The Chess Variant Pages



Check out Expanded Chess, our

featured variant for September, 2023.

AIGO Chess

Introduction
Setup
Pieces
Rules
Contact

News Article by Almira Skripchenko

Introduction

AIGO Chess was invented in 2004 by the president of Beijing Huaqi Information Digital Technology Co., Ltd. It is identical to international chess, but with the addition of four cannon pieces.

Setup

satellite=aigo files=8 ranks=8 promoZone=1 promoChoice=NBRQC graphicsDir=/graphics.dir/alfaeriePNG/ squareSize=50 graphicsType=png darkShade=#008740 lightShade=#FFFFD5 firstRank=1 useMarkers=1 pawn:P:fmW*fceF:pawn:a2,c2-f2,h2,b3,g3,,b6,g6,a7,c-f7,h7 knight:N:N:knight:b1,g1,,b8,g8 bishop:B:B:bishop:c1,f1,,c8,f8 rook:R:R:rook:a1,h1,,a8,h8 queen:Q:Q:queen:d1,,d8 cannon:C:mRcpR:cannon:b2,g2,,b7,g7 king:K:KisO2:king:e1,,e8 
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| r | n | b | q | k | b | n | r |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| p | c | p | p | p | p | c | p |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   | p |   |   |   |   | p |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   | P |   |   |   |   | P |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| P | C | P | P | P | P | C | P |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| R | N | B | Q | K | B | N | R |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

C/c = Cannon

Pieces

As in international chess, except:

The Cannon makes a non-capturing move like a rook. It makes a capturing move like a rook, except that a single piece must stand between the Cannon and the piece it captures.

Rules

As in international chess. Points of uncertainty:

1. Can pawns promote to Cannon?
2. Can pawns which start on 3rd rank make initial two-square move.

Notes

Thanks to Michael Howe for pointing out this information.

Contact



Categories and Details

2dOther8 x 8

Credits

Author: David Howe. Inventor: Feng Jun.

Comments

AIGO Chess. International chess with Cannon pieces added. (8x8, Cells: 64)
Andy Thomas wrote on 2005-12-09 EST
in AIGO, perhaps the knights' pawns should be dispensed with altogether.
in my opinion this would give better 'synergy' between the combined FIDE
and xiang qi varieties of chess. then there would be no rule about whether
those pawns could move 2 initially, because the knights' pawns wouldn't
exist; and each side would have 16 pieces, as each side does in both FIDE
and xiang qi. plus, the cannons would then be able to attack the
opponent's knights, as it is in xiang qi. currently, AIGO with the
cannons inserted at n2 and knights pawns starting at 3, gives the game a
'cramped' look on the 8x8 board.

Mark Thompson wrote on 2005-12-08 EST
I believe you're mistaken in saying the cannons can capture one another in the opening setup. They only go over one piece in making a capture, and they're separated by two pawns.

Anonymous wrote on 2005-12-08 ESTGood ★★★★
This game looks like fun but the cannons can capture eachother in the opening setup. p.s i would say all pawns can premote to cannon and do double moves. p.p.s sorry about the spelling mistakes and lack of punchuation.

Charles Gilman wrote on 2005-11-28 ESTGood ★★★★
My guess is that the Knight Pawns cannot make a double move as they are
the
equivalent of Pawns that have already made a one-step move - including a
Rook or Bishop Pawn that has made a capturing move to the same square!

Interestingly the Xiang Qi feature that Cannons initially threaten a
weaker but protected enemy piece is preserved. Mind you, the comparison
would be even closer without Knight Pawns at all - particularly as both
FIDE Chess and Xiang Qi have 16-piece armies. Hm, this gives me an idea
for a post-Cannon subvariant of my Anglis Qi...

Number of ratings: 2, Average rating: Good, Number of comments: 4

List all comments and ratings for this item.

Add a comment or rating for this item.

The Chess Variant Pages is an amateur, hobbyist website that has been run by volunteers since it was founded in 1995. It focuses on documenting games based on, related to, or similar enough to Chess and on letting you play many of them.

Who What When Where Why Which How

Operating expenses are covered through advertising and donations. Help out by making a PayPal donation or by shopping with these affiliate links:

https://www.chessvariants.org/other.dir/aigo-chess.html
First Created: Sunday, November 27th, 2005
Last Modified: Sunday, November 27th, 2005
File Timestamp: Sun, 20 Nov 2022 15:51:46 -0500
[info] [links] [edit]