Bob Greenwade wrote on Sun, Jul 30, 2023 03:54 PM UTC:
13. Bodyguard. Rather than an original or recently-invented piece, this time I'm presenting a particularly little-seen -- and, in my opinion, underused and underrated -- historical piece. The Bodyguard (which I've also seen spelled Bodygard) comes from the Mongolian game of Hiashatar, where it's known as the Hia (pronounced HEE-ah).
The Bodyguard can move one or two spaces in any direction, orthogonal or diagonal. It also has a "Hia power": Any slider that enters any adjacent space, or is in an adjacent space when the Bodyguard moves, is immediately stopped, and can only move one space while in that zone. Leaping moves are not affected by this.
The Betza for the basic move is, of course, Q2; encoding an Interactive Diagram with the Hia power would probably require a variation on spell=brake.
My physical design is intended to be reminiscient of traditional Mongolian soldiers' hats, recognizing the piece's origin (though admittedly the resemblance is a stretch).
If I were going to add (yet) another piece to Vanguard Chess, this would probably be the one. Also, it'd be a rather interesting piece to bring to Pick-the-team Chess (variant two), or to include in any game with move-borrowing that includes borrowing special properties.
13. Bodyguard. Rather than an original or recently-invented piece, this time I'm presenting a particularly little-seen -- and, in my opinion, underused and underrated -- historical piece. The Bodyguard (which I've also seen spelled Bodygard) comes from the Mongolian game of Hiashatar, where it's known as the Hia (pronounced HEE-ah).
The Bodyguard can move one or two spaces in any direction, orthogonal or diagonal. It also has a "Hia power": Any slider that enters any adjacent space, or is in an adjacent space when the Bodyguard moves, is immediately stopped, and can only move one space while in that zone. Leaping moves are not affected by this.
The Betza for the basic move is, of course, Q2; encoding an Interactive Diagram with the Hia power would probably require a variation on spell=brake.
My physical design is intended to be reminiscient of traditional Mongolian soldiers' hats, recognizing the piece's origin (though admittedly the resemblance is a stretch).
If I were going to add (yet) another piece to Vanguard Chess, this would probably be the one. Also, it'd be a rather interesting piece to bring to Pick-the-team Chess (variant two), or to include in any game with move-borrowing that includes borrowing special properties.