Hexagonal chess, burnished chessboard (S-1/H)
Hexagonal chess is an interesting variant of chess, played on a hexagonal chessboard with hexagonal fields. The rules of the game were developed in 1929 by Lord H.D. Baskerville and later improved in 1939 by Soviet geologist I. Saffron. Eventually, a variation created by Wladyslaw Glinski in 1949 and improved in 1953 - the so-called hexagonal Polish chess - gained popularity. The game gained popularity in Great Britain, Poland, Canada, the United States and other countries such as Switzerland, France, Italy, Hungary, New Zealand and Germany.
Rules of the game
Glinski's hexagonal chess is a two-player game played on a hexagonal chessboard. The board consists of 91 hexagonal squares in three colors: light, dark and intermediate (the usual shades of brown). There are a total of 30 light, 30 dark and 31 intermediate fields. The game uses two sets of runners - white and black. The white player sits at the light top and the black player sits at the dark top of the board. The diagrams are drawn so that the white side is at the bottom and the black side is at the top.
The same runners are used for the game as in traditional chess, but the number of runners is different in hexagonal chess: compared to the traditional set, each player has an extra pawn and an extra pawn. So, one player's set of runners includes 1 king, 1 hetman, 2 rooks, 2 jumpers, 3 pawns and 9 pawns. The initial positioning of the gears is shown in the diagram to the right.
The chessboard has 11 vertical rows of boxes named with the letters a, b, c,..., k, l (the letter j is not used). The fields in a given row are numbered from 1 to 11. Fields with the same number form a diagonal line refracted at field f at an angle of 120°. Lines 1.-6. have 11 fields each, line 7. (filled with black pawns in the initial setting) has 9 fields, line 8 - 7 fields, etc., line 11 - only one field, f11.
As in traditional chess, the goal of playing hexagonal chess is to capture, or sweep away, the opposing side's king, or weaken the opponent so that he is forced to surrender.
Starting the game
The game is started by the player playing white. In friendly games, deciding which player plays white is usually a matter of agreement or draw. Opponents take turns making one move each, and a move cannot be abandoned.
Making moves
In Glinskii hexagonal chess, the pieces make moves according to the following rules:
- The pieces (with the exception of the jumper and the goaltender) cannot jump over other pieces while moving.
- Beating consists in removing the opponent's checkerboard and putting one's own checker in its place (exception: beating in flight).
- The pieces beat the enemy's pieces located on their movement fields, except for pawns.
- It is not allowed to beat the opponent's king.
- If a player's king comes under the action of an enemy queen (under a check), the player is obliged to eliminate this threat (by moving the king, covering it with another queen or beating the opponent's queen that caused the threat).
- It is also forbidden to make a move that would expose one's own king to the enemy's queen.
- Mat occurs when the attacked player has no way to defend against the threat.
The rook moves in 6 directions, determined by fields adjacent to each other's sides, by any number of fields.
The chaser moves in 6 directions along diagonal lines and can jump. They are determined by fields of the same color.
The Queen can move in twelve directions by any number of fields, so like a rook and a chaser at the same time.
The King can move by one field in twelve directions. In hexagonal chess, there is no castling.
The jumper can jump over other pieces. The jumper's movement can be described as one field with the movement of the bishop (diagonally), then one field with the movement of the rook.
The pawn moves one field forward, while beating diagonally on an adjacent field (red circles in the diagram above). It should be noted that, unlike in traditional chess, the direction of beating with the pawn does not correspond to the movement of the pigeon. On the first move, the pawn can move one or two fields. When the pawn's first move is combined with a beating in the direction of row f, the pawn retains the right to move two fields forward. For example, if the white pawn e4 beats the black pawn on f5, it can move to f7. There is beating in flight, which involves beating a pawn moving two fields through a field under the action of a pawn of the opposite color. Beating in through can only be done with a pawn, and only with a pawn that has just made a move of two fields. The unused privilege of beating in flight is immediately forfeited. For example, if the black pawn c7 in the diagram above moves to c5, the white pawn b5 can beat it with a move b5 x c6 bp. If the pawn reaches the last field (one of those marked with asterisks in the diagram), it is promoted, i.e. transformed into any figure (a player can, for example, convert his pawn into an additional hetman).
End of the party
A game ends with one side winning if:
- the opponent's king has been swept;
- the opponent has surrendered the game;
- the opponent has been swept.
Sufficient to sweep the king is considered to be at least:
- a pawn;
- 3 light figures;
- a rook;
- or the hetman.
A stalemate, i.e., the inability to make an allowed move, is not a draw result in hexagonal chess. In tournament play, the losing (stalemated) side receives ¼ point, while the winning side receives ¾ point.
A draw occurs when the same position with the same move order is reached for the third time (including as a result of eternal chess), when both sides make 50 moves without beating or without moving pawns, and when both players unanimously declare a draw.
Notation of the game
The notation of a hexagonal chess game is performed similarly to the notation of a traditional chess game.
Data sheet
- Board dimension
- 46 x 54 cm
- Folded Chessboard
- Yes