Modern chess

Modern chess is a chess variant played on a 9×9 board. The game was invented by Gabriel Vicente Maura in 1968.[1][2] Besides the usual set of chess pieces, each player has a prime minister and an additional pawn:

The prime minister (M) combines powers of a bishop and a knight.
For other uses, see Modern chess (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with My Great Predecessors § Modern Chess.
abcdefghi
9a9 black rookb9 black knightc9 black bishopd9 black queene9 black kingf9 black princessg9 black bishoph9 black knighti9 black rook9
8a8 black pawnb8 black pawnc8 black pawnd8 black pawne8 black pawnf8 black pawng8 black pawnh8 black pawni8 black pawn8
7a7b7c7d7e7f7g7h7i77
6a6b6c6d6e6f6g6h6i66
5a5b5c5d5e5f5g5h5i55
4a4b4c4d4e4f4g4h4i44
3a3b3c3d3e3f3g3h3i33
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawni2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white princesse1 white kingf1 white queeng1 white bishoph1 white knighti1 white rook1
abcdefghi
Modern chess starting setup. Each prime minister is to the left of its king.

The first match was played in Madrid at Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernando's cafe on March 18, 1968. The players were Gabriel Vicente Maura himself (White), and Bonifacio Pedraz Cabezas (Black).

Game rules

The starting setup is as shown. All the standard rules of chess apply, along with the following special rules:

  • A player can castle either ministerside (notated "0-M-0") or queenside (notated "0-Q-0");[1] in either case the king slides two squares toward the castling rook.
  • When reaching the final rank, pawns can promote to one of the usual pieces or to prime minister.

Optional rule

In response to criticism that bishops are restricted to only one square color, the inventor proposed an optional new rule, if the players agree:

  • One bishop may switch its position with a piece adjacent to it, provided that the bishop and the piece adjacent have not yet moved in the game. The switch is counted as a normal move.

See also

References
  1. Pritchard (1994), p. 198
  2. Pritchard (2007), p. 123

Bibliography

  • Pritchard, D. B. (1994). "Modern Chess (II)". The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Games & Puzzles Publications. ISBN 0-9524142-0-1.
  • Pritchard, D. B. (2007). "Modern Chess [Maura]". In Beasley, John (ed.). The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. John Beasley. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.