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Subject: Re: Registration for Gothic Chess Computer Program Tournament

Author: Ed Trice

Date: 16:55:54 04/27/04

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Gothic Chess is an 80 square version of chess with two new pieces: an Archbishop
(Bishop + Knight) and a Chancellor (Rook + Knight).

It is based on the recommendations of Jose Capablanca from 1925, and before him,
Henry Bird (1874). With a slight changing to each of their setups, you get a
very playable game.

Bird's setup allow white a smothered mate in 2 if black miscued with 1. Ch3 Nc6
2. Cxh7#. The h-pawn was undefended, allowing the white chancellor to slide like
a rook then smother and mate like a knight.

Capablanca superficially treated this anomaly by swapping the pieces on the c/d
files (Archbishop on c, Bishop moved to d) and the g/h files (Chancellor now on
h, Bishop on g). Pushing the bishops inward is a little weird: the queen's
bishop for white is light, and the king's bishop becomes dark. This would also
leave the i-pawn undefended, and this is the file where the king would reside
after castling kingside.

There is a great deal more info on the GothicChess.org website.



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