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Maidens Chess
Juego de Donzellas (Game of Damsels)
Variety of Arab Shatranj with forced capture explained in 'Libro de los Juegos del Axedrez, Dados y Tablas' (Book of the Games of Chess, Dice and Tables), manuscript of ninety-seven parchment sheets illustrated with miniatures, terminated in Toledo and Sevilla in the year 1283 by a team of specialists coordinated by Don Alfonso X el Sabio (the Wise, the Learned), King of Castille and Leon.
Maidens Chess
By CSS Dixieland
Synopsis of the Game of Maidens Chess:
Maidens Chess is exactly like European (or International) Chess as per FIDE
rules, but with only one rule taken from one of the varieties of Draughts.
The rule is relatively forced capture, as it will be explained in the Rules section.
Setup
The array of Maidens Chess is identical to European (International) Chess.
Pieces
The pieces of Maidens Chess are identical to European (International) Chess.
'Juego de Donzellas con musica' (Game of Damsels with music)
In the European Middle Ages it was not uncommon to see two Ladies playing
chess while a third Lady enlivened the session with soft instrumental music.
There was no singing, because it might distract the players. Here a Lady plays
one of the varieties of 'laud', Spanish lute of double strings. King Don Alfonso
composed the 'Cantigas de Santa Maria' (Chants to Saint Mary), for singing in
religious ceremonies or in other appropriate settings, but not while playing.
For those who are not only interested in the History of Chess, but also in the
History of Music, there is below a hyper link to excellent samples of Medieval
Music with detailed explanations. King Don Alfonso wrote all of his 'Cantigas'
in Galaic-Portuguese language, and very appropriately, the explanations are
also in Portuguese (text and voice). There is a short introduction in English.
This is a wireless broadcast, in two parts. It can be listened as streaming
signal or it can be downloaded and played later. It needs a suitable player
for Motion Picture Expert Group format version 3, or for Ogg Vorbis Audio.
Music in the Middle Ages, first part
Music in the Middle Ages, second part
Rules
Except if being the only legal move, captures are relatively forced but
not absolutely forced, this is, a piece having the chance of capturing an
opponent should capture, but it is possible not to capture. However, in
case of not capturing, the opponent has at his next turn the optional
right of huffing (blowing an opponent piece off the board) the piece that
had had the chance of capturing and did not capture.
Rules of the Game of Maidens Chess:
The rules for European (or International) Chess are easily available at the
Internet location of Federation Internationale Des Echecs, and at many other
places. They will not be repeated here. The author expresses his apology to
the players who, like the author himself, have difficult access to Internet.
What may be considered the most fundamental rules, with some illustrations
for indication of how different pieces move or capture, and for the rules about
capture en passant, castling and promotion, is well explained in a page of
Chess Variants at the Uniform Resource Locator hyper linked below:
Specifically in Maidens Chess, the rules for huffing are as follows:
Huffing is optional and it is not a move. After huffing (or not) the player
must make his move. If moving without first huffing the opponent piece, then
that particular chance of huffing is lost. Another chance of huffing may come
during the game, for huffing that same piece or another piece, depending on
the course of the game. Only the pieces of the opponent can be huffed, a
player can not huff any of his own pieces.
A player who has the chance of capturing more than one opponent piece, or the
chance of capturing with more than one of his own pieces, can choose any of
the legal captures available, without any rule of priority and without having
any of his own pieces huffed by the opponent at the next turn.
In case of more than one piece having a capture available, but none of those
pieces capturing, then the opponent at the next turn has the optional right of
huffing one of them at his choice, but not more than one in the same turn. He
may have another right of huffing in another turn, always one piece at a time.
All operations of capturing or of huffing must be legal, this is, capturing or
huffing can not be done by a player if exposing his own king to check.
The above means that a player whose only chance of capturing would expose his
own king to check, can not capture, and the opponent can not huff that piece.
Likewise, a player whose right of huffing would expose his own king to check,
can not huff. His right of huffing would be lost for that particular turn,
though he may have another right of huffing later during the game.
A promoted pawn may give check immediately, but it can not capture immediately,
therefore it can not be huffed at the next turn of the opponent, though it
may be huffed at the other turn of that opponent if not capturing a piece that
could have been captured. But a pawn that immediately before promotion had had
the chance of capturing and did not capture (it promoted instead of capturing),
can perfectly be huffed even in her new condition as a promoted piece.
