Games - Multiple move chess

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	Games - Multiple move chess

Multiple Move Chess is a chess variant wherein multiple moves are allowed during each player's turn. Multiple move chess is a good way to have an interesting and fairly traditional chess variant game that is both interestingly modified, and shorter than a normal game. The most common form of multiple move chess is three move chess, though any number of moves per turn may be played.

Rules

There are a few rules that differ from standard rules of chess. These rules are important, as they set limits which makes the game playable in the multiple move format. There is more than one way to play, but most people use Westmont rules, which were developed by chess enthusiasts at Westmont College. The rules explained below are Westmont rules.

Turns

A turn is the sequence in which a player moves his pieces before the other player may move. In normal chess, a turn is exactly one move. In multiple move chess, the number of moves is specified, for example, in three move chess, each player takes three moves before ending a turn.

A turn ends when a player removes his hand from the piece that made the final move of the turn. However, a player may choose to declare "I'm not done yet" as he removes his hand, in order to get a good look at the board position before deciding whether or not to go with that move. He then can end the turn by saying "I'm done," or may decide to change the moves he has made. A player may change his mind about the placement of pieces as many times as he wishes until he either moves the final piece and withdraws his hand, or declares that his turn is over.

Moves

A move is the movement of a piece on the board, according to the standard rules of chess. More than one piece may be moved per turn, each piece counting as a move, or the same piece may be moved multiple times, each change in position counting as a move. For example, with three moves, a player may move a pawn forward one, and then move the king twice to place it on the third column.

Unlike in normal chess, a player may change his mind about a move once he takes his hand off of it. However, once a players turn ends, his moves are final.

Capturing

A piece may only capture on its first move of each turn. Thus a bishop may not move out, and then move again to take a pawn. A pawn may not move forward a space and then capture diagonally. Additionally, once a particular piece has captured, it may not move again until the next turn.

There is no limit on how many pieces may capture per turn. Three different pieces may make three separate captures. Capturing may take place on any move of the turn, provided that it is that particular pieces first move for that turn.

Check

When a player's king is put in check, that player has until the end of the turn to respond to the check. The king may remain in check throughout the turn, so long as at the end of the turn, the king is not being checked by any pieces.

A player may, for example, chose to ignore a threatening queen's check on his first move in order to move a horse to threaten the queen, simultaneously opening the way for the king to move into the space the horse just left, and escaping the check.

A king may only move one space in a turn where it has been checked. Even if the check is eliminated first, the king has a maximum of one move for that turn.

Moving into Check

A king may move into a square threatened by an enemy piece only when it is already in check. This can only happen when subsequent moves by other pieces eliminate all threats to that square by the end of the turn.

The king normally can not move into check--it is only when moving out of check that a king may move into check. Upon moving into check, the king may not move again for the rest of that turn. This prevents a cornered checked king from moving three or more spaces to escape into the open.

A player may expose a king to check in the course of a turn, as long as the king is not exposed to a check at the end of the turn. The king, however, may never move into a threatened square, except as noted above.

Checkmate

Checkmate is not called. In multiple move chess it is generally too difficult to be absolutely certain that a given check is in fact a checkmate. It is up to the checked player to devise a way to escape the check. If the checked player is unable to come up with a play that leaves the king safe, then he loses. A player must resign if he cannot find a way to escape the check, even if it is possible.

A player may take a long time before conceding defeat, however, some restraints will usually be agreed upon beforehand to limit this. A common restraint is that the player considering his checked king must remain seated at the table while he considers. If he leaves the table for any reason while in check, before coming up with an adequate move, he forfeits. Players may also agree on a certain time limit to find a way out of check, e.g. ten minutes, or an hour.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Multiple move chess ]

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