wild

  Wild is a little different than the other categories of boards in that
the starting positions are non-standard.  Because wild games are fundamentally
different than regular chess, they are rated separately from blitz and
standard chess games.  The wild ratings, however, do not take into account the
time controls; all wild games are rated on the same basis.

  Here are the major variations of wild that are rated:

Style 1:  In this variant both sides have the same set of pieces as in normal
chess.  The white king starts on d1 or e1 and the black king starts on d8 or
e8, and the rooks are in their usual positions.  Bishops are always on
opposite colors.  Subject to these constraints the position of the pieces on
their first ranks is random.  Castling is done similarly to normal chess:  o-o-
o indicates long castling and o-o short castling.

Style 2:  In this variant the usual set of pieces is arranged randomly on the
first and eighth ranks, with the constraint that Black's arrangement is always
a mirror image of White's.  Castling is not allowed.

Style 3:  In this variant the set of pieces is randomly chosen (subject to the
constraint that there is one king of each color).  It is quite possible to get
more than the normal number of a given piece, such as three rooks or two
queens.  The pieces are placed on the first rank behind the pawns, the
position of Black's pieces mirrors White's placement, and castling is not
allowed.

Style 4:  In this variant a random set of pieces is generated.  These pieces
are placed randomly for White and Black behind the rank of pawns, subject to
the constraint that the bishops must be balanced.

Style 5:  In this variant, each player has the usual set of pieces.  However,
they are placed in a very unusal position.  Pawns start on their 7th rank
rather than their 2nd rank!  They are, therefore, one move away from becoming
queens.  The pieces are placed on their 8th rank rather than the 1st rank. 
When the game starts, it will look like the board is upside down, with White's
pieces starting on Black's side of the board, and vice versa.  But don't let
this fool you.

See Also:  boards  match

[Last modified: September 11, 1995 -- Friar]