Chancellor chess

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i
9										9
8										8
7										7
6										6
5										5
4										4
3										3
2										2
1										1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i

Chancellor chess board and starting setup.Chancellorsare on f1/f9. "Notice that the positions of B and N are reversed on the king's sides in order that bishop pairs are on opposite coloured squares."

Chancellor chessis achess variantinvented by Benjamin R. Foster in 1887. It features all the regularchess piecesplus onechancellorand extra pawn per side, on a 9×9board.

John Gollon, inChess Variations: Ancient, Regional, and Modern,expressed his belief that a variant like Foster's "will be the next step to the evolution of chess", because the addition of a single piece, the chancellor, a combination of rook and knight, "preserves a symmetry of power" on the chessboard with the queen, a combination of rook and bishop.

Game rules

The starting setup is as shown. All the standardrules of chessapply, but when reaching the final rank,pawnscanpromoteto one of the usual pieces or to chancellor.

History

Chancellor chess was invented by Ben R. Foster in 1887 and was first published the same year in theSt. Louis Globe-Democrat.Foster published a booklet titledChancellor Chessin 1889, "dedicated to all liberal-minded chess players throughout the world".An advertisement for a book by Foster on the game appeared inAmerican Chessmagazine in October 1898. The ad informed that the game was named after the new piece, the chancellor, with the board "enlarged to nine squares".

See also

• Modern chess– a 9×9 variant featuring oneprime ministerper side

References

Bibliography

• Pritchard, D. B.(1994).The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants.Games & Puzzles Publications.ISBN0-9524142-0-1.
• Pritchard, D. B.(2007). "Chancellor Chess". In Beasley, John (ed.).The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants.John Beasley. pp. 121–22.ISBN978-0-9555168-0-1.
• Gollon, John (1968). "§29 Chancellor Chess".Chess Variations • Ancient, Regional, and Modern.Charles E. Tuttle Company Inc.pp. 214–218.LCCN06811975.

Further reading

• Wood, Peter C., ed. (July–September 1993). "Chancellor Chess".Variant Chess.Vol. 2, no. 11.British Chess Variants Society.pp. 33–36.ISSN0958-8248.
• Foster, Ben R. (2017).Dekle, George R. Sr.(ed.).The Annotated Chancellor Chess.Independently published.ISBN978-1520905921.

External links

• Chancellor ChessbyHans Bodlaender,The Chess Variant Pages
• Chancellor Chess (book)by Ben R. Foster,The Chess Variant Pages
• Chancellor Chessa simple program by Ed Friedlander(Java)