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Jean-Louis Cazaux wrote on Sat, Aug 19, 2023 09:12 AM UTC in reply to Bn Em from 04:56 AM:

I wrote about Hiashatar several years ago, so I'm not sure to well remember.

It is a frequent mistake by modern players to think that rules were scrupulously followed by everyone for ancient and traditional games, especially variants like this one. There were no Hiashatar Academy!

I had also met the problem that the different sources are not consistent between themselves. There is this endnote in my book, A World Of Chess: "The rules given here are the best logical composite drawn from a variety of sources, each of which has its own omissions and inconsistencies. It is also likely that there was some variation in how the game was played at different locations. For instance, some reports have the Bodyguard only arresting the moves of the enemy pieces; others have the Bodyguard capturing using his normal move."

I am not sure to understand what you call "slow" and "catch". The "main" rule we gave in A World of Chess" is: "Bodyguard: moves one or two squares diagonally or orthogonally; that is, any direction (but not at an angle like the Knight). However, he is only able to capture by moving one square diagonally. He does not leap, but may only pass through vacant squares. He also has the special power of arresting the move of any piece which passes through his realm of influence – the eight squares surrounding him. Any piece that aims to pass through one of these squares adjacent to the Bodyguard must stop on that square, until some future move. Nevertheless, this special power does not affect the Horses, which can jump in or out of the Bodyguard's peripheral zone freely"

This is kind of "catch" with my understanding. Why you see an explicit "slow" here, I don't know. The attacking piece MUST stop.


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