Gustavian Cannonrider Chess
Cannonriders on a Gustavian board
Gustavian Cannonrider Chess
Cannonriders on a Gustavian board
In Gustavian Cannonrider Chess "Cannonriders"
are initially positioned on the Bishop files (and Knights are placed on the four
extra corner squares of the Gustavian board). The Cannonrider moves differently
depending on the colour of the square. On black squares it moves like a Cannon:
it slides like a Rook, but can capture an enemy only if there is another piece
(of either side) in between, and any interim squares are empty. Thus to capture
it leaps over the intervening piece and lands on the enemy piece, like a
cannonball. If positioned on a white square it jumps like a Nightrider, that is,
can make continuous knight jumps in the same direction, provided that the
interim squares are empty. Note that the Kings are initially positioned on
the d-file. Otherwise, the rules are the same as in standard chess, except
for the possible pawn promotion to Cannonrider.
The Cannonrider's
value is 5, that is, the same as a Rook. The Cannonrider's image also changes
when it moves to a square with a different colour (it rotates). This makes it
easier to understand the piece.The Cannonrider is a very interesting piece for
the tactician. Positionally, too, it could be quite dangerous because one can
sometimes sacrifice a Cannonrider for a light piece (Knight or Bishop) to
achieve positional ends. In the middlegame the Cannonrider is more valuable than
a Rook, due to its dangerous tactical capabilities. But in the endgame it is
less valuable than a Rook. An obvious case is the endgame King + Cannonrider vs.
King, while it cannot give mate to the enemy King. Watch out for fool's mates in
the opening. If the Cannonrider is placed on a black square on the king's file,
then it could mean mate. There is no way for white to secure an advantage by an
immediate activation of a Cannonrider.
 The Cannonrider, standing on a white square, can
jump like a knight, but also has the continuous knight jumps.
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 The Cannonrider, standing on a black square, can
slide like a rook. But it can only capture by jumping over any intervening piece
and landing on an enemy piece.
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There is also a variant where Scorpions
take the place of the pawns (see Scorpion Chess).
The Scorpion has the additional moves of a Knight, but only in two forward
directions: east-north-east, and west-north-west. There are no additional
capture moves.The Scorpion's value is half the value of a Knight or Bishop, that
is, 1.5. This means that a light piece can be exchanged for two Scorpions, a
possibility which often occurs. In the endgame it could become very dangerous,
and its value often increases.)
The Cannon movement derives from the Cannon in
Chinese Chess (Xiangqi). The Nightrider movement was invented by the British
chess problem composer
 You
can download my free Gustavian Cannonrider Chess program
here, (updated
2006-12-11) but you must own the software
Zillions of Games to be able to
run it.
Try playing
Gustavian Cannonrider Chess by e-mail, against a human opponent,
here. Don't miss my other
chess variants. |
© M.
Winther 2006
