori Shogi, or Roaming Boar in Wa shogi. |
| Drunken Soldier | 1>= | sfW | Janggi, Xiangqi | Moves 1 square forward or sideways. Same as Korean Pawn in Janggi. |
| Dummy | A piece with no moves at all. It may gain temporarily moving ability by relay, or pushed or pulled by other specific pieces. | |||
| Dwarf | o1>= c1X> | msfW cfF | Dragonchess | Pawn that can move without capture one cell laterally, 3D movement: Can capture to the cell directly above it. |
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| Eagle | nX>, n<, 1*, 2X< | fBbRWbB2 | Tori shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of bishop/rook-hunter, king, and a backward bishop restricted to 2 squares |
| Edgehog | n* | Q | Edgehog Chess I & III | A queen that can move only to or from the edge of the board. |
| Edgehog | n* | Q | Edgehog Chess II & III | Moves as a queen, but if on an edge, must move to non-edge, and if on non-edge must move to edge. |
| Elemental | Dragonchess | Moves like non-leaping king+dabbaba, captures like non-leaping wazir+dabbaba; on lower board. 3D movement: Can move or capture on any non-leaping wazir pattern above or below. | ||
| Elephant | 2X | nA | Dai shogi, Shōgi, Xiangqi | Chinese Alfil. A -leaper but cannot jump over an intervening piece. In xianqi the elephant is restricted to its half of the board. Originally 象 xiàng and 相 xiàng. |
| Elephant | 1X, 1> | FfW | Chaturanga | See "Khon". |
| Elephant | 2/3 | nJ | Janggi | Non-leaping zebra. |
| Elephant | 1X, ~ 2X | FA | Shako, Metamachy | Combination of ferz and alfil. Also called Falafel, Ferfil, or Ferz Alfil. |
| Elephant | 1*, ~2+, ~2X | WFAD | Musketeer Chess, Dr Zied Haddad | Moves like a Commoner, Dabbaba or Alfil |
| Elephant | QNN | Wolf Chess | Originally Elefant in German. | |
| Empress | | n+, ~ 1/2 | RN | Carrera's Chess, Tutti-Frutti Chess, Wolf Chess | Combines the powers of the rook and knight. Also called Champion, Chancellor, Concubine, Marshall, Marshal, or Wolf. |
| Evil Wolf | 1>=, 1X> | sfK | Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants, Jetan | Moves as a king but without any backwards movement. Also known as Jetan Pawn, Pikeman, or Drunken Pawn. |
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| FAD | 1X, ~ 2* | FAD | Chess with different armies | Combines the powers of the ferz and the alibaba. |
| Falcon | nX>, n< | fBbR | Falcon-Hunter Chess | Moves forward as a bishop, and backward as a rook. Also known as Bishop/Rook-Hunter, and Free tile in Maka dai dai shogi and Tai shogi. |
| Ferocious Leopard | 1X, 1<> | FfbW | Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Moves one square in any adjacent direction except orthogonally sideways. Also known as Crane and Horrible Panther. |
| Ferz | | 1X | F = | Archchess, Chaturanga, Martian chess, Shatranj, Tamerlane Chess | Moves one square diagonally in any direction. Usually spelled Fers by problemists, and Ferz in chess variants. Also called Cat Sword, Decurion, Martian Pawn, Minister, and Persian Queen. |
| Fibnif | ~ 1/2, 1X | fbNF | Chess with different armies | Combination of narrow knight and ferz |
| Flamingo | ~ 1/6 | Fairy Chess Problems | Makes a long jump. | |
| Flying Cock | 1=, 1X> | sWfF | Wa shogi and Taikyoku shogi | Moves 1 square diagonally forward, or 1 square sideways. Also known as Sidewinder. |
| Flying Dragon | 2X | B2 | Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | A bishop restricted to a distance of two squares. |
| Flying Falcon | nX, 1> | BfW | Wa shogi and Taikyoku shogi | Bishop that can step one square forward. |
| Flying Horse | 1+, 2X> | WnfA | Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of wazir and wood general. |
| Flying Ox | nX, n<> | fbRB | Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of bishop and reverse chariot |
| Flying Stag | n<>, 1* | fbRK | Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of reverse chariot and mann |
| Fool | 1+ | W = | Courier Chess | Moves one square orthogonally in any direction. Also called Schleich, Jester, Joker, Spy, Smuggler, or Sneak. |
| Forequeen | n*>=, ~ 1/2<, 1*< | fsQbhNbK | Chess with different armies | Moves as queen forward or sideways, or as king or knight backwards. |