Huffing, like capturing, are perfectly legal even if it would provoke a tied
game by stale mate (there is no legal move available, but the king is not in
check), or a tied game by insufficient material for giving check mate. Also
huffing, like capturing, zero the counting of moves in a game that would be
tied as a consequence of the third repetition of identical situation, or of
fifty moves made by each player without capturing, without huffing, without
moving pawn, and without giving check mate.
The king is the only piece exempted from the obligation of capturing. Capturing
would of course be illegal if putting one's own king in check, but even without
check, the king has the prerrogative of capturing or not. He can not be huffed.
Any legal move is valid in Maidens Chess during a check to the king, without
giving to the opponent the right of huffing at the next turn. Going out of check
by any legal means is a priority in Maidens Chess.
This document is referring to most pieces in the feminine, except the king who
is referred in the masculine. The rules are also making distinction between the
operation of capturing and the operation of huffing, although both operations
remove a piece from the board. The reasons for these peculiarities of language
will be understood by reading the History of the Game of Maidens Chess, above.
Tactics and graphic examples:
Maidens Chess should not be played with the opening theory normally applied to
European Chess. Attempting to do that is a sure recipe for disaster. Although
both games are identical in placement and movement of pieces, in the goal of
check mate, and in every other rule, the rule of huffing introduces important
differences between them. Maidens Chess is not like Suicide Chess either, in
Suicide Chess and similar varieties the goal is not check mate, it is losing
all pieces. Therefore, previous knowledge of other varieties of Chess is both
an asset and also a dangerous analogy when playing Maidens Chess. The best
advice that can be given to a novice player of Maidens Chess is:
"Think carefully which of the opponent pieces can capture any of Your pieces, and
also which opponents any of Your pieces can capture, because the capture, or the
huffing in case of not capturing, may be highly detrimental to Your game".
A novice in any variety of Chess has in a certain sense some advantage, because
the experienced player of Chess or its varieties tends to follow automatically
specific opening moves of his preference, and in Maidens Chess this will result
in catastrophic losses of pieces very early. For helping the learner of Maidens
Chess, explained examples of various situations have been collected below.
The relative values and strenghts of the pieces are similar to European Chess,
but experience has shown that pawns are more important in relation to other
pieces, making more true Philidor's dictum that 'Pawns are the soul of Chess':
pawn one point, knight or bishop two points, castle over three points, queen
six points, and king of infinite value and three points of strength (stronger than
knight or bishop, because the king has no obligation of capturing). The values
are gross approximations, because the real value depends on the situation. In
general, knights are more valuable than bishops at the start of the game, and
less valuable near the end. A pawn nearing promotion increases strength. And
other principles that have been studied and are known in the Theory of Chess.
Huffing is indicated by an 'at' (@) followed by the square to be vacated.
Because huffing is not a true move in Maidens Chess, it must be followed by a
semicolon (;) and the move of a piece. There are other conventions in Game
Courier for indication of castling, capture en passant, promotion, et cetera.
Moves are indicated in full English Descriptive Notation, where columns are
named CQ (Castle or Rook of Queen), HQ (Horse or Knight of Queen), BQ (Bishop
of Queen), Q (Queen), K (King), BK (Bishop of King), HK (Horse or Knight of
King) and CK (Castle or Rook of King), and where ranks are numbered from both
sides, from the point of view of white and from the point of view of black, as
w1b8 (first of white, eighth of black), w2b7 (second of white, seventh of
black), w3b6 (third of white, sixth of black), w4b5 (fourth of white, fifth
of black), w5b4 (fifth of white, fourth of black), w6b3 (six of white, third
of black), w7b2 (seventh of white, second of black) and w8b1 (eighth of white,
first of black). As an example, pawns start from the ranks w2b7 and w7b2.
Pieces written in upper case are white, in lower case are black, as follows:
K white king, k black king, Q white queen, q black queen, B white bishop,
b black bishop, H white horse or knight, h black horse or knight, C white
castle or rook, c black castle or rook, P white pawn, and p black pawn.
IMPORTANT: Game Courier uses a different convention for the horse (knight)
and for the castle (rook). In Game Courier the white horse receives the letter 'N'
and the black horse the letter 'n', which is the second letter of the word 'knight'.
Other authors in English language may use 'Kt' or 'kt' for referring to the knight.
