Single Comment

In favor of the pieces you're calling jackals, they help to make a game more decisive. I use a Nightrider in Cavalier Chess, but that game has no Pawns. So whatever ability a Nightrider has to gobble up Pawns doesn't work so well in this game. There is the problem of Nightriders being able to take out Marshalls by forking a Marshall with an Eques Rex or Queen, though it is mainly a problem for inexperienced players who don't expect it or don't know how to avoid it. Grand Cavalier Chess reduces or eliminates this problem by placing an extra rank between most of the pieces and the Cavaliers. This allows the Cavaliers to block the Nightrider attacks on the other pieces. In playing Eurasian Chess, I have not noticed any ability of the Vao to gobble up Pawns. I find it to be an interesting and sometimes very effective piece.