Soccer Chess

by Joao Pedro Neto, (Nov. 1997)

1. The board has 11x17 squares, and two sets of 3 squares that make the crossbars

   g g g . . . b b b b b . . . . . . b b b b b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . visitor team area . . . . . . . . . . . -- - - - - - x - - - - - . . . . . . . . . . . -- . . . . . . . . . . . visited team area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . w w w w w . . . . . . w w w w w . . . G G G The w's and b's represent the "small areas", where only the goal-keepers can move. The x represents the center of the board where the "ball" is placed at the beginning of the match, or when a goal is scored.

2. Each player has:
   • 1 goal-keeper (moving like the King, and kicking like the Queen)
   • 4 defenders (moving and kicking like the Knight)
   • 4 midfields (2 moving and kicking like the Rook, and 2 like the Bishop)
   • 2 attackers (moving and kicking like the Queen)
   There is also one ball.

3. To kick the ball, a piece must go to the ball's square, and can move it to any square where that piece could move (kick?) to. Eg,

      . . . . . . .
      . . a . a . .
      . N . . . a .  In this position, the defender can kick the ball to any a-square
      . . . o . . .  (including the square where he stands before the move)
      . a . . . a .
      . . a . a . .
      . . . . . . .
   

4. A goal happens when the ball enters the crossbar of the adversary.

5. A game is made of 30 sets of moves. Each set is made of at most 5 piece moves, but each piece can only be moved once for each set. In each move, a piece can either (a) move to an empty square or (b) move to the ball's square, and *then* kick the ball to an empty square. Note that in (b) the piece *must* kick the ball.

   (note: I don't know for sure if 30 is the best number for one match...)

6. A match is made up of two games. Each player is alternately the visitor and the visited. The winner is the one who scores more goals. In case of equal number of goals, the goals scored outside count by two (like in FIFA games). If the tie remains then the 2nd game continues until one more goal is scored.

7. The initial piece positioning is a player decision. The visitor must put the pieces first. The ball is initially kicked by the visited. Only 3 restrictions:
   • The goal-keeper must be placed in the small area (and he cannot move outside of it for the rest of the game, but he can kick the ball outside the small area as if he was an Attacker);
   • The bishops must be in different color squares,
   • The pieces must be initially placed in the respective team area.

8. Pieces are never captured.

Sample

Initial Position:

Visited chooses what is called the cup-formation :)
Visitor prefers a more random display...

            . . .
17  . . . | . k . | . . .
16  . . . + - - - + . . .
15  . . . . b . . . . . .
14  . . . . . . . . . . .
13  . . . . n n n n . . .
12  . . . . . . . . . . .
11  . . r q . . r . . b q
10  . . . . . . . . . . .
 9  - - - - - o - - - - -
 8  R . . . Q . Q . . . R
 7  . N . . N . N . . N .
 6  . . . . . . . . . . .
 5  . . . . . B . . . . .
 4  . . . . . B . . . . .
 3  . . . . . . . . . . .
 2  . . . + - - - + . . .
 1  . . . | . K . | . . .
            . . .
    a b c d e f g h i j k


  1.   Qexi9, Nxk10, Rxa10, Bi7, Raxa15

       (Qexi9) means that the e5 Queen kicks the ball to i9

  1... Ra11, Nc14, Ne11, Bi10, Nf12

This is the board after the 1st two set of moves,

            . . .
17  . . . | . k . | . . .
16  . . . + - - - + . . .
15  o . . . b . . . . . .
14  . . n . . . . . . . .
13  . . . . . . n . . . .
12  . . . . . n . . . . .
11  r . . q n . r . . . q
10  R . . . . . . . b . R
 9  - - - - - Q - - N - -
 8  . . . . . . Q . . . .
 7  . N . . N . N . B . .
 6  . . . . . . . . . . .
 5  . . . . . B . . . . .
 4  . . . . . . . . . . .
 3  . . . . . . . . . . .
 2  . . . + - - - + . . .
 1  . . . | . K . | . . .
            . . .
    a b c d e f g h i j k

Puzzle

            . . .
17  . . . | . . . | . . .
16  . . . + k - - + . . .
15  . . . . q . . . . . .
14  . . . . b n . . . . r
13  . . . . . . . o n . .
12  . . . . N . . . . . .
11  . . . r . . . . . . .
10  . . . . b . . . . . .
 9  - - - - - - n - - - -
 8  . . . B R . . Q . . .
 7  q . . . . B n . . . .
 6  . . . . . . . N . N .
 5  . . . . . . . . . . .
 4  . . . . Q N R . . . .
 3  . . . . . . . . . . .
 2  . . . + - - - + . . .
 1  . . . | . K . | . . .
            . . .
    a b c d e f g h i j k

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