The white castle is assigned the letter 'R' and the black castle the letter 'r', which
is the first letter of the word 'rook'. The conventions are given below in this page.
Players should know them, because the operations of huffing, capture en passant,
castling and promotion require typing the move by notation, in the box provided
for the purpose. They can not be done by a pointing device on a graphic interface.
Descriptive Notation has been the tradition FOR CENTURIES, especially in the
English, French, Italian, Catalan, Spanish and Portuguese languages. Historical
books have been written in Descriptive. Famous champions have always written
in Descriptive. More important: I HAVE ALWAYS WRITTEN IN DESCRIPTIVE.
Others may do whatever they want, but I am not going to abandon a notation that
I love, even if I happen to be the last Chess writer using Descriptive Notation.
Empty board. The names CQ to CK are columns, the numbers w8b1 to w1b8 ranks:
The initial array of pieces is represented as follows, if seen from white:
In the notation below, white moves and black moves are numbered separately.
White always has odd numbers (1, 3, 5, 7, 9...), black always has even numbers.
In case of black having the first move, this is numbered as move 0 and other
black moves have even numbers (2, 4, 6, 8...). The symbol '+' indicates check,
the symbol 'x' is capture, the symbol 'X' is check mate, and so other symbols.
First example, white victory in European Chess, tied game in Maidens Chess:
:
The white queen at CQw8b1 has checked the black king at CKw8b1. The white
king is at HKw6b3, thus the black king can not move, but the black knight at
BKw6b3 can interpose, which is the only legal move available to black.
In European Chess the sequence with correct play would give victory to white:
0 h BKw6b3-HKw8b1, 1 Q CQw8b1-CQw1b8+, 2 h HKw8b1-BKw6b3,
3 Qw1b8 x h BKw6b3+ and check mate to black king at the next white move.
However, in Maidens Chess the white queen can not move to CQw1b8, she is
forced to capture the black knight at HKw8b1, or else the white queen can
be huffed by the black player at the next turn, then the black player moves.
With white queen capturing black knight, then black king captures white queen
and the two kings become bare kings, so the game is tied. With white king or
white queen making any other move (such as checking from CKw1b8), black
will probably huff the white queen and move black knight in the same turn.
The game will also be tied, because king and knight can not give check mate
(the rule of insufficient material for check mate will be applied). In either
case it can be seen how the check by the white queen was legal, but incorrect.
Correct would have been first capturing the black knight with the white king,
and continue the game as an easy check mate of king and queen against king.
Second example, black victory in European Chess, risk of blunder in Maidens:
Black moves. The black knight can capture the white pawn, which is advancing
to the HKw8b1 square for promotion. If not capturing, the knight may be huffed.
In European Chess the black queen would probably move to HKw2b7, protected
by her knight, and give check mate. However, in Maidens Chess the black queen
would just give check, BUT NOT CHECK MATE. Then it will be the move of white.
White will probably huff the black knight (for not capturing the white pawn),
and will CAPTURE with the king the unprotected black queen, in the same turn.
Then it will be black move, but the black king will not be able to reach the white
pawn, which will escape and promote. Black also has a last pawn, but it is far away
and as yet unmoved. In all probability, black will not be able to promote the pawn,
and neither to use it as a bait for capturing or huffing the white queen, because the
black king is too far from his pawn. Most probable consequence of the blunder:
BLACK WOULD LOSE A GAME THAT HITHERTO IT WAS WINNING !!!
The correct move is not moving the black queen, it is capturing the white pawn
with the black knight. The white king still will have one move available, thus there
will be no stale mate. Then black will be perfectly able to manoeuvre king, queen,
knight or pawn for giving check mate in the usual manner, as in European chess.
Black wanted to check mate at the next move, as if it were European Chess, only
to realise that black loses knight and queen, and that white promotes the pawn.
Another option for black is moving his king to HKw3b6 in opposition to the white
king. The black knight will probably be huffed and the white pawn will advance in
the same move, but then the black queen will easily give check mate at HKw2b7.
Notes
Players of Maidens Chess are invited to send their ideas or suggestions to the
inventor of the game, P. A. Stonemann, CSS Dixieland, to the electronic address
cssdixieland AT gmail DOT com
The address given above is slightly modified for preventing automatic collection
of addresses (often done for spamming purposes). The correct address is obtained
by replacing the string 'AT' by the symbol '@' and replacing the string 'DOT' by
the symbol '.' in a single horizontal line and without surrounding spaces.
