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This page is written by the game's inventor, Gerd Degens.

The Royal Substitute Chess

 
By Gerd P. Degens

 

A game in which there are no kings in the starting position. They are replaced by royal pawns, nine in number. They move like pawns, but have the royal function. On the opponent's base line, pawns transform into king pieces, move like kings from there and retain their royal function unchanged. The game ends when the last royal pawn or king on one side has been checkmated.

Setup

files=9 ranks=7 promoZone= promoChoice= graphicsDir=/graphics.dir/alfaeriePNG/ squareSize=50 graphicsType=png stalemate=win baring=0 royal=P,K lightShade=#ffffcf oddShade=#70b09f darkShade=#70b09f coordColor=#70b09f holeColor=#CECEF6 royal pawn:P:fnWfnDfmF:quickpawn:a2,c2,e2,g2,i2,b1,d1,f1,h1,,a6,c6,e6,g6,i6,b7,d7,f7,h7 morph=KKKKKKKKK//////KKKKKKKKK knight:N:N:knight:b2,h2,,b6,h6 rook:R:R:rook:a1,i1,,a7,i7 dragon horse:H:BW:promotedbishop:c1,g1,,c7,g7 halfqueen:Q:Q3:queen:d2,e1,f2,,d6,e7,f6 king:K:K:king:

Pieces

Please note that I use pieces that are similar to the usual set of pieces in orthodox chess, but some of them have different move possibilities. See the piece overview in the interactive diagram.

Linked with Piececlopedia because available there.

royal pawn steps one square straight ahead, or diagonally forward to an empty square, or slides to the 2nd square straight ahead
knight makes a knight's jump
rook slides orthogonally
dragon horse slides diagonally, or steps one square orthogonally
halfqueen slides up to 3 squares in all 8 directions
king steps one square in all 8 directions

Rules

Stalemate is a win, bare king loses, the en passant capturing does not exist.
Royal pawns are converted into king pieces on the opponent's base line, move from there like kings and retain their royal function. In addition, the game ends when the last royal pawn or king of one side has been checkmated.


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 Gerd P. Degens.

Last revised by Gerd Degens.


Web page created: 2025-02-05. Web page last updated: 2025-02-05