Baroque chess
Baroque chess is a chess variant invented in 1962 by Robert Abbott. In 1963, at the suggestion of his publisher, he changed the name to Ultima, by which name it is also known. Abbott considers his invention flawed, and he has suggested amendments to the rules, but these suggestions - like the new name he attempted to give it - have been substantially ignored by the gaming community, which continues, for the most part, to play by the 1963 rules. Since the rules for Baroque were first laid down in 1962, some regional variation has arisen, causing the game to diverge from Ultima.
Description
Baroque chess is usually played on a standard 8x8 chessboard with the standard Staunton design of chesspieces (not human figurines as has more frequently been the case with Chess).
The initial setup of the pieces is the same as in standard Chess, except for two things that the players must first decide on - center counter symmetry, and corner counter symmetry.
Establishing the Degree of Symmetry
Center counter symmetry allows either player to decide whether to switch his King and queen around, and then corner counter symmetry requires each player to decide which of his Rooks will be turned upside down. (The one that remains upright is the Coordinator, and the one that is turned upside down is the Immobilizer.) After these two symmetries are established, White moves first.
If the symmetry phases were optional, and could be delayed into the game, then the manoeuvers - being, essentially, highly unusual departures from the otherwise highly regular movement rules - would be in parallel to the castling moves in Chess.
Similar Ways of Moving...
All of the pieces on the first rank can move in all directions, but out of all of those pieces the King is the one piece alone that is limited to moving exactly one square at a time. Because these pieces are capable of moving in all directions as matter of privilege, they are considered to be Noble pieces. This is a kind of privilege that attaches to them at birth, that is, at the outset of the game, and they retain this privilege no matter where they go. The pawns, on the other hand, can only move left and right, and up and down, and are unable to move diagonally. Just as in Chess, pawns are the peasants of this game. Unlike Chess, pawns are never promoted into another kind of piece. There is no magic square that pawns can be moved to, where they can be promoted into another kind of piece.
... but with Different Ways of Capturing
All the pieces except for the King have different methods of capture, and all but the pawn have different names.
Pieces
The names of the pieces and rules for movement are as follows:
- The King moves and captures like a standard chess King. The objective of the game is to capture the opposing king, but announcement of checkmate is an even higher objective.
- The pawns move like standard chess Rooks. A pawn captures any opposing piece horizontally or vertically between the square to which the pawn moved and a friendly piece. This is considered a custodial form of capture because it has been likened to two men coming up on the sides of the person to be seized, and taking hold of his arms to carry him off. Pawns never capture diagonally, only horizontally or vertically.
The remaining pieces all move like standard chess queens, but have unique methods of capture.
- The Withdrawer, represented by the Queen, captures by moving directly away from an adjacent piece.
- The long-leapers, represented by the Knights, capture by jumping over an opposing piece in a straight line. A long-leaper may make multiple captures in the same line as long as each piece is jumped independently. Those variants of Baroque prohibiting multiple leaps call this piece the Leaper, and restrict it to capturing the first enemy piece it encounters, provided the next space is empty or open.
- The Coordinator, represented by the unmarked Rook, captures whatever opposing piece is on its file and the King's rank, or the King's file and its rank, after the Coordinator has moved.
- The Immobilizer, represented by the inverted Rook, does not capture anything, but immobilizes all adjacent enemy pieces.
- The Imitators (or Chameleons), represented by the Bishops, capture any piece by moving as a piece of the type captured would have moved to capture. Also Imitators or Chameleons immobilize enemy Immobilizers to which they are adjacent. Imitators cannot capture Imitators. In order for an Imitator to capture an enemy King, it must begin its turn adjacent to it, and step into its square. This is because the King is the only piece on the board that steps one square at a time, and captures by 'replacement' - stepping into the enemy's square to capture it.
Diagrammed examples are indispensable to understanding the rules.
King
The white King moves c4-d5 delivering checkmate. Normally it would not be possible for the two kings to be adjacent, but here the black king is unable to move due to the white immobilizer on e4, thus the d5 square is not under attack by black, and the white king is not moving into check.
Note that white could not play c4-d4, as that would place his own King in check from the black Withdrawer. Capturing the Withdrawer with c4-d3 would result in stalemate, as black would then have no legal moves.
Pawn
The white pawn moves g4-d4, capturing the Black Immobilizer and black pawn. The Black Withdrawer on e5 is not captured, because pawns capture only vertically and horizontally, not diagonally. The Black Imitator (Chameleon) on d3 is not captured, because there is no white piece on d2. Finally, the Black Long-leaper on g3 was safe because it moved between the two white pawns, rather than a white pawn moving to complete the custodial capture.
Withdrawer
File:Ultima withdrawer move.png
The White Withdrawer moves g6-d3, capturing the black pawn on h7. The pawn on g7 and the Imitator (Chameleon) on h6 are unaffected because the Withdrawer did not move in their respective lines, but the Withdrawer could have captured either by a move in the sixth rank or g-file respectively. Note that the Withdrawer also gives check to the Black King by threatening to move away on the d-file.
Long-Leaper
File:Ultima long leaper move.png
The white Long-Leaper moves d2-d4-d6-d8, capturing three black pieces. It might instead have captured the Black Withdrawer with either d2-g5 or d2-h6. On the other hand, the black pawn on b2 and the Black Chameleon on d1 are safe from the Long Leaper because there is no square on the opposite side on which the Long Leaper could land. Also the black pawns on f2 and g2 cannot be captured by d2-h2, because there is no space in between the two pawns which would allow the Long Leaper to make two separate jumps. A move of d2-b4 would be illegal because long leapers may not jump over friendly pieces.