Complete past games of Maidens Chess played in Game Courier:
https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/logs.php?game=Maidens+Chess&stat=finished&age=0
Mr. V. Pokshtya vs Mr. P. A. Stonemann CSS Dixieland. Result 0-1
Mr. V. Pokshtya vs Mr. P. A. Stonemann CSS Dixieland. Result 0-1
Mr. D. Zacharias vs Mr. P. A. Stonemann CSS Dixieland. Result 0-1
https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/play.php?game=Maidens+Chess&log=arx-cssdixieland-2021-356-293
Mr. P. A. Stonemann CSS Dixieland vs Mr. D. Zacharias. Result 1-0
https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/play.php?game=Maidens+Chess&log=cssdixieland-arx-2022-24-291
Mr. P. A. Stonemann CSS Dixieland vs Monsieur J. L. Cazaux. Result 1-0
GAME code
The Chess Variants server has a Game Courier section using GAME code, complete programming language (authored by Mister Fergus Duniho) capable of creating and playing almost any board game imaginable for two players, with about 1500 different games as of April 2022, albeit most of them are inert boards without display of legal moves and without enforcement of rules.
GAME code cannot create games for more than two players yet, but each of the two players can command more than one army, as it is for example four-handed Chaturanga (more properly called Chaturaji), where each player commands two armies, each of the four armies characterised by pieces of different colour.
In Two Players Chaturaji the pieces are made of only two colours, one for each player, but each of the four armies is distinguished by a different orientation of pieces on the board, indicating direction of advance for pawns of each army:
https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/play.php?game=Two+Players+Chaturaji&settings=chaturaji
Game designers wishing to create their own game and make it available to other players are invited to read one or more of the technical documents listed below. Most are written by Mister Fergus Duniho, except the last one, 'A wizard for GAME code generation', which is written by Mister H. G. Muller.
PBM instructions: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/help.html
Game Courier FAQ: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/faq.html
Game Courier Users Guide: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/userguide.html
Game Courier Developers Guide: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/devguide.html
Tutorial, testing legality of moves: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/tutorial.html
Tutorial, how to display legal moves: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/legalmoves.html
Tutorial, programming piece movement: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/movement.html
Tutorial, how to enforce rules: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/enforcingrules.html
How to programme multi-move games: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/multimove.html
How to programme games with multi-move pieces: https://www.chessvariants.com/page/MShow-to-program-variants-with-multi-move-pieces-in-game-courier
How to programme piece drops: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/piecedrops.html
How to programme games with Fairychess include: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/fairychess.html
How to design and post Your own game: https://www.chessvariants.com/how.html
Anatomy of a preset for Chess: https://www.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/anatomy.html
A wizard for GAME code generation: https://www.chessvariants.com/page/MSgame-code-generation
History of the Game of Maidens Chess:
The author of this document invented this variety of European Chess about the
late 1960s. The first name for the game was 'Chessdraughts', because the rule
of huffing is taken from one of the varieties of the game of Draughts, variety
where huffing is relatively forced and not absolutely forced, this is, it is
possible to make a non-capturing move, but then the opponent has the optional
right of huffing the piece that could have captured and did not capture.
In those years it was difficult to find opponents for any serious game, be it
Chess, or Draughts, or any other. Even more difficult to find opponents for an
uncommon variety. There were Chess clubs, but access was not always easy for
the inventor of this variety presented here, and most players just wanted to
play by the official FIDE rules for European (International) Chess, and get
awards, honours, and titles. They had no interest in experimenting varieties.
Some players accepted a game of Chessdraughts, but only the first time. Even
strong Chess players were likely to lose quickly in a game of Chessdraughts,
because the tactics are VERY different. A piece that could capture an opponent
piece should capture her, or the non-capturer risked being huffed at the next
turn. Chess players became exasperated when they began losing knights, bishops,
rooks, or even the queen, which had not exercised the chance of capturing some
lesser opponent piece, and which therefore had been huffed at the next turn.
More than twenty years went by with this occasional playing of Chessdraughts.
In the early 1990s there was a strong Chess player who took a liking to this
game. His name was Mister Javier Ruiz, a scientist who worked in Theoretical
Physics and Paleontology, and who was an outstanding intellectual in various
fields of knowledge. He played with the inventor several times. Then he said
that the game was more Chess than Draughts, and proposed a new name. He gave
the new name in a popular slang of his Spanish language: 'Ajedrez Soplao'.
