3 <title>Mighty Lion Chess</title>
4 <link rel=StyleSheet href="./moves.css" type="text/css">
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8 <h1>Mighty Lion Chess</h1>
9 <table cellpadding="20"><tr><td>
12 <h3>Initial setup</h3>
22 c1, c8, f1, f8: Bishop
30 <h3>Moves at a Glance</h3>
32 <p>Click on a piece below to see its moves</p>
34 <table class="board"><tr><td class="h" id="0x9">
36 </td><td class="n" id="1x9" onmouseDown="down_click(1,9)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
37 <img src="sym/BlackRook.png">
38 </td><td class="n" id="2x9">
40 </td><td class="n" id="3x9">
42 </td><td class="n" id="4x9">
44 </td><td class="n" id="5x9" onmouseDown="down_click(5,9)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
45 <img src="sym/BlackKing.png">
46 </td><td class="n" id="6x9">
48 </td><td class="n" id="7x9">
50 </td><td class="n" id="8x9" onmouseDown="down_click(8,9)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
51 <img src="sym/BlackRook.png">
52 </td><td class="h" id="9x9">
55 <img src="sym/yellow.png">
56 </td><td class="w" rowspan="2" valign="top">
57 <p>Sliding capture or non-capture,<br>can be blocked on any square along the ray</p>
58 </td></tr><tr><td class="h" id="0x8">
60 </td><td class="n" id="1x8">
62 </td><td class="n" id="2x8">
64 </td><td class="n" id="3x8">
66 </td><td class="n" id="4x8">
68 </td><td class="n" id="5x8">
70 </td><td class="n" id="6x8">
72 </td><td class="n" id="7x8">
74 </td><td class="n" id="8x8">
76 </td><td class="h" id="9x8">
78 </td></tr><tr><td class="h" id="0x7">
80 </td><td class="n" id="1x7">
82 </td><td class="n" id="2x7">
84 </td><td class="n" id="3x7">
86 </td><td class="n" id="4x7">
88 </td><td class="n" id="5x7">
90 </td><td class="n" id="6x7">
92 </td><td class="n" id="7x7">
94 </td><td class="n" id="8x7">
96 </td><td class="h" id="9x7">
99 <img src="sym/orange.png">
101 Unblockable leap (capture or non-capture)
102 </td></tr><tr><td class="h" id="0x6">
104 </td><td class="n" id="1x6">
106 </td><td class="n" id="2x6">
108 </td><td class="n" id="3x6">
110 </td><td class="n" id="4x6">
112 </td><td class="n" id="5x6">
114 </td><td class="n" id="6x6" onmouseDown="down_click(6,6)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
115 <img src="sym/WhiteKing.png">
116 </td><td class="n" id="7x6">
118 </td><td class="n" id="8x6">
120 </td><td class="h" id="9x6">
123 <img src="sym/green.png">
126 </td></tr><tr><td class="h" id="0x5">
128 </td><td class="n" id="1x5">
130 </td><td class="n" id="2x5">
132 </td><td class="n" id="3x5">
134 </td><td class="n" id="4x5">
136 </td><td class="n" id="5x5">
138 </td><td class="n" id="6x5">
140 </td><td class="n" id="7x5" onmouseDown="down_click(7,5)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
141 <img src="sym/WhiteRook.png">
142 </td><td class="n" id="8x5">
144 </td><td class="h" id="9x5">
147 <img src="sym/red.png">
150 </td></tr><tr><td class="h" id="0x4">
152 </td><td class="n" id="1x4">
154 </td><td class="n" id="2x4">
156 </td><td class="n" id="3x4">
158 </td><td class="n" id="4x4" onmouseDown="down_click(4,4)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
159 <img src="sym/WhiteLion.png">
160 </td><td class="n" id="5x4" onmouseDown="down_click(5,4)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
161 <img src="sym/WhiteQueen.png">
162 </td><td class="n" id="6x4">
164 </td><td class="n" id="7x4" onmouseDown="down_click(7,4)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
165 <img src="sym/WhiteBishop.png">
166 </td><td class="n" id="8x4">
168 </td><td class="h" id="9x4">
171 <img src="sym/cyan.png">
172 </td><td class="w" rowspan="2" valign="top">
173 Captured while passing through the square to another destination
174 </td></tr><tr><td class="h" id="0x3">
176 </td><td class="n" id="1x3">
177 <img src="sym/BlackPawn.png">
178 </td><td class="n" id="2x3">
180 </td><td class="n" id="3x3">
182 </td><td class="n" id="4x3" onmouseDown="down_click(4,-3)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
183 <img src="sym/WhiteKnight.png">
184 </td><td class="n" id="5x3">
186 </td><td class="n" id="6x3">
188 </td><td class="n" id="7x3">
190 </td><td class="n" id="8x3">
192 </td><td class="h" id="9x3">
194 </td></tr><tr><td class="h" id="0x2">
196 </td><td class="n" id="1x2">
198 </td><td class="n" id="2x2">
200 </td><td class="n" id="3x2">
202 </td><td class="n" id="4x2">
204 </td><td class="n" id="5x2">
206 </td><td class="n" id="6x2">
208 </td><td class="n" id="7x2" onmouseDown="down_click(7,2)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
209 <img src="sym/WhitePawn.png">
210 </td><td class="n" id="8x2">
212 </td><td class="h" id="9x2">
214 </td></tr><tr><td class="h" id="0x1">
216 </td><td class="n" id="1x1">
218 </td><td class="n" id="2x1" onmouseDown="down_click(2,1)" onmouseUp="up_click()">
219 <img src="sym/WhitePawn.png">
220 </td><td class="n" id="3x1">
222 </td><td class="n" id="4x1">
224 </td><td class="n" id="5x1">
226 </td><td class="n" id="6x1">
228 </td><td class="n" id="7x1">
230 </td><td class="n" id="8x1">
232 </td><td class="h" id="9x1">
234 </td></tr><tr><td class="h" id="0x0">
236 </td><td class="n" id="1x0">
238 </td><td class="n" id="2x0">
240 </td><td class="n" id="3x0">
