Knight relay chess (also called N-relay chess) is a
chess variant
A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways.
"International" or "Western" chess itself is one of a family of games which have related origins and could be co ...
invented by Mannis Charosh in 1972. In this game, knights "relay" their power to friendly pieces.
Rules
The rules are the same as those of orthodox chess except as follows.
Any piece, except for the king, that is defended by a friendly knight has the power, in addition to its normal abilities, to move like an orthodox knight. The piece loses the additional power as soon as it is no longer defended by a friendly knight. The knight itself is immune from capture, cannot capture enemy pieces and cannot give check. A pawn can be
promoted
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
to a new knight, which has the same properties. A pawn may not move to or attack its first or last rank using relayed knight power. If a pawn is relayed to its initial rank, it regains the option to make a double-step move. There is no ''
en passant
''En passant'' (, "in passing") is a method of capturing in chess that occurs when a pawn captures a horizontally adjacent enemy pawn that has just made an initial two-square advance. The capturing pawn moves to the square that the enemy paw ...
'' capture.
Example
The diagram shows possible moves of the white pawn on e6. Since it is defended by a friendly knight on d4, it can (in addition to its normal abilities) move like a knight to c7, c5, f4, g5 or g7. It cannot relay as a knight to the last rank; the black king on d8 is not in check from the pawn. The white knight on b7 does not check the king either and is not able to capture the pawn on a5. The white queen cannot take the black knight on c3.
White can deliver checkmate in this position by playing Qd6#. The black king cannot escape to c8 or e8, since the white queen attacks those squares via knight power relayed by the b7-knight.
See also
*
Annan shogi Annan shogi ( ja, 安南将棋 ) also called Korean shogi, is a variant of shogi (Japanese chess). Annan shogi is a popular shogi variant in Japan.
Gameplay
The game is played as standard shogi, except that, when a piece has a friendly piece on ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
N-Relay Chessby Alessandro Castelli, ''
The Chess Variant Pages
''The Chess Variant Pages'' is a non-commercial website devoted to chess variants. It was created by Hans Bodlaender in 1995. The site is "run by hobbyists for hobbyists" and is "the most wide-ranging and authoritative web site on chess variants". ...
''
Knight Relaya simple program by Ed Friedlander
(Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
)
{{Chess variants, state=collapsed
Chess variants
1972 in chess
Board games introduced in 1972