| Forfer | 1X, 1-4+ | FR4 | Chess with different armies | Combination of ferz and short rook; or dragon king limited up to 4 squares. |
| Fortress | ,~2+, 1/2, 3X | F3DfbN | Musketeer Chess, Dr Zied Haddad | Moves like a Bishop limited to 3 squares maximum + Knight + Dabbaba |
| Free Bear | nX, n= ~ 2X> | sRBfA | Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of free boar and forward-restricted alfil. |
| Free Boar | nX, n= | sRB | Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of bishop and rook restricted to sideways directions. |
| Friend | Fairy Chess Problems | Moves like any friendly piece that is guarding it. Compare with orphan. | ||
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| General | 1+, "flying general": cn> | kW, "flying general": cfR | Xiangqi | Chinese King. Royal Wazir that can't leave the palace, except for executing the flying general move: a capturing forward rook against the enemy general that is used to force checkmate. Originally 將 jiàng and 帥 shuài in Chinese. Also called Governor in Xiangqi. |
| ' | ~ 1/4 | Grant Acedrex according to H.J.R. Murray | Wrong historical interpretation but popular fairy piece. | |
| Giraffe | ~ 2/3 | Z = J = | Grant Acedrex | Old historic piece. Jumps one square orthogonally followed by two squares diagonally outwards. Also called Zebra as fairy piece. |
| Giraffe | ~ 1/4.n+ | Tamerlane Chess | Old historic piece. Starts with a leap and may continue moving outwards as a rook. | |
| Giraffe | ~ 2*, o1* | ADmK | Congo | Alibaba that moves but does not capture as a king. Compare with Pasha |
| Gnu | ~ 1/2, ~ 1/3 | NL | Wildebeest Chess | Combination of knight and camel. Called Wildebeest in Wildebeest Chess. |
| Go-Between | 1<> | fbW | Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of soldier and backslider: moves one square forward or backward. Also known as Adjutant. |
| Golden Bird | fbRlrW2F3 | Taikyoku shogi and other large Shōgi variants | In taikyoku shogi it slides and jumps the first 3 squares along the forward diagonals. | |
| Gold General | 1+, 1X> | WfF | Shōgi, Taikyoku shogi, Wa shogi | Moves one square orthogonally, or one square diagonally forward. Also called Golden Bird, Gold General, or Violent Wolf. |
| Goose | ~ 2X>, ~ 2< | fAbD | Tori shogi | Alfil/Dabbaba-Hunter. |
| Grasshopper | | ^n* | gQ | Fairy Chess Problems | A hopper which moves along the same lines as queen and lands on the square immediately beyond the hurdle. One of the most popular fairy pieces. Also known as Queen-hopper. |
| Griffin | Dragonchess | See "Zebra" . 3D movement: Can move or capture one jump triagonally below or above. | ||
| Gryphon | 1X.n+ | t | Grande Acedrex, Metamachy | Originally Aanca in ancient Spanish. Moves one square diagonally followed by moving any number of spaces like a rook outwards. Also known as Elephant Bird or Eagle. |
| Mann | | 1* | WF | Amsterdam Medieval Chess, Chess on an Infinite Plane, Pacific Chess, Waterloo Chess | Moves as king but is not royal. Also called Mann, Commoner, Prince, or Spy. |
| Guard | Etchessera | When the King moves, the Guard follows the King by moving to its last occupied square. The Guard otherwise cannot move. | ||
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| Half-Duck | 1X, ~ 2+, ~ 3+ | HFD | Chess with different armies | Combination of kirin and threeleaper. |
| ' | ~ 2/2, ~ 3/3, ~ 0/2, ~ 0/3 | = AGDH | Chess on an Infinite Plane, Musketeer Chess | Jumps two or three squares in any orthogonal or diagonal direction. |
| Heavenly Horse | ffbbN | Wa shogi | Occurs in Taikyoku shogi with a different move. | |
| Hero | Dragonchess | See "Modern Elephant" . 3D movement: Can move or capture one cell triagonally below or above. | ||
| Hia | 2* | Q2 | Hiashatar | Mongolian Bodyguard. Moves like a queen but only one or two squares. Special power: any sliding piece must stop if it moves within a king's move from the hia. |
| Hiashatar Pawn | o1>, c1X>, io3> | mfWcfFimfW3 | Mongolian Pawn. Orthodox pawn with a triple step on first move. | |
| Hobbit | o1+, c1X | mWcF | Hobbit Chess, Centennial Chess | Used as a pawn, but moves one square orthogonally in all four directions, and captures diagonally in all four directions; originally called a fusilier, invented by F. Marinelli in 1770; also called a quadrapawn or a steward |