It would have been 'Ajedrez Soplado' in correct Spanish, but he jokingly used
the popular slang 'Soplao', without the 'd'. A correct translation to English
would be 'Huffed Chess', but also jokingly, the inventor of the game accepted
the name as 'Blown Chess'. Then, Mister Ruiz and the author of this document
played the 'First World Championship of Blown Chess', or in the joking words
of Mister Ruiz, 'Primer Campeonato del Mundo de Ajedrez Soplao'.
We played many games of Blown Chess (or Ajedrez Soplao), with mixed results.
Initially Mister Ruiz quickly lost his knights, bishops, rooks and queen, as
it had happened to every other Chess player before him. But while the others
desisted very soon, Mister Ruiz persisted. In a short time he learnt to move
correctly for not exposing his heavy pieces to a possible huffing. Beyond the
first few games, he became nearly as strong in Blown Chess as the inventor,
which means that for an experienced Chess player it is not difficult to learn
Blown Chess. Like with any other game, it is a matter of study and practice.
Life has its turns. The inventor of the game moved out of that country for
ever, and so Blown Chess fell, once again, into the trunk of memories. It
was not possible to find another worthy opponent for almost thirty years.
Internet has many virtues, and one of them is putting in contact people with
similar ideas, preferences, or interests. There were various other ways of
communication before Internet, and most of them are still operational until
today, but those ways were not as flexible as Internet. Postal Service, for
instance, has effectively been used during many years for playing Chess by
correspondence. But it is mainly European (International) Chess, under the
rules of the International Chess Correspondence Federation. It is not so
easy to find opponents for any of the many varieties that exist in Chess.
Another virtue of Internet is being the biggest library that has ever existed.
Through Internet, the inventor of Blown Chess discovered, in the early 2020s,
that a similar game had been invented more than seven hundred years earlier !
In the year 1283 was terminated in Toledo the compilation of an important book
for the history of games, 'Libro de los Juegos del Axedrez Dados y Tablas'
(Book of the Games of Chess, Dice and Tables), by a team of learned men under
direction of Don Alfonso X el Sabio (the Wise, the Learned), King of Castille
and Leon. The King wrote or dictated some parts of the book himself.
The original manuscript is now treasured at Monasterio de San Lorenzo del
Escorial, near Madrid. There is a copy made some years later, now conserved
at Real Academia de la Historia, in Madrid. The manuscript is made of ninety-
seven sheets of parchment, all of it of course written by hand (printing had
not been invented in Europe yet), and illustrated with several miniatures.
In the fifth sheet of the manuscript there is a passage briefly explaining a
game called 'Juego Forzado' (Forced Game) or 'Juego de Donzellas' (Game of
Damsels). In Modern Spanish it would be written as 'Doncellas', but in the
Medieval Castillian of King Don Alfonso it is written 'Donzellas', with 'z'.
He used a language closer to Galaic-Portuguese than the Spanish of today.
Likewise, 'Chess' is called 'Ajedrez' in Modern Spanish and 'Xadrez' in
Modern Portuguese, but it is called 'Axedrez' by King Don Alfonso and by
other Castillian writers of that period. Some transcriptions give the wrong
name 'Acedrex', which comes from an incorrect understanding of the Spanish
and the Galaic-Portuguese languages. The 'x' evolved to be pronounced as a
strong 'kh' in Spanish (like in the name 'Khorasan'), and similar to 'sh'
in Portuguese. Spanish and Portuguese look very alike in writing, but their
modern pronunciation is very different. Spanish had more phonetic changes.
Forced Chess, or Damsels Chess, is just one of the varieties of Arab Shatranj
listed in the book. Shatranj itself was the form of Chess still predominant in
Europe at that time. The modern queen and modern bishops did not exist then,
in their place existed respectively the 'ferz' (translatable as 'flag bearer'),
whose name derived into Modern Spanish 'alferez' (a military rank in the Spanish
Army until today), and also the 'fil' (translatable as 'elephant'), whose name
derived into Modern Spanish 'alfil' (this is today the name for the bishop of
Chess in Spanish, because a bishop of the Church is called in Spanish 'obispo').
