📝H. G. Muller wrote on Thu, Oct 12, 2017 05:25 PM UTC:
Only Pawn, Leopard and promoted Leopard cannot not force checkmate on a bare King. Many of the weak pieces lack mating potential, but against a bare King they should be easy to promote, and all promoted types except Bishop have mating potential. Because they virtually all have at least one orthogonal sliding move, and can move perpendicularly to that. That is all that is required, and makes the mate in fact quite easy (so that last century even a mechanical machine was built to do it!). The other exceptions are +P and +DE. As it turns out, Gold has no mating potential on 12x12 (it stops at 11x11), but DE and +DE still have (up to 14x14, IIRC, which would affect Dai Shogi). A Blind Tiger that cannot seek shelter with its King can sometimes be chased by the bare King to its back-rank, and get lost there. And Pawns approached from the front are doomed too, if the bare King gets there before yours.
The only pair of pieces without mating potential is a pair of +FL on the same 'square shade'. Provided none of them is trapped, which for two Pawns far away from each other can be a problem.
Only Pawn, Leopard and promoted Leopard cannot not force checkmate on a bare King. Many of the weak pieces lack mating potential, but against a bare King they should be easy to promote, and all promoted types except Bishop have mating potential. Because they virtually all have at least one orthogonal sliding move, and can move perpendicularly to that. That is all that is required, and makes the mate in fact quite easy (so that last century even a mechanical machine was built to do it!). The other exceptions are +P and +DE. As it turns out, Gold has no mating potential on 12x12 (it stops at 11x11), but DE and +DE still have (up to 14x14, IIRC, which would affect Dai Shogi). A Blind Tiger that cannot seek shelter with its King can sometimes be chased by the bare King to its back-rank, and get lost there. And Pawns approached from the front are doomed too, if the bare King gets there before yours.
The only pair of pieces without mating potential is a pair of +FL on the same 'square shade'. Provided none of them is trapped, which for two Pawns far away from each other can be a problem.