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Mad King Chess

Mad King Chess


The following was presented by R. Wayne Schmittberger in the book "New Rules for Classic Games" as Emperor King Chess.

Utilizes the same equipment and rules as the Mad Queen variant(FIDE) with the exception of the movement of the King.

Rules

The King is permitted to leap to any vacant or enemy-occupied cell upon the field. It is not permitted to capture a defended opponent King. This follows the rule of not moving a King into threat.

Due to the mobility of this particular King, castling is not necessary but can still be exercised according to its normal restrictions.

The game is won by checkmating the opposing King.

Notes

Since the King must maintain a defender to avoid capture by an opposing King, this greatly reduces(but does not eliminate) the opportunity for a draw game. At the start of the game the King has only its Queen as a defender, but it can leap to any cell to obtain others.

Several Shogi variants have this type of piece which is called the Emperor.

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Another form of Mad King, or 'slightly mad', is one that moves as in the Mad Queen variant but is permitted to take an undefended opposing King as an Amazon. This is similar to the exposure rule for Generals in XiangQi.


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By Larry L. Smith.
Web page created: 2008-10-15. Web page last updated: 2008-10-15