| Horned Falcon | nX, n<=, 1>, ~ 2+> | BsbRfWfD or BrlbRdhfWfD | Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Moves as a bishop, as a rook, or as a lion up to 2 squares orthogonally forward. |
| Horse | Xiangqi | See "Mao". Originally 馬 mǎ and 傌 mà in Chinese. | ||
| Howling Dog | n>, 1< | fRbW | Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of lance and backslider. |
| Hunter | n>, nX< | fRbB | Falcon-Hunter Chess | Moves forward as rook, and backward as bishop. Also known as Rook/Bishop-Hunter, and Multi General in Tenjiku shogi and Taikyoku shogi. |
| ' | ~ + | ,,,,... | Chess on an Infinite Plane | Jumps in a rook's direction any prime number of squares. |
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| Imitator | Ultima | Colorless piece; cannot capture; moves only in dependence of other pieces – its move being simultaneous to every piece's move, parallel and of same length and direction. If a line piece's move is imitated, the imitator's path must not be blocked. Neither can the imitator be moved outside the board. If complete imitation is not possible, the respective move is illegal. | ||
| Immobilizer | on* | mQ | Ultima | Moves as queen; any enemy piece that is adjacent to the immobilizer is frozen and cannot move until the immobilizer moves away or is captured. If two immobilizers are next to each other, they are both frozen until the end of the game or one is captured. Also known as Freezer. |
| Iron General | 1*> | fK | Dai shogi, Tenjiku shogi, other Shōgi variants. | Moves one square in any direction forward. Also called Forward King. |
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| Joker | 1*, ~ 2*, ~ 1/2 | = WFAND=KAND | Waterloo Chess, Amsterdam Medieval Chess | Identical to the KAND Lion |
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| Kangaroo | ~ 1/2, ~ 2X | NA | Combination of knight and alfil | |
| Khohn | 1X, 1> | FfW | Chaturanga, Makruk, Shōgi, Sittuyin, Taikyoku shogi, Wa shogi | Combination of ferz and soldier: moves one square in any direction diagonally or one square straight forward. Also called Burmese Elephant "sin" in sittuyin, Indian Elephant in chaturanga, silver general in shogi, and Violent Stag in taikyoku shogi and wa shogi. |
| King | | 1* | K = WF | Orthodox chess, Chaturanga, Shatranj, Shōgi, Tamerlane Chess, Tori shogi | Moves one square in any direction.. Royal in orthodox chess. A non-royal piece which moves in this way is sometimes called a Commoner, Mann, or Guard. Also called Raja, Shah, Jeweled General, or Phoenix. |
| King | Dragonchess | See "King" . 3D movement: Can move or capture to the cell directly above or below it. | ||
| Kirin | 1X, ~ 2+ | FD | Dai shogi and other Shōgi variants, Pacific Chess | Combination of ferz and dabbaba. Also called Ferz Dabbaba, or Fortress. |
| Knave | sDffbbN | Knavish Chess | A six-directional piece, moving sidewards as a dabbaba and forwards and backwards as a knight. Also see Debtor. | |
| Knight | | ~ 1/2 | N = | Chaturanga, Orthodox chess, Shatranj, Tamerlane Chess | Jumps one square orthogonally followed by another square diagonally. Called Ashwa in Chaturanga, Faras in Shatranj, or Zebra in Congo. |
| Knight | > | ffN | Shōgi | Narrow Knight restricted to forward movements. |
| Knishop | ~ 1/2>, nX< | fNbB | Chess with different armies | Knight/Bishop-hunter: moves forward as a knight, and backward as a bishop. |
| Korean Cannon | pR | Janggi | Moves and captures along orthogonal lines by jumping exactly one piece. There can be any number of free squares before and after the hurdle. Also called Rook-line-hopper, Rook Lion, or Rion. | |
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| Lance | n> | fR | Shōgi, Taikyoku shogi, Wa shogi | Moves any number of squares directly forward. Also called Forward Rook, and Oxcart. |
| Leeloo | Quintessential Chess | Combines the powers of quintessence and rook | ||
| Left General | 1X, 1<>, 1= | FfbrW | Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Asymmetrical combination of ferocious leopard and right wazir. |
| Left Quail | n>, nX<, 1X | fRbrBblF | Tori shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of lance, ferz and a backward bishop restricted to right side. |
