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Chess400

This page contains one or more presets for playing a game online with Game Courier, an online server for playing Chess variants by correspondence.

One can, by a procedure of relocation, randomize the initial array according to Configuration Chess rules. In this variant the queen and king of the parties are independently relocated. The resultant 400 possible setups deviate marginally from the standard position, but most of them are non-mirrored. The general chessplayer would feel at home in any of these positions. Rules:

Before play begins, king and queen swap places with another piece except the rooks. Thus, if the king is swapped (relocated), the other piece (the relocatee) ends up on the king's square. If the queen is swapped, the relocatee ends up on the queen's square. One restriction is that the bishops mustn't end up on the same square colour. Note that the standard position can also occur. Note also that the king retains his castling rights even if it has been relocated. The castling rules derive from Fischer Random Chess. King and rook end up on the same square as usual.

With these relocation rules the rooks remain in their natural positions, and the bishops are always positioned so that there is still a choice to develop them on either of the queen's or the king's wing. This maintains the strategical ambiguity of the initial position, while sound positions are produced where no definitive advantage can be obtained.

Note! Castling is done by dropping the king on the rook. This is to resolve ambiguites. (The players must themselves keep count of whether the king/rook have already been moved.) Moves are automated (point & click), but rules of check, etc., are ignored. At pawn promotion the player is asked about promotion piece.

Chess400 (Configuration Random Chess)


A Zillions program and more information is here.

See also this Game Courier preset: Configuration Chess (the 400 positions can be manually generated)

This 'user submitted' page is a collaboration between the posting user and the Chess Variant Pages. Registered contributors to the Chess Variant Pages have the ability to post their own works, subject to review and editing by the Chess Variant Pages Editorial Staff.

By M Winther.
Web page created: 2009-05-02. Web page last updated: 2009-05-02