Slip Rook

Historical Notes

The Slip Rook is a piece that can move similarly to a Rook, but only an odd number of squares. It can more precisely can be thought of as a bent rider, making its first step as a Wazir, and optionally continuing its move as a Dabbabah-rider. The piece is sometimes also referred to as a Panda, probably referring to its colorswitching move. It was used in at least one problem in The Problemist in the 1970's. Later, George Jelliss gave it the name of Slip Rook. As Jelliss says in an article called Simple Chess Variants,

Another type of partial line pieces are Slip-pieces which derive from a line-rider by passing over the 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc cells in the ride. The Slip-rook was introduced by David Parlett under the name Panda. It is a rook that moves only to squares of opposite colour to that on which it stands.

Games it was used in include:

• the Seeping Switchers (experimental CwDA-army by Jörg Knappen)
• Commedia dell'Arte Chess (by Charles Gilman)
• GraTiA (by Charles Gilman)
• Rook Mania (Jared B. McComb)

Value

On a standard board, it is valued to be somewhat less than 3 pawns.

Movement

The Slip Rook, which is depicted as a bear on g7, for example can continue to g8, and from there to g10 and then to g12. (but only if g8 and g10 are empty). The most used version of it can leap over unreachable squares, so it can continue that way even if there are pieces on g9 and g11.

Fairy Chess Problem

A problem featuring this piece was composed by J. J. Secker and published as F407 on page 177 of The Problemist for November-December 1977. In describing the problem, Dr. C. C. L. Sells wrote

The Panda (invented by David Parlett) is a Rider on R-lines which moves to the squares of opposite colour to that on which it stands; it can be thought of as making one Wazir move followed by a Dabbaba-rider move (the order is import ant!) Panda e8 controls e3 via e7 and e5.

Here is a recreation of the problem, using a Wazir+Dabbabahrider piece to represent the piece.

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White to Mate in 2

The solution was given on page 210 of The Problemist for March 1978, and it is provided in the DETAILS section below:

1.aPa5 (2.Pb4);
dP-, Sd3, d5 2'Bd7;
eP-, Be7, SeS 2.Se3;
KfS, Sd6 2.Pxg5. Good key and
1...KfS most attractive (G. Whitehead).' Some battery! (FHvM).
Interesting line effects (CRF).

Related Pieces

Compounds were used in Sloppy Slippers (with Ferz), Commedia dell'Arte Chess (with Bishop and another one with Slip Bishop), and Seenschach (with Knight).

Last revised by Fergus Duniho.