| Leo | on*, c^& | mQcpQ | Akenhead's Chess | Combines the powers of pao and vao. Moves like a queen when not capturing, but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the leo's destination square. |
| Leon | ~ 1/3, ~ 3+ | LH | Grande Acedrex | Spanish Lion. Combination of camel and threeleaper. |
| Leopard | ~ 1/2, n2 | NF2 | Musketeer Chess | Moves like a Knight or a Bishop limited to a maximum of 2 squares |
| Liberated Horse | n>, 2< | fRbR2 | Wa shogi | Moves forward as a rook or one or two squares orthogonally backward. |
| 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. Also known as queen-line-hopper. | |
| Lion | 1*, ~ 2*, ~ 1/2 | KAND | Metamachy | A KAND Lion is moving and capturing anywhere one or two squares around, i.e. one or two squares in any direction or like a Knight. Also known as lioness. |
| Lion | 1*, c | Congo | King that may not leave its 3×3 castle except to capture another lion on the same vertical or diagonal line. | |
| Lion | 1*, ~ 2*, ~ | KNADcaKmabK | Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Move 2 steps or jumps per turn in any adjacent direction. It can capture up to two pieces per turn, capture an adjacent piece without moving, or move and return. |
| Lion Dog | 3* | Q3 | Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | A queen that cannot move more than three squares. Can jump and locust-capture in Japanese rule interpretation. |
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| Mage | Dragonchess | Queen, Wazir . 3D movement: Can move or capture one or two cells above or below it. | ||
| Maharaja | n*, ~ 1/2 | QN | Maharajah and the Sepoys | A royal amazon, the only piece for white. |
| Mann | | 1* | WF = K | Courier Chess | Moves as king but is not royal. German: Man or Commoner. Also called Commoner, Guard, or Man. |
| Mao | 1/2 | nN | Xiangqi, Akenhead's Chess. | Chinese Horse. Moves like a knight except that it does not leap. It steps one square orthogonally in any direction, then continues one square diagonally in the same general direction. The square stepped to orthogonally must be vacant. |
| Marshall | n+, ~ 1/2 | RN | The Sultan's Game | See "Empress". Also spelled Marshal, or called Chancellor. |
| Minister | 1X | F = | Chaturanga, Shatranj, Tamerlane Chess | See "Ferz". Also known as Counsellor. |
| Moa | 1/2 | nN | Chinese | As the Mao, but the first step is diagonal and the second orthogonal, not the other way round. |
| Monkey | o1*, cn | Congo | Checker King allowed to play orthogonally too. | |
| Murray Lion | ~ 2*, c1* | ADcK | Fairy Chess Problems | 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. It is named after the chess historian H. J. R. Murray who brought it up. |
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| N2R4 | 2, 1−4+ | N2R4 | Chess with different armies | |
| Nao | mNNcpNN | Chinese | A Chinese nightrider. Moves as a nightrider when not capturing, captures by leaping over a piece and capturing the piece on its destination | |
| Nightrider | | n | NN | Wolf Chess, Edgehog Chess II & III, Cavalier Chess | A rider which moves any number the knight's moves in the same direction. A piece in its path of the opposing color could be captured, but the nightrider could not move any further. Also played in fairy chess problems. |
| Nightrider-hopper | Fairy Chess Problems | Move to next square beyond any piece in lines of knight moves. Also known as Knight-line-hopper | ||
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| Old Monkey | 1X, 1< | FbW | Maka dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of fers and backslider. Also known as Inverted Silver and Backward Elephant. |
| Orphan | Fairy Chess Problems | Moves like any enemy piece that is attacking it. Compare with Friend. | ||
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| Paladin | Dragonchess | Centaur or King. 3D movement: Makes knight-like jumps | ||
| Pancake | pNNK | Chess with different armies | Combination of man and cannon-style nightrider | |
| Pao | mRcpR | Akenhead's Chess, Xiangqi | Chinese Cannon. Moves like a rook when not capturing, but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Pao's destination square. Compare with Korean Cannon. | |
