Please enable JavaScript. Game Courier makes use of JavaScript for displaying legal moves, for moving pieces by touch or mouse, for updating time clocks, and for updating the page when it is your turn again.

Viewing Game


8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Polymorph Chess

White:

Black:

30... c1-d1 // checkmate!

Orientation:

Scale:

Render as:

Shape:

Piece Set:

Colors:

Polymorph Chess by Gregory Strong

k-King Q-Queen r-Rook B-Bishop n-Knight G-Bishights a-Knishops P-Pawn


k-King	Q-Queen	r-Rook	B-Bishop	n-Knight	G-Bishights	a-Knishops	P-Pawn

Rules

The standard rules of Orthodox Chess apply, with the following exceptions:

I. Polymorphs

The Knights and Bishops are Polymorphs.

Polymorphs move like a Knight when they are in the form of a Knight, and like a Bishop when in the form of a Bishop.

On a turn, instead of making a normal move, a player may transform one of his own Polymorphs that is in the form of a Bishop into that of a Knight, or vice versa.

Additionally, a Polymorph may also take the form of a Knishop or a Bishight with such a transformation move. The Knishop moves forwards like a Knight, and backwards like a Bishop; the Bishight is the other way around.

II. Opening Setup

White always starts with the standard Chess setup, but as a consolation for moving second, Black gets the benefit of selecting his setup from the following four options:

the standard Chess setup
all four of Black's Polymorphs are Knights
all four of Black's Polymorphs are Bishops
Black's Bishops are Bishights, and Knights are Knishops

III. Pawn Promotion

A pawn, upon reaching the eigth rank, promotes to either a Queen, a Rook, or a Polymorph in any of the four forms, at the owner's discression.

How to Move Pieces

To enable moving by mouse or touch, you should enable JavaScript. Even without JavaScript enabled, you can still move pieces by entering your moves in the Moves field, using full algebraic notation.

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.

The inclusion of a piece does not indicate that it is used in the game you are playing. But if your game uses pieces not included here, you should choose a different piece set.

Credits

Game Courier was created, programmed and written by Fergus Duniho.

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.