Fairy Eater Chess

 

Welcome to the world of Fairy Eater Chess - a fairy chess variant invented in winter 2021  by the chess composer Vadrya Pokshtya (Sergey Kulelyaev). 

Fairy Eater Chess was first published in Russian on the ASHSHI website http://playashshi.ru/forum.php?t=575 and then in English in the author's blog at chess.com https://www.chess.com/blog/Pokshtya/fairy-eater-chess

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Prologue

Two Sorcerers with their faithful henchmen met in a fierce battle for the right to possess the souls of mortals, imprisoned in eighty-one caves hidden from prying eyes deep under the grandiose battlefield.

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Fairy Eater Chess Pieces

The fairy pieces in Fairy Eater Chess have their own names giving the game the necessary ambiance.

Moves of the pieces

The Sorcerer (King)

The Sorcerer moves and captures exactly as the king in classical chess.

A Pawn

A Pawn moves forward exactly one square. When there is an enemy piece one square diagonally ahead of a pawn, either left or right, then the pawn may capture that piece. 

A Ghost

A Ghost moves and captures in all directions like a Queen, but only by jumping over the square. Can jump over friendly and hostile pieces. A Ghost standing on a white square moves only along white squares, a black-squared Ghost - along black ones.

A Shield

A Shield - an analogue of a Side Mover in Chu Shogi - moves and captures one square forward and backward, and also moves and captures orthogonally like a rook in chess.

A Sower of Chaos 

A Sower of Chaos is also known as an Archbishop in Capablanca chess, combines the moves of a knight and a bishop.

A Twilight Reaper

A Twilight Reaper is a Chancellor in Capablanca chess, combines the moves of a knight and a rook.

A Nightrider

A Nightrider - a fairy chess piece invented by the father of fairy chess, the brilliant chess composer T.R. Dawson in 1925 - makes any number of knight moves in one direction, without deviating from the trajectory.

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The game uses a 9x9 board.

Each player has 36 pieces at his / her disposal:

1 Sorcerer (King)

4 Ghosts

4 Shields

6 Nightriders

6 Twilight Reapers (Marshal or Chancellor - knight + rook)

6 Sowers of Chaos (Archbishop - knight + bishop)

9 Pawns

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White is the first to start the game.

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Pawn promotion zone.

The pawn transforms into any piece except The Sorcerer (King) and itself, reaching the sixth rank for White and the fourth rank for Black. Thus, it only needs to take two steps to transform.

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Win and Draw.

If the player to move has their Sorcerer (King) under attack and is unable to make a move so that it is no longer under attack then the player loses via Checkmate.

A draw is awarded:

- by mutual agreement

- in the case of a three-fold repetition of the position

- in the absence of capture and movement of the Pawn in the last 50 moves (rule of 50 moves)

- if one of the players cannot make a move according to the rules in turn (stalemate).

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