| Pasha | 1*, ~ 2* | KAD | Paulovits's Game | Combination of king and alibaba. Also known as Mastodon. |
| Pawn | | o1>, c1X>, io2> | mfWcfFimfW2 | Chadarangam, Orthodox chess | Moves one square straight forward, but captures one square diagonally forward. Compare with Berolina pawn. |
| Pawn of "Piece" | Tamerlane Chess, Full Tamerlane Chess | A Pawn that promotes to "Piece". Examples: Pawn of Dabbabas, Pawn of Elephants, Pawn of Minister , Pawn of Shah , Pawn of Vizir , Pawn of Vanguards , Pawn of Knights, Pawn of Rukhs . A Pawn of Pawn promotes to Pawn of King. | ||
| Pheasant | ~ 2>, 1X< | fDbF | Tori shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Dabbaba/Ferz-Hunter. |
| Phoenix | 1+, ~ 2X | WA | Chess with different armies, Dai shogi, and other Shōgi variants | Combination of wazir and alfil. Also known as Waffle. |
| Prince | 1* | WF = K | Tamerlane chess | A non-royal king, promoted from a Pawn of King. Originally Shâhzâda in Persian. Also known as Adventice King when promoting from Pawn of Pawns. |
| Princess | | nX, ~ 1/2 | BN | The Emperor's Game, Grand Chess, Tutti-Frutti Chess, Wolf Chess | Combines the powers of bishop and knight. Also called Archbishop, Cardinal, Janus, Paladin, or Centaur. Called Adjutant in The Emperor's Game, and Fox in Wolf Chess. |
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| 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 = RB | Orthodox chess | Combines the powers of the bishop and rook. In Pacific Chess a piece with queen-like moves is called the Nobleman. |
| Quintessence | Quintessential Chess | A Nightrider who takes 90-degree turns in a zigzag manner on each step. First described in 2002 by Jörg Knappen. | ||
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| Raiding Falcon | n<>, 1+, 1X> | fbRWfF | Wa shogi | Combination of vertical mover and stone general. Occurs in Taikyoku shogi with a different move. |
| Reflecting Bishop | nX | B | Billiards Chess, Edgehog Chess II & III | Bishop allowed to "bounce" off any number of edges of the board, similar to a hockey puck or billiard ball. It bounces from the center of each edge square and continues on a diagonal. |
| Revealer | Full Tamerlane Chess | See "Tripper", or "Queen". Also known as Sentinel. | ||
| Reverse Chariot | n<> | fbR | Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Rook restricted to forward and backward directions. |
| Rhinoceros | t | Grant Acedrex | For Murray interpretation, see "Unicorn". Moves as a knight followed by moving any number of spaces diagonally forwards. Originally Unicornio in ancient Spanish. | |
| Rhubarb | RB3 | Chess with different armies | ||
| Right General | 1X, 1<>, 1= | FfblW | Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Asymmetrical combination of ferocious leopard and left wazir. |
| Right Quail | n>, nX<, 1X | fRblBbrF | Tori shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of lance, ferz and a backward bishop restricted to left side. |
| Rook | | n+ | R = WW | Chaturanga, Orthodox chess, Shatranj, Taikyoku shogi, Tamerlane chess, Wa shogi | Moves any number of free squares orthogonally. Also called Gliding Swallow in taikyoku shogi and wa shogi, Ratha in chaturanga, Rukh in shatranj and tamerlane chess, Wazir-rider, or Castle. |
| Rookhopper | ^n+ | gR | Fairy Chess Problems | Grasshopper confined to rook lines. Also spelled Rook-hopper. |
| Root-25-leaper | ~ 5+, ~ 3/4 | Fairy Chess Problems | Leaper making moves of length units -leaper or a. Also called Fiveleaper. | |
| Root-50-leaper | ~ 5X, ~ 1/7 | Fairy Chess Problems | Leaper making moves of length units -leaper or a. Also spelled Root-fifty-leaper. | |
| Rose | n | qN | Chess on a Really Big Board | Moves as a nightrider except rather than moving in a straight line, it moves in a pseudo-circular shape. A piece on any of these squares can be captured but prevents the rose from progressing any further. It may return to its starting point if its path is unblocked, effectively passing a turn. |
| Rutabaga | R2B | Chess with different armies | ||
| Running Rabbit | n>, 1X | fRFbW | Taikyoku shogi, Wa shogi | Combination of Lance and Old Monkey. |
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| Scorpion | 1*, ^n* | KgQ | Fairy Chess Problems | Combination of king and grasshopper |
