Improved Chess
This page contains one or more presets for playing a game online with Game Courier, an online server for playing Chess variants by correspondence.
The only difference between Improved Chess and regular chess is the additional movement directions of the Pawn. The improved Pawn, provided that it (1) has reached the other half of the board, and (2) the forward movement is blocked, has the additional moves of a knight, but only in two forward directions: east-north-east, and west-north-west, and only to empty squares. There are no additional capture moves.There are two alternative blockage rules:
(1) the pawn must be blocked by an enemy piece/pawn.
(2) the pawn can also be blocked by a friendly piece/pawn to acquire the oblique move.
Middlegame and endgame are more aggressive while improved Pawns are not easy to block. In Improved Chess, drawish endgames will occur less often. Many theoretical endgames that have hitherto been drawn are now won. Note! In an alternative variant the pawn must have reached the seventh rank to get the extra move capability (variant C).
The two oblique moves in the image are the Pawn's two extra movement possibilities. These extra moves are only available if the position ahead (blue point) is occupied, and the pawn is located on the enemy side.
The following presets are automated, castling and 'en passant', too. Pieces can be moved by pointing and clicking. When promoting a pawn it will automatically turn into a queen. Should you prefer another piece then you must type it manually (e.g., add N a8; capture a7). Use small piece-letters for black.
Note! The presets allow the oblique pawn move to be made also when the pawn is blocked by a friendly piece/pawn. The players can themselves decide whether this should be allowed.
Improved Chess (Variant A: oblique move anywhere on far side)
Improved Chess (Variant C: oblique move at seventh rank)
Small graphics...
Improved Chess (Variant A: oblique move anywhere on far side)
Improved Chess (Variant C: oblique move at seventh rank)
You can also download a Zillions implementation
here.
See also my other Game Courier presets.
This 'user submitted' page is a collaboration between the posting user and the Chess Variant Pages. Registered contributors to the Chess Variant Pages have the ability to post their own works, subject to review and editing by the Chess Variant Pages Editorial Staff.
By M Winther.
Web page created: 2007-04-28. Web page last updated: 2007-04-28