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Fairy Chess
Fairy chess is the area of chess composition in which there are some changes to the rules of chess. The term was introduced by Henry Tate in 1914. Thomas R. Dawson (1889–1951), the "father of fairy chess", invented many fairy pieces and new conditions. He was also problem editor of '' Fairy Chess Review'' (1930–1951). Although the term "fairy chess" is sometimes used for games, it is more usually applied to problems where the board, pieces, or rules are changed to express an idea or theme impossible in orthodox chess. Variations on chess intended to create complete, playable games are more typically referred to as chess variants. Types of fairy chess problems Types of changed rules in fairy chess problems include: * ''New stipulations:'' Probably the most-used alterations are new stipulations about mate instead of a direct mate stipulation. Many of them were invented and some became established. Selfmates and helpmates are nowadays often considered to be orthodox (not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valerian Onițiu
Valerian Oniţiu (also Valeriu Oniţiu) (April 8, 1872, Sibiu, Romania – 31 December 1948, Timișoara) was a Romanian chess problemist. Oniţiu composed all types of problems particularly fairy chess problems. Oniţiu has ten chess problems in FIDE Albums. Onitiu also did significant work on knight's tours. First in Problemist Fairy Chess Supplement (vol.1 no.12 Jun 1932 p.74) problems 452-455 he gives tours with ten three-unit lines. The editor T. R. Dawson states: "V. Onitiu writes to me that he has examined all possible cases, some 1330 in all, and is convinced that only six of them admit tours, namely Dr Hogrefe's , mine, and the following four new ones. Second in Fairy Chess Review (vol.4 no.3 Dec 1939 p.43 problem 4135, with solution in no.6 Jun 1940 p.93.) he gives a symmetric tour with squares in a knight chain. The editor states: "VO notes that he examined 144 dispositions of the squares, all that are possible for diametral symmetry, and this is the only case leading ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andernach Chess
Andernach chess is a chess variant in which a piece making a capture (except kings) changes colour. For instance, if a white bishop on a2 were to capture a black knight on g8, the end result would be a black bishop on g8. Non-capturing moves are played as in orthodox chess. If a pawn captures on eighth rank, it is promoted first and then changes colour. The game was named after the German town of Andernach, which is the site of annual meetings of fairy chess enthusiasts. It was during the 1993 meeting there that Andernach chess was introduced with a chess problem composing tournament for Andernach problems. It has since become a popular variant in problem composition, though it has not yet become popular as a game-playing variant. Example problem An example Andernach chess problem is shown in the diagram. The task is to find a proof game, which would last three moves and lead to the position shown. The solution is: :1. Nf3 Nc6 2. Ne5 Nxe5(=wN) The black knight turns into a whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selfmate
A selfmate is a chess problem in which White, moving first, must force Black to deliver checkmate within a specified number of moves against their will. Selfmates were once known as sui-mates. Example The problem shown is a relatively simple example. It is a selfmate in two by Wolfgang Pauly from ''The Theory of Pawn Promotion'', 1912: White moves first and compels Black to deliver checkmate on or before Black's second move. If White can leave Black with no option but to play Bxg2#, the problem is solved. * White might try moving the bishop, but this is no good, as it will allow Black to play a non-capturing bishop move himself, delaying the mate beyond move two; * moving the knight allows the king to move; * 1.e6 allows 1...exf6 and 2...f5; * 1.f7 or 1.fxe7 allows 1...Kxg7; * 1.g8=Q or 1.g8=R are no good after 1...Bxg2+ 2.Q/Rxg2; * 1.g8=N# checkmates Black, which is entirely wrong; * 1.g8=B is also no good, since after 1...exf6 2.exf6 Bxg2+ the bishop can interpose with 3.Bd5. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endgame Study
In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a composed position—that is, one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find the essentially unique way for one side (usually White) to win or draw, as stipulated, against any moves the other side plays. If the study does not end in a mate or stalemate, it should be obvious that the game is either won or drawn, and White can have a selection of many different moves. There is no limit to the number of moves which are allowed to achieve the win; this distinguishes studies from the genre of direct mate problems (e.g. "mate in 2"). Such problems also differ qualitatively from the very common genre of tactical puzzles based around the middlegame, often based on an actual game, where a decisive tactic must be found. Composed studies Composed studies predate the modern form of chess. Shatranj studies exist in manuscripts from the 9th cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torus