| Sergeant | 1*>, io2> | fKimfW2 | Wolf Chess | Graz Pawn without the initial diagonal double-step from Berolina Pawn. Originally Vogt in German. |
| Shatranj Pawn | o1>, c1X> | mfWcfF | Chaturanga, Makruk, Shatar, Shatranj | Baidaq. Orthodox pawn without double step on first move. It's the same pawn from Chaturaji, Ouk Chatrang, and Senterej. Also called Padah in chaturanga, Sainik, or Warrior. |
| Short Rook | 1-4+ | R4 = W4 | Chess with different armies | Rook limited up to 4 squares. Also spelled Short-Rook. |
| Side Mover | n=, 1+ | WsR | Chu shogi, Wa shogi, and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of a rook restricted to sideways and wazir. Called Swallow's Wings in Wa shogi. |
| Soaring Eagle | n+, nX<, 1X>, ~ 2X> | RbBfFfA or RbBdhfFfA | Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Moves as a rook, backwards as a bishop, or as a lion up to 2 squares diagonally forward. |
| Soldier | 1> | fW | Out-Khmer, Shōgi, Tori shogi, Wa shogi | Moves one square orthogonally forward. It's the same pawn from Xiangqi, before crossing the river. Also called Japanese Pawn, Fish, Sparrow Pawn, or Swallow. |
| Spider | ~ 1/2, n2, ~ 2+ | NDF2 | Musketeer Chess, Dr Zied Haddad | Moves like a Knight or a limited Bishop to 2 squares or Dabbaba. |
| Spy | 1+ or 2>, 2=, > or 1* | W = or fsDfF or WF | Courier Chess, Chess Empire, Waterloo, Amsterdam Medieval Chess | In Courier Chess see "Fool". In 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. In Waterloo and Amsterdam Medieval Chess the spy moves as a non-royal king. |
| Squirrel | ~ 0/2, ~ 1/2, ~ 2/2 | NAD | Fairy Chess Problems, Mideast Chess, Pacific Chess | Jumps to any square a distance of 2. Also called Centurion, or Castle. |
| Stone General | 1X> | fF | Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants, Fox and Geese | Moves one square diagonally forward. Also called Goose in Fox and Geese. Compare with Berolina Pawn. |
| 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. May be placed in the first rank. By Werner Speckmann. |
| Sylph | Dragonchess | See "Berolina Pawn" . 3D movement: Can capture to the cell below it and return without capturing. | ||
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| Teutonic Knight | 1+, ~ 1/2, ~ 1/3 | WNL | Teutonic Knight's Chess | Combination of knight, wazir and camel. Originally Ordensritter in German. |
| Thief | Dragonchess | See "Bishop" . No 3D movement. | ||
| Threeleaper | | ~ 3+ | H = | Full Tamerlane Chess | Called Lion in Full Tamerlane Chess. |
| Threerider | n | HH | Fairy Chess Problems | |
| Treacherous Fox | 1X, 1<>, ~ 2*<> | FfbWAfbD | Wa shogi | Ferocious Leopard that can move forward or backward as alibaba. Occurs in Taikyoku shogi with a different move. |
| ' | ~ 3X | G = | Jumps three squares diagonally, leaping over any intermediate piece. | |
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| Ubi-Ubi | n | NN | Ubi-Ubi Chess | A Nightrider without direction restrictions. |
| Unicorn | Raumschach | A triagonal rider: moves through the vertices of the cubes. Unicorn is also sometimes used for a banshee. | ||
| Unicorn | Dragonchess | See "Knight" . No 3D movement. | ||
| Unicorn | BimN | Grande Acedrex | For Cazaux interpretation, see "Rhinoceros". Bishop with a first movement of a knight that can't capture. Originally Unicornio in ancient Spanish. | |
| Unicorn | ~1/2, ~1/3 | NL | Musketeer Chess, Dr Zied Haddad | The unicorn moves like a Knight or like an extended Knight or Camel. |
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| Vanguard | nX | B | Tamerlane Chess | Bishop that can't move as a ferz. Originally known as Talî'a in Persian. Also known as Scout. |
| Vao | onX, c^& | mBcpB | Akenhead's Chess | Moves like a bishop when not capturing, but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the vao's destination square. |
| Vertical Mover | n<>, 1+ | WfbR | Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of reverse chariot and wazir. |
| Violent Bear | 1=, 2X> | sWnfB2 | Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Moves 1 square sideways or 1 or 2 squares diagonally forward. |
| Violent Ox | 2+ | R2 | Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | A rook restricted to a distance of two squares. |
