![]() | King
A King can move to any adjacent square, but never to a square where it can be captured. There is no castling. |
![]() | Queen
Like the Fers of Shatranj, the Queen can take a single step along any diagonal. It may not move orthogonally. Despite being confined to squares of one color, it is a stronger piece than the Fool (or Wazir), because it can move across the board more rapidly. |
![]() | Man
A Man can move to any adjacent square. |
![]() | Fool
The Fool steps 1 square orthogonally. |
![]() | Elephant/Alfil
Elephants shift two squares diagonally, jumping over anything in between. |
![]() | Rook
A Rook moves any number of squares orthogonally on a rank or a file. It may not leap over other pieces. |
![]() | Knight
A Knight moves like an `L`, two squares vertically plus one horizontally, or two squares horizontally plus one vertically. It hops over any pieces on the way. |
![]() | Courier
A Courier moves any number of squares on a diagonal. It may not leap over other pieces. Equivalent to the modern Bishop. |
![]() | Pawn
A Pawn can move straight ahead one square, or capture by moving one square ahead and diagonally. There is no double-step first move. Promotion is to Queen. |
DescriptionPlayed like modern Chess, except:
HistoryCourier Chess was a large variation probably originating in Germany in or before the 12th century. Unusually for a large variation, it remained popular for hundreds of years. For a more detailed history see Murray's `A History of Chess.`StrategyMost things that are valid in ordinary chess also goes for Courier Chess.More information on Courier Chess can be found at http://www.chessvariants.com/historic.dir/courier.html. |