As a comparison, Modern Spanish calls the queen 'reina' or 'dama', and Modern
Portuguese calls the queen 'rainha' or 'dama'. A bishop of Chess and a bishop
of the Church are called 'bispo' in Portuguese. The prefix 'al' in 'alfil',
'alferez', and other Spanish or Portuguese words, is in Arabic language the
definite article 'the'. The prefix 'o' in 'obispo' and other Spanish words,
is in Galaic-Portuguese language the definite article 'the'. Not all words
are of those etymologies, but most starting with 'al' are of Arabic origin.
Arab Shatranj had other differences. There was no castling. Pawns could only
move one step even from their starting rank (there was no en passant capture).
Promotion of pawn coud only be done to ferz, which was not a very strong piece.
King and ferz starting places were opposite to what they are in European Chess.
Stale mate was not a tied game, and bare king was not still playable, as it is in
European Chess. In most rules of Shatranj they were a loss for the player who
had his king in any of those two situations, EXCEPT if in the turn immediately
next the other player also had his king in any of those situations (stale mate
or bare king), in which case the game was tied. And various other differences.
The Damsels Chess of King Don Alfonso followed the rules of Arab Shatranj,
except for the rule of huffing, but the game invented in the late 1960s and
presented here follows the rules of European (International) Chess, except
for the rule of huffing. In honour to the illustrious predecessor King Don
Alfonso, the inventor of this present game decided to change the name once
again. Various names were considered. Another inventor of Chess varieties,
Mister Daniel Zacharias (who has his invented games published and playable
in https://www.chessvariants.com), said that any of those names was good
(Chessdraughts, Huffed Chess, Blown Chess, Forced Chess, Damsels Chess,
Virgins Chess), but that the name should not be too long or complicated.
Finally, the decision of the new name was for 'Maidens Chess'. It is a similar
name to the 'Damsels Chess' of King Don Alfonso, but because it is not exactly
the same game, the name should not be identical either. The name 'Maidens Chess'
is not too long, nor too complicated. No one has used the name before, at least
not in the over 1400 varieties of Chess listed in Chess Variants. And above all,
the inventor of the game has also invented a little story for the name itself.
King Don Alfonso wrote that the variety of Forced Chess (Forced Shatranj, in
fact) was also called Game of Damsels because it was played overseas by North
African Ladies (in what is today Morocco or Algeria). He did not inform of when
the game had been invented, but with the slow transmission of news that was the
usual case at that time, it can safely be assumed that Damsels Chess (Damsels
Shatranj, in fact) had been invented many years earlier than the year 1283 when
the King and his team terminated the book. Perhaps even centuries earlier, but
there is no way to prove or disprove any hypothesis regarding time of invention.
As it also happens with the ancestor of Shatranj, which Mister Murray in his
'History of Chess' (published in the year 1913), and most scholars, believe to
have been the games of Persian 'Chatrang' and Indian 'Chaturanga', which were
based on the board called 'Ashtapada' (also used for various other games), and
with Chaturanga originally being a game for four players called 'Chaturaji' in which
dice may have been used for determining which kind of piece must move (Examples:
If 1, pawn must move. If 2, chariot must move. If 3, knight must move. If 4, elephant
must move. If 5, king must move. If 6, the die must roll again), but this is unproven.
Chaturaji may have been newer than Chaturanga, and dice may not have been used.
In Maidens Chess, the king is the only masculine figure. A real macho man, who
cares for his female soldiers. All other pieces are feminine, and all of these
females are maidens, without any exception. Or at least, so it is believed...
There are situations in which one or more of these female soldiers have the
chance of capturing one or more of the enemy soldiers (who are also females,
all of them except the king). But capturing requires approaching at very close
quarters. In fact, it requires being toghether in the same square, even if only
for an instant, but at a proximity of intimacy for that instant. The problem is
that the two armies are exclusively composed of mercenaries from the Island of
Lesbos, in Greece. Therefore, in that dangerous approach anything can happen...
The female soldier who, having the chance of approching and capturing an enemy,
refrains from the lascivious temptation, has shown her high moral standards and
her self-control. Thus the opponent king has, at the next turn, the option of
giving his Royal Permission for that virtuous enemy soldier to remain on the
Battle Field of Honour. Or the king can choose to provide the chaste soldier
with a Medal of Moral Virtuosity, and then to huff the soldier to the Temple
of Vesta. Not as a captured prisoner, but as a deeply respected Vestal Virgin.