| ' | - | - | - | - |
| Wallaby | c, o1*, ^2* | KgQ2, KcjQ2 | Edgehog Chess III | Combination of omni-directional checker and grasshopper restricted to 2 squares over friendly pieces. |
| Waran | RNN | Fairy Chess Problems | Also spelled Varan. Also known as Raven. | |
| Warrior | Dragonchess | See "Shatranj Pawn" . No 3D movement. | ||
| Wazir | | 1+ | W = | Tamerlane Chess | Moves one square orthogonally in any direction. Persian Vizir. Also known as Angry Boar or Crocodile. |
| Whale | n<>, nX< | fbRbB | Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of hunter and reverse chariot. |
| White Horse | n<>, nX> | fbRfB | Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Combination of falcon and reverse chariot. |
| Withdrawer | Ultima | Also known as Retreater | ||
| Wizard | 1X, ~ 1/3 | FL | Omega Chess | Combines the movement of fers and camel. |
| Wood General | 2X> | fB2 | Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants | Flying Dragon restricted to forward moves. |
| Woody Rook | ~ 1−2+ = 1+, ~ 2+ | WD | Chess with different armies | Combination of wazir and dabbaba. Also called Wazaba. |
| - | - | - | - | |
| Zebra | | ~ 2/3 | Z = J = | Full Tamerlane Chess, Grande Acedrex | Old historic piece. Jumps one square orthogonally followed by two squares diagonally outwards. Also called Bull, or Zaraffa. |
| Zebrarider | n | JJ | Fairy Chess Problems | A rider which moves any number of cells in the same direction in a straight line. |
| Name | Parlett | Betza | Found in | Notes |
Relative value of pieces
While a large amount of information can be found concerning the relative value of variant chess pieces, there are few resources where it is in a concise format for more than just a few piece types. One challenge of producing such a summary is that piece values are dependent upon the size of boards they are played on, and the combination of other pieces on the board.On an 8×8 board, the standard chess pieces are usually given values of 1, 3, 3, 5, and 9 respectively. When the basic pieces wazir, ferz, and mann, are played with a similar mix of pieces, they are typically valued at around 1, 1.5, and 3 points respectively. Three popular compound pieces, the archbishop, chancellor, and amazon have been estimated to have point values around 8, 8.5, and 12 respectively.
The values of other pieces are not well established.
Even when the same game format is assumed, there is often little agreement on the specific value of many other pieces.
Compound pieces are sometimes approximated as the sum of their component pieces, or estimated to be slightly higher due to synergistic effects.
Musketeer Chess, a modern chess variant, is one of the rare chess variants that discussed and tried to give relatively accurate values of 10 fairy pieces: Hawk, Elephant, Unicorn, Fortress, Dragon, Spider, Leopard, Cannon, Archbishop, Chancellor. Archbishop's and Chancellor's relative values are crucial, as they are widely used in many historical variants.
The inventor has not detailed the method that lead to these calculations. What we know is that it is based on computation, using a dedicated engine developed. Thousands of games were generated, which helped refine the values that served as a starting point.
Apart from Musketeer Chess' inventor or his team trials, other independent approaches gave Musketeer Chess a trial.
For example, Sbiis Sabian, in a 24-page article, reviewed many existing methods and came-up with his own methodology, inspired from previous trials: Like many, he used the Reinfeld values, and applied some basic mathematics, Average mobility and Leap Square formula, a new concept named Betza Coefficients in honor of Ralph Betza.
The results shown by the previous methodology was unsatisfactory according to Sbiis Sabian. He then came up with a new a new approach. He created a program that generates random chess positions, then calculated average mobility in thousands of positions approximating the relative piece val His final results were very close to those given by the inventor.
The biggest leap was the use of powerful engines. A remarkable approach by Grand Master Larry Kaufman in his article: Evaluation of material imbalances perfecting relative piece values in many situations.