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This page is written by the game's inventor, Erez Schatz.

AtTENdance Chess

By Erez Schatz

Attendance Chess was created for the Chess Variants Pages tenth anniversary contest. The only rule for the game called for a Chess variant of some sort, and somehow, the number 10 must play a role in the game. I have attempted to make every element of the game revolve around the number 10, starting with the board size and giving (almost) every piece exactly ten squares it can move to.

The name of this variant "Attendance" includes the word "ten" in it, and has 10 letters.

Game description:

Attendance Chess is played on a 10X10 board, and there are exactly 10 different piece types, every piece has exactly 10 squares it can move to, unless stated otherwise. The game is played like FIDE Chess. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's King. A stalemate results in a draw

The Board:

    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
10  | r |:w:| b |:m:| k |:c:| m |:b:| w |:r:|
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
9   |:::|   |:v:|   |:::|   |:v:|   |:::|   |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
8   | p |:p:| f |:p:| s |:s:| p |:f:| p |:p:|
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
7   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
6   |   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
5   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
4   |   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
3   |:P:| P |:F:| P |:S:| S |:P:| F |:P:| P |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
2   |   |:::|   |:V:|   |:::|   |:V:|   |:::|
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
1   |:R:| W |:B:| M |:C:| K |:M:| B |:W:| R |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

      a   b   c   d   e   f   g   h   i   j
 

The Pieces:

White: King f1; Centurion e1; Rook a1, j1; Wizzar b1, i1; Bishop c1, h1; BattleMech d1, g1; Vampire d2, h2; Soldier e3, f3; Ferz c3, h3; Pawn a3, b3, d3, g3, i3, j3.

Black: King e10; Centurion f10; Rook a10, j10; Wizzar b10, i10; Bishop c10, h10; BattleMech d10, g10; Vampire c9, g9; Soldier e8, f8; Ferz c8, h8; Pawn a8, b8, d8, g8, i8, j8.

King (K): Moves like a FIDE King, one square in each direction. Additionally has the right to make two Knight-moves during the game like the King in Chaturanga. Those moves can be executed at any time regardless of whether the King was, or is, in Check. Moreso, the King can escape Check by making one of the two available Knight moves. This gives the King 10 potential squares it can move to. Once the King made both his Knight-moves, it cannot make another one for the duration of the game.

Centurion (C): The Centurion moves one square in every direction, except orthogonally backwards. It can also leap 2 squares diagonally forward, and leap two squares orthogonally backwards, giving it 10 overall squares it can move to.

  +---+---+---+---+---+
  | x |   |   |   | x |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  |   | x | x | x |   |    This diagram shows all the possible moves of a white Centurion
  +---+---+---+---+---+    in the centre of an empty board
  |   | x | C | x |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  |   | x |   | x |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  |   |   | x |   |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+

Rook (R): Moves up to 2 squares, in any orthogonal direction, it does not leap. It also can move one square diagonally forward.

  +---+---+---+---+---+
  |   |   | x |   |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  |   | x | x | x |   |     This diagram shows all the possible moves of a white Rook
  +---+---+---+---+---+     in the centre of an empty board
  | x | x | R | x | x |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  |   |   | x |   |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  |   |   | x |   |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+

Wizzar (W): Moves like a Camel, on a 3,1 "L", it can also move one square diagonally forward.

  +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  |   |   | x |   | x |   |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |     This diagram shows all the possible moves of a white Wizzar
  +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+     in the centre of an empty board
  | x |   | x |   | x |   | x |
  +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  |   |   |   | W |   |   |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  | x |   |   |   |   |   | x |
  +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  |   |   | x |   | x |   |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

Bishop (B): Moves up to 2 squares in any diagonal direction, it does not leap. It can also move one square orthogonally to the right or to the left

  +---+---+---+---+---+
  | x |   |   |   | x |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  |   | x |   | x |   |      This diagram shows all the possible moves of a white Bishop
  +---+---+---+---+---+	     in the centre of an empty board
  |   | x | B | x |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  |   | x |   | x |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  | x |   |   |   | x |
  +---+---+---+---+---+

BattleMech (M): The BattleMech leaps 2 squares in any direction. It can also move one square diagonally forward.

