Chess Variants/Modern Chess

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9a9 black rookb9 black knightc9 black bishopd9 black queene9 black kingf9 black princessg9 black bishoph9 black knighti9 black rook9
8a8 black pawnb8 black pawnc8 black pawnd8 black pawne8 black pawnf8 black pawng8 black pawnh8 black pawni8 black pawn8
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6a6b6c6d6e6f6g6h6i66
5a5b5c5d5e5f5g5h5i55
4a4b4c4d4e4f4g4h4i44
3a3b3c3d3e3f3g3h3i33
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawni2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white princesse1 white kingf1 white queeng1 white bishoph1 white knighti1 white rook1
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Initial setup of modern chess.

Introduction

Modern chess is a variant played on a 9 by 9 board that adds a new piece that combines the moves of the bishop and the knight.

History

Modern chess was invented in 1968 by a Puerto Rican, Gabriel Vicente Maura. It attracted a handful of followers in Spain and Latin America, and tournaments were organised by FEMDAM (Federación Mundial de Ajedrez Moderno, the World Federation of Modern Chess). However Maura was forced to stop promoting the variant in 1983 due to a serious illness, after which it disappeared off the radar.

Rules

Modern chess is played on a 9 by 9 board with the usual chess pieces plus a new piece called the prime minister.

The prime minister () combines the powers of the bishop and the knight. It may slide diagonally like a bishop or jump in an "L" shape like a knight, but not both in one move.

A pawn may promote to a prime minister alongside the usual promotion options.

All other rules are the same as standard chess.

Optional bishop swap rule

In the initial setup of modern chess, all four bishops start on dark squares, meaning the bishops will be restricted to dark squares for the entire game. This aspect of the game produced much criticism, so to provide a solution to this problem Maura proposed an optional rule that can be used in the game if the players agree to it.

On a player's turn, they are allowed to swap one of their bishops with a piece adjacent to it, provided that they are not in check and the pieces to be swapped have not previously been moved.

In countries where the variant is more popular, another common optional rule to create a light-squared bishop is to require that one of the bishops must move one square orthogonally as its first move.

Sub-variants

This chess variant does not have any notable sub-variants.

Category:Book:Chess Variants#Modern%20Chess%20
Category:Book:Chess Variants