Coordinator
File:Ultima coordinator move.png
The White Coordinator moves d4-f6, capturing black's Leaper on c6 and Immobilizer on f2. If White had played d4-d6 instead, he would have captured black's Leaper and pawn. The Coordinator threatens only pieces on the same rank or file as the friendly King.
Immobilizer
File:Ultima immobilizer move.png
The White Immobilizer moves f3-d5, immobilizing 5 black pieces. The black Leaper on g4, which had been immobilized, is now free to move again.
An Immobilizer can never be captured by a King, Withdrawer, Immobilizer, or Imitator (Chameleon). However, when an Immobilizer comes into contact with an Enemy Chameleon or Immobilizer, the two pieces freeze each other, after which neither can move the rest of the game unless the other is captured.
Most versions of Baroque allow an immobilized piece to commit suicide, i.e. be removed from the board, in lieu of the regular move of that player. There may be strategic reasons to open a line. For example, after the above diagrammed move, the Black Leaper on c5 may wish to commit suicide, so that the other Leaper can capture the White Immobilizer by jumping over it on the fifth rank. White cannot hinder this plan, because the Immobilizer is itself immobilized by the Black chameleon.
Chameleon/Imitator
File:Ultima chameleon move.png
In the above diagram, the white chameleon moves g6-e6-c6, astoundingly capturing all seven black pieces in one move and delivering check.
- It captures the black withdrawer by moving away from it.
- It captures the black long-leapers by jumping over them.
- It captures three black pawns by surrounding them. (A chameleon can only capture pawns on a horizontal move or vertical move, not on a diagonal move.)
- It captures the black coordinator by rank/file coordination with the white king.
- It delivers check by moving adjacent to the black king.
Observations Relating to Strategy
Because pawns have exactly one half the movement capability of the other pieces (save the King, which they are almost double), they should be moved twice as often as the others are. This is because they are more than twice as expendable. In traditional Chess, pawns are stronger when adjacent to each other diagonally, forming pawn chains. However, in Baroque, pawns do not become stronger when found adjacent to each other. Pawn chains as such do not make them any amount stronger than they would be, if farther away from the enemy. It is true that they make good cannon fodder - material to sacrifice for a tactical advantage - and for that reason they can be stuck into holes lest the enemy come through, but it does not follow that they are any bit stronger when placed next to each other, and this doesn't matter whether it is horizontally or diagonally. It might be surprising to find that Pawns are actually much stronger when separated from one another by a square and a half (or the square root of two). This is the rough distance a Knight can move in traditional chess!
Don't Get Hemmed In
It's much better to have lots of space than very little. This means, more often than not, that players will tend to establish barricades against each other, and to realize these barricades, they must push their pawns as far as they can, often getting them into the very locations that are most disadvantageous to them as pawns. Regardless of how this diminishes the value of a pawn, they are the very pieces most suited for plugging into holes, or building brick walls with, lest the enemy flex his arms, and manage to get through.
Dropping a Pawn is not the End of the World
Unless you are playing against a computer program, losing a pawn is not too likely to turn the game, let alone spell defeat. In fact, you will probably need at least 5 pawns at the end of the game to capture the solitary enemy King, supposing that all your other pieces in the board have by then been lost already. That means you should not worry too much about the strength of a pawn sacrifice, so long as it means getting your stronger pieces that much closer to the enemy King.
Travels of the Warrior King
Enemy Pieces lying upon the King's axis (rank and file) can be captured with your Coordinator. Although the King is the slowest piece on the board, being capable of entering upon a maximum of the 8 adjacent squares, as opposed to the 14 squares a pawn can move to (assuming an unencumbered path in each case), that does not at all mean you should move it twice as often a pawn, or four times as often as a Leaper. Nevertheless, the best time to move a King is after the game has stabilized, and assumed a more or less static, impassable "closed position." If most of your friendly pawns stand next to enemy pawns, shoulder to shoulder, you are probably in a "closed position." Similarly, if your Immobilizer finds itself immobilized, you are again - probably - in a "closed position." This is exactly the time you should start looking for a way of moving the King so that its rank or file is shared by an enemy piece. And the stronger an enemy piece, the better. In a closed position, it's a fairly good idea to move your King so that it stands on the same rank or file that the enemy Immobilizer lies on.
The Withdrawer Can Break Blockades
Although the Withdrawer is admirally well-suited for picking off pawns here and there, you should keep in mind how the loss of a pawn or two is rarely enough to turn the game. Rather, you should save your Withdrawer for picking off enemy pieces adjacent to your Immobilizer. It's true, they aren't going anywhere, so you don't have to worry about them that much, but unless your Immobilizer is also immobilized, it will make the board that much safer if they are picked off (or captured).
The Leaper May Be the Strongest Piece
Although the Leaper can move as far as the other noble pieces can, it is perhaps the most powerful piece on the board, and for those versions of Baroque permitting the piece to multi-leap, it is certainly the most powerful piece on the board. If you must trade it off, try to get four or five pawns for it, or a couple of Imitators, and if you do that, you will be doing fairly well.
The Imitator/Chameleon Is Always Useful
The value of an Imitator/Chameleon arguably goes up as piece density goes down. This is because you can always use it to capture the enemy King, even at the end of the game when there aren't any other pieces on the board. On the other hand, it may require five pawns at the end of the game to capture the enemy King.
External links
- Ultima by Robert Abbott
- Ultima from the Chess Variant Pages
- An Illustrated Guide to Ultima Pieces - Animated GIFs show how the pieces capture.
- Ultima on Game Courier - Play Ultima against others online