In geometry, a torus (plural tori, colloquially donut or doughnut) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle. If the axis of revolution does not touch the circle, the surface has a ring shape and is called a torus of revolution. If the axis of revolution is tangent to the circle, the surface is a horn torus. If the axis of revolution passes twice through the circle, the surface is a spindle torus. If the axis of revolution passes through the center of the circle, the surface is a degenerate torus, a double-covered sphere. If the revolved curve is not a circle, the surface is called a ''toroid'', as in a square toroid. Real-world objects that approximate a torus of revolution include swim rings, inner tubes and ringette rings. Eyeglass lenses that combine spherical and cylindrical correction are toric lenses. A torus should not be confused with a '' solid torus'', which is formed by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cylinder Chess
Cylinder chess (or cylindrical chess) is a chess variant. The game is played as if the board were a cylinder, with the left side of the board joined to the right side. Cylinder chess is one of six chess variants described by the Arabic historian Ali al-Masudi in 947. The cylindrical board is used in some chess problems. Rules and gameplay The game is played as if the left and right sides of the board are connected. When a piece goes off one edge of the board, it reappears from the other edge. For example, it is legal to move a rook from a3 to h3, even if there is a piece on b3, since the rook can move left from a3; a bishop on c1 can move to h4 by going from c1 to a3, and then going up and left from a3 to h4; if White has a pawn on a5, Black has a pawn on h7 and Black plays 1...h7–h5, White can capture the black pawn '' en passant'' with 2.axh6; and so on. The game is sometimes played with the rules of castling changed in one of the following ways: * Castling is not allowed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xiangqi
''Xiangqi'' (; ), also called Chinese chess or elephant chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is the most popular board game in China. ''Xiangqi'' is in the same family of games as '' shogi'', '' janggi'', Western chess, '' chaturanga'', and Indian chess. Besides China and areas with significant ethnic Chinese communities, this game is also a popular pastime in Vietnam, where it is known as , literally 'general chess'. The game represents a battle between two armies, with the primary object being to checkmate the enemy's general (king). Distinctive features of xiangqi include the cannon (''pao''), which must jump to capture; a rule prohibiting the generals from facing each other directly; areas on the board called the ''river'' and ''palace'', which restrict the movement of some pieces but enhance that of others; and the placement of the pieces on the intersections of the board lines, rather than within the squares. Board Xiangqi is played on a board nine li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nightrider (chess)
The nightrider, alternatively spelled knightrider and also known as the knightmare or unicorn (though the latter term sometimes refers to the bishop+nightrider compound), is a fairy chess piece that can move any number of steps as a knight in the same direction. The nightrider is often represented by an altered version of the knight's icon. at '' The Chess Variant Pages'' In this article, the nightrider is represented by an inverted knight and notated as ''N''; the knight is abbreviated as ''S'' for the German name ''Springer''. The nightrider was invented by |
Grasshopper (chess Piece)
The grasshopper is a fairy chess piece that moves along , , and (as a queen) but only by hopping over another piece. The piece to be hopped may be any distance away, but the grasshopper must land on the square immediately behind it in the same direction. 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. The grasshopper was introduced by T. R. Dawson in 1913 in problems published in the ''Cheltenham Examiner'' newspaper. It is one of the most popular fairy pieces used in chess problems. In this article, the grasshopper is shown as an inverted queen with notation ''G''. Movement In the diagram to the right, the white grasshopper on d4 can move to the squares marked with crosses (b2, d1, d7, and h8) or capture the black pawn on a7. It cannot move to g4, as there are two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. Compared to conventional pieces, fairy pieces vary mostly in the way they move, but they may also follow special rules for capturing, promotions, etc. Because of the distributed and uncoordinated nature of unorthodox chess development, the same piece can have different names, and different pieces can have the same name in various contexts. Most are 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 (the princess, empress, and occasionally amazon), many of these are not used beyond the individual games for which they were invented ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chess Piece
A chess piece, or chessman, is a game piece that is placed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. It can be either white or black, and it can be one of six types: king, queen, rook, bishop, knight, or pawn. Chess sets generally come with sixteen pieces of each color. Additional pieces, usually an extra queen per color, may be provided for use in promotion. Number of pieces Each player begins with sixteen pieces (but see the subsection below for other usage of the term ''piece''). The pieces that belong to each player are distinguished by color: the lighter colored pieces are referred to as "white" and the player that owns them as "White", whereas the darker colored pieces are referred to as "black" and the player that owns them as "Black". In a standard game, each of the two players begins with the following sixteen pieces: * 1 king * 1 queen * 2 rooks * 2 bishops * 2 knights * 8 pawns Usage of the term ''piece'' The word "piece" has three meanings, depending ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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