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Eurasian Pawn piece

This is a separate entry for the Pawn-X-Forward discussion, and the now named "Eurasian Pawn".  You can see the original discussion here:
http://www.chessvariants.org/index/listcomments.php?subjectid=Pawns-X-forward

Pieces

The Eurasian Pawn.

Depending on where the Eurasian Pawn is placed, it will impact its move.

The Eurasian Pawn, if placed in the second row, it gains the normal 2 space forward initial pawn mobility found in FIDE Chess.  If it placed on a third row or greater, it moves a single space forward.

This pawn is a cross between a FIDE pawn and an Asian (Shogi/XiangQi pawn).  It has the same move forward non-capture, but may capture like a FIDE chess pawn (diagonally forward), or one space in front.

Notes

This pawn has caused some adverse reaction by some.  I believe it is an option that should be considered for games with odd number of rows, which is why it is considered here.  The reason for the pawn capture forward is to assist the player who moves second, and create a buffer zone that assists the player moving second.  A Eurasian Pawn is not meant for every game, just times when it would be seen as beneficial.  In games where you wish players to develop behind their pawns, instead of in front of them, a Eurasian pawn is useful. It is also believe this pawn should NOT be used in cases where when both players move their pawns forward, they will meet face to face (normally an even number of rows on a board).

Please consider this as a way to close the gap between spaces on a larger chessboard, without adding additional mobility to pawns, which have a tendency to mess up pawn chains.


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By Rich Hutnik.
Web page created: 2008-05-19. Web page last updated: 2008-05-19