  +---+---+---+---+---+
  | x |   | x |   | x |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  |   | x |   | x |   |      This diagram shows the possible moves of a white BattleMech
  +---+---+---+---+---+	     in the centre of an empty board
  | x |   | M |   | x |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  |   |   |   |   |   |
  +---+---+---+---+---+
  | x |   | x |   | x |
  +---+---+---+---+---+

Vampire (V): Only leaps diagonally, over exactly one piece. It can land on any empty square following the piece it leaps over, as long as the intervening squares are also empty. The vampire can capture a piece located in an orthogonally adjacent square. This is a distance capture, as the Vampire cannot capture by displacement.
The Vampire can capture, move without capturing, or move and capture.
Notice that both Vampires, on both sides, are restricted to the black squares and are initially located at the black squares.
A Vampire placed in the middle of the board threatens, assuming it has pieces it can jump over, at least 20 potential squares (Which are 2X10).

   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
7  |   | o |   |   |   | o |   |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
6  | o | x | o |   | o | x | o |    This diagram shows some of the possible moves of a Vampire.
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+    The squares marked with an 'o' are squares the Vampire threatens,
5  |   | o | D | o | A | o |   |    those marked with an 'x' are squares it can move to, assuming
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+    that there is a piece it can leap over (marked A-D).
4  |   |   | o | V | o |   |   |    Note that a Vampire can only move by leaping over another piece,
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+    friendly or not. Also, the Vampire in this diagram can move
3  |   | o | C | o | B | o |   |    to squares G7, A7, A1 and G1 as well.
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
2  | o | x | o |   | o | x | o |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
1  |   | o |   |   |   | o |   |
   +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
     A   B   C   D   E   F   G

Pawn (P): Moves and captures like a FIDE Pawn. Pawns are allowed an initial double move and can be captured en passant.
At the starting point, the 6 pawns defend a total of 10 squares (overlapping, of course).

Ferz (F): Moves one square in any diagonal direction.

Soldier (S): Moves one square in any orthogonal direction.
I have no idea what those two pieces have with the number 10.

Additional rules:

Promotion: Pawns can promote to "their" piece at the 9th row, (The pawn on 'a' rank promote to Rook, 'b' rank promote to Wizzar, and so forth) but only when the player already lost a piece of the type. A player can't have more than 2 pieces of any type, and no more than one Centurion. When a pawn reaches the 10th row, it immediately promotes to any piece except the King or the Vampire.
Soldiers and Ferz do not promote.

Castling: Castling is allowed. When castling, the King will move to a vacated Bishop's square (h1, c1 for white, h10, c10 for black), the Rook will then move to a vacated BattleMech's square. All rules regarding castling apply.

Notes:

I tried to utilize known piece names (Rook, Bishop) to maintain clarity, and to make the variant more "user friendly", despite the fact that this variant's pieces don't have much in common with the FIDE chess ones.
The Wizzar is based on the Omega Chess Wizard, I altered the name to indicate that this is a more limited piece, and also as a homage to Terry Pratchett's Rincewind the "Wizzard".
The Centurion's name translate roughly as "commander of a hundred", which is also a 10 reference.
The Vampire is taken from Treeleaders Chess (by yours truly).
The BattleMech is an augmented Alfil-Dababa, called "War Engine" in ancient variants, like Tamerlane's. Since it is stronger than a War Engine, I thought BattleMech was more appropriate.
I also renamed the Wazir as "Soldier", to prevent confusion between it and the Wizzar/Wizard.
Unintentionally, this game was completed in April 10th, which is also my 29th birthday, adding another "10" to the package.