242 </td><td class="n" id="4x0">
244 </td><td class="n" id="5x0">
246 </td><td class="n" id="6x0">
248 </td><td class="n" id="7x0">
250 </td><td class="n" id="8x0">
252 </td><td class="h" id="9x0">
256 <p id="piece" height="20">:<br>:<br>:<br>:</p>
258 <table cellpadding="5" border="1"><tr><td>
265 Moves (<a href="Betza.html">Betza notation</a>)
277 Can castle with Rook, moving 2 steps towards it
287 Can make two independent King steps per turn (capturing upto two pieces)
337 Promotes to Q, R, B, or N on reaching last rank
339 <h3>Pawn peculiarities</h3>
341 <li>Pawns capture differently from how they move (straight move, diagonal capture).</li>
342 <li>Pawns can move two squares straight ahead from their initial position, provided they are not blocked.</li>
343 <li>On the move immediately after such a double push, they can be captured en passant by another Pawn,
344 as if they had only moved 1 square ahead.</li>
345 <li>Pawns promote to another (non-royal) piece of choice when they reach last rank.</li>
349 A King that has not moved before can move two squares in the direction of a Rook that has not moved before,
350 in which case that Rook is moved to the square the King skipped over.
351 This is only allowed if all squares between King and Rook are empty,
352 when the King is not in check on the square it came from,
353 and would not be in check on any of the squares it skipped over.
355 <h3>General rules</h3>
357 <li>It is not allowed to expose your King to check.</li>
358 <li>The game is won by checkmating the opponent's King.</li>
359 <li>Stalemate (no legal moves, but not in check) is a draw.</li>
361 <h3>The Lion piece</h3>
363 The Lion can make two moves per turn.
364 That means it can also capture two pieces per turn,
365 one on the square it moves to (as normal), and one 'en passant' on the transit square.
366 It can also capture on the transit square, and move on to an empty square ('hit and run'),
367 or capture and move back to where it came from ('shooting' the piece from a distance, as it were).
368 Of course it can also capture a single piece in the normal Chess manner.
369 In that case the transit square is immaterial.
372 The Lion can make such double moves as two King steps,
373 i.e. in all directions, and arbitrarily changing direction between them.
374 It can also jump over the transit square, i.e. reach the distant two-step destination in a single jump.
375 Finally it can also just make a step to an adjacent square, refraining from taking a second step.
377 <h3>Restrictions on Lion capture</h3>
379 There are rules to make Lion trading very difficult, in order to keep the Lions in play.
380 Basically they specify that two Lions cannot be captured in consecutive half-moves.
381 When the first capture is Lion x Lion from a distance,
382 it is forbidden to play it if pseudo-legal (i.e. without taking account of check) recapture of the capturing Lion is possible
383 <i>with another piece than King</i>.
384 So even when the Lion is protected only with a pinned piece, the other Lion cannot capture it <i>from a distance</i>,
385 just like a King could not capture it.
387 When a non-Lion captures a Lion, it is just the other way around:
388 then the 'counterstrike' by a non-Lion against the Lion is forbidden.
389 One possibility left open is thus when you capture an adjacent Lion.
390 But then you would in general be foolish to allow recapture,
391 as you could take the Lion hit-and-run fashion, fleeing to a save square.
392 An exception to the rule is when a valuable opponent piece (i.e. not a Pawn) forms a 'bridge' between the Lions;
393 you may then capture that piece in the first leg of the double-move,
394 and then take the opponent Lion with the second leg.
395 Then the opponent can recapture, but he will have lost a valuable piece.
396 In the late end-game, when you have nothing to protect your Lion with other than King,
397 trading becomes possible.
399 <h3>XBoard interface issues</h3>
401 This game has to be played with the option Show Target Squares on!
402 This option will cause marking of the target squares of any piece you select or grab,
403 by the engine (with legality testing off) or by XBoard (legality testing on).
404 Moving to a square marked in cyan will be interpreted not as the final destination,
405 but as the transit square after the first step of a multi-leg move.
406 XBoard will then highlight the possible destination squares of the second leg from there.
407 Should you want to end on the cyan square, you click it again, (it will be no longer marked in cyan),
408 and XBoard will terminate the move after the first leg.
409 You can also move back to the starting square, to 'shoot' the opponent piece from nearby.
411 <h3>Differences with FIDE</h3>
413 One Knight is replaced by a Lion piece with very special properties.
415 <h3>Strategy issues</h3>
417 It is not possible to force checkmate on a bare King with just a single Bishop or Knight (in addition to your own King).
418 Two Knights cannot do that either.
421 Bishops are confined to squares of a single color.
422 Having Bishops on both colors compensates this weakness, and is worth an extra 0.5 on top of their added value.