This is true for all potential captures... except for the king himself. When
His Majesty happen to be under threat of capture (he is in check), he can not
honour the enemy soldier with medals, he has to escape. If unable to escape, or
to interpose one of his soldiers, or to capture the attacker himself or with any
of his soldiers, then the king is check mated. The victorious soldier approaches
the king. She menancingly closes on His Majesty... but before anything could
happen, the doomed king is declared loser and the game ends. Or, does it end ?
Well, there are some moments in which I wish I were a 'doomed king' myself...
How to Move Pieces
Full Algebraic Notation
Algebraic notation identifies each space by a coordinate that begins with its file label and ends with its rank label. On the Chess board, files go up and down from one player to the other, and ranks go from left to right. In most games, files are represented by letters, and ranks are represented by numbers, but there is no fixed rule requiring this for all games, and some games, such as Shogi, reverse this convention. If you look at the diagram, you will usually see the file labels going from left to right and the file labels going up and down. And if you hover your mouse over a space, you will normally see the name of the coordinate appear in a tooltip.
It is not uncommon to see algebraic notation being used for Chess, but it is often in an abbreviated format that requires you to know both the rules of the game and the current position to know exactly which piece moves where. For example, the notation "Ne6" indicates that a Knight is moving to e6, but it doesn't indicate which Knight, and it doesn't specify where the Knight is coming from. To figure this out, you need to know how a Knight moves and which Knight on the board can make a legal move to e6.
Although rules may be programmed for individual games, Game Courier itself does not know the rules of any game, and it is unable to parse abbreviated algebraic notation. Therefore, it relies on full algebraic notation, which completely specifies the move without requiring any knowledge of the game's rules or the current position. The most usual type of full algebraic notation indicates the piece that is moving by its label, the space it is moving from, and the space it moving to. In Chess, a typical first move might be written as "P e2-e4". When you hover your mouse over a piece, you will normally see the piece label followed by the coordinate for the space, and when you hover it over an empty space, you will normally see the coordinate label. Including the piece label in your notation allows Game Courier to check that the piece you're moving is the right one, and it makes game notation easier to follow, but it is not mandatory.
You may promote a piece by including a promotion move after your regular move. A promotion move has a piece go directly to a coordinate. Here is an example: "p e7-e8; q-e8".
You may remove a piece from a space by adding an @ to the space or by omitting the destination coordinate. For example, both "@-e4" and "e4-" would remove the piece on "e4". This is useful for en passant when you are playing a game that does not handle this automatically. For example, "P d5-e6; e5-" removes the Pawn on e5 after a Pawn moves from d5 to e6.
You will not need to remove spaces for most games, but if you should need to, you can do this by omitting the first coordinate in a move. For example, "-e4" would remove e4 from the board. To add or return a space to the board, you may add an @ or any other piece to it.
Available Pieces
Pieces are represented by labels, usually using uppercase letters for White and lowercase letter for Black. When you enter a move or specify the starting position for a game, you should remember that piece labels are case-sensitive. Many piece sets are available for use with Game Courier, and this table shows you which pieces belong to the piece set you are currently using.
These pieces come from a set containing more pieces, but this preset has had the set of pieces reduced to those used in the game.
Credits
This preset uses the maidens settings file for Maidens Chess, which was made by CSS Dixieland.
Game Courier was created, programmed and written by Fergus Duniho.
Game Courier, Copyright © Fergus Duniho, 2001-2017
WWW Page Created: 15 August 2001
Kibbitzing Etiquette
Kibbitzing is the practice of commenting on a game you are not playing. In commenting on a game, please follow these rules of etiquette.
(1) If you notice that someone has made an illegal move, please mention it. Some Game Courier presets cannot enforce rules, but Game Courier does enable players to take back any previous move. Details on how to take back a move are provided in the User's Guide, linked to above the board.
(2) Unless otherwise specifically asked to, do not offer hints or suggestions to players on what moves they should make. In general, avoid coaching comments.
(3) Once a game is over, it should be alright to offer your analysis of the game and your specific comments on what moves players should have made. If some players don't want this, they may mention it in the Kibbitzing section, and you should honor this request by not commenting on the game.
(4) Be polite. At the appropriate time, offer any criticism you have in a constructive manner. Avoid heckling players for bad moves.
(5) Don't spam this space with irrelevant comments. If you have a comment about Game Courier, rather than about the specific game you're viewing, please post it on Game Courier's Index page to give it.