Fairy chess piece

Some fairy pieces

	Princess (knight+bishop compound)
	Empress (knight+rook compound)
	Grasshopper (shown as an inverted queen)
	Nightrider, knightmare, or unicorn (shown as an inverted knight)
	Berolina pawn or sergeant (shown as an inverted pawn)
	Ferz (shown as an inverted bishop)
	Wazir (shown as an inverted rook)
	Mann (shown as an inverted king)

A fairy chess piece or unorthodox chess piece is a chess piece not used in conventional chess but incorporated into certain chess variants and some chess problems. Fairy pieces vary in the way they move.

Because of the distributed and uncoordinated nature of unorthodox chess development, the same piece can have different names and different pieces the same name in various contexts.

Classification

Fairy chess pieces usually fall into one of three classes, although some are hybrids. Compound pieces combine the movement powers of two or more different pieces.

A specialized solving program, WinChloe, recognizes more than 1200 different fairy pieces.

Movement type

Leapers

An (m,n)-leaper is a piece that moves by a fixed type of vector between its start square and its arrival square. One of the coordinates of the vector 'start square – arrival square' must have an absolute value equal to m and the other one an absolute value equal to n. A leaper moves in the same way whether or not it captures, the taken unit being on the arrival square. For instance, the knight is the (1,2)-leaper.^[1]

The leaper's move cannot be blocked; it "leaps" over any intervening pieces, like the knight in standard chess.

It is convenient to classify all fixed-distance moves as leaps, including (1,0) and (1,1) moves to adjacent squares, because that allows all normal chess moves to be placed in two categories (leapers and riders) without the need to create a third category to describe the king and pawn.

In shatranj, a forerunner to chess, the pieces later replaced by the bishop and queen were also leapers: the alfil was a (2,2)-leaper (moving exactly two squares diagonally in any direction), and the fers or ferz a (1,1)-leaper (moving exactly one square diagonally in any direction).^[2] The wazir is a (1,0)-leaper (an "orthogonal" one-square leaper). The king of standard chess combines the ferz and wazir.

The dabbaba is a (2,0)-leaper. The alibaba combines the dabbaba and alfil, while the squirrel can move to any square 2 units away (combining the knight and alibaba). The Arabic word dabbāba formerly meant a type of medieval siege engine, and nowadays means "army tank".

Leapers are (as unblockable) not able to create pins, but are often effective forking pieces. The check of a leaper cannot be parried by interposing.

All orthodox chessmen except the pawn are either leapers or riders, although the rook does 'hop' when it castles.

The 'level-3' leapers are the threeleaper, a (3,0)-leaper; the tripper, a (3,3)-leaper; the camel, a (1,3)-leaper; and the zebra, a (2,3)-leaper.

Below, the Betza notation for these pieces is also given.

An amphibian is a combined leaper with a larger range on the board than any of its individual components. The simplest amphibian is the Frog, a (1,1)-(0,3)-leaper (HF).

Riders

A rider is a piece that can move an unlimited distance in one direction, provided there are no pieces in the way.

There are three riders in orthodox chess: the rook can move an unlimited number of (1,0) cells and is therefore a (1,0)-rider; the bishop is a (1,1)-rider; the queen combines both patterns.

One of the most popular fairy chess riders is the nightrider, which can make an unlimited number of knight moves (that is, (1,2) cells) in any direction in a straight line (like other riders, it cannot change direction partway through its move).

Sliders are a noteworthy special case of riders which can only move between geometrically contiguous cells. All of the riders in orthodox chess are examples of sliders.

The names of riders are often obtained by taking the name of a leaper which moves a similar cell size and adding the suffix "rider". For example, the zebra is a (2,3)-leaper, and the zebrarider is a (2,3)-rider.

Riders can create both pins and skewers.

Hoppers

A hopper is a piece that moves by jumping over another piece (called a hurdle). The hurdle can usually be any piece of any color. Unless it can jump over a piece, a hopper cannot move. Note that hoppers generally capture by taking the piece on the destination square, not by taking the hurdle (as is the case in checkers). The exceptions are called locusts.

There are no hoppers in Western chess, although in xiangqi, the cannon captures as a hopper (when not capturing, it is a rider which cannot capture).

The most popular hopper in fairy chess is the grasshopper, which moves along the same lines as an orthodox queen, except that it must hop over some other piece and land on the square immediately beyond it.

Locusts

A locust is any piece which captures by hopping over its victim (as in checkers). It is sometimes considered a type of hopper.

Marine piece

A marine piece is a combination piece consisting of a rider (for ordinary moves) and a locust (for captures) in the same directions. Marine pieces have names alluding to the sea and its myths, e.g., nereïde (marine bishop), triton (marine rook), mermaid (marine queen), or poseidon (marine king).

Games

Some classes of pieces come from a certain game; often these have a common set of characteristics.

Chinese pieces

Chinese pieces are pieces derived from those found in xiangqi, the Chinese form of chess. The most common Chinese pieces are the leo, pao and vao (each of which are derived from the Chinese cannon) and the mao (derived from the horse). Those derived from the cannon are distinguished by moving as a hopper when capturing, but otherwise moving as a rider. Less frequently encountered Chinese pieces include the moa, nao and rao.

Special attributes

Royal pieces

A royal piece is one which must not be allowed to be captured. If a royal piece is threatened with capture and cannot avoid capture next move, then the game is lost (this is a generalization of the concept of checkmate). In orthodox chess, each side has one royal piece, the king. In fairy chess any other orthodox piece or fairy piece may instead be designated royal, there may be more than one royal piece, or there may be no royal pieces at all (in which case the aim of the game must be something other than to deliver checkmate, such as capturing all of the opponent's pieces).

Combined pieces

Notations

Parlett's movement notation

In his book The Oxford History of Board Games^[3] David Parlett used a notation to describe fairy piece movements. The move is specified by an expression of the form m={expression}, where m stands for "move", and the expression is composed from the following elements:

• Distance (numbers, n)
  • 1 – a distance of one (i.e. to adjacent square)
  • 2 – a distance of two
  • n – any distance in the given direction
• Direction (punctuation, X)
  • * – orthogonally or diagonally (all eight possible directions)
  • + – orthogonally (four possible directions)
  • > – orthogonally forwards
  • < – orthogonally backwards
  • <> – orthogonally forwards and backwards
  • = – orthogonally sideways (used here instead of Parlett's divide symbol.)
  • >= – orthogonally forwards or sideways
  • <= – orthogonally backwards or sideways
  • X – diagonally (four possible directions)
  • X> – diagonally forwards
  • X< – diagonally backwards
• Grouping
  • / – two orthogonal moves separated by a slash denote a hippogonal move (i.e. jumping like knights)
  • & – repeated movement in the same direction, such as for hippogonal riders (i.e. the nightrider)
  • . - then, (i.e. an aanca is 1+.nX)

Additions to Parlett's

The following can be added to Parlett's to make it more complete:

• Conditions under which the move may occur (lowercase alphanumeric, except n)
  • (default) – May occur at any point in the game
  • i – May only be made on the initial move (e.g. pawn's 2 moves forward)
  • c – May only be made on a capture (e.g. pawn's diagonal capture)
  • o – May not be used for a capture (e.g. pawn's forward move)
• Move type
  • (default) – Captures by landing on the piece; blocked by intermediate pieces
  • ~ – Leaper (leaps)
  • ^ – Locust (captures by leaping; implies leaper)
• Grouping (punctuation)
  • / – two orthogonal moves separated by a slash denote a hippogonal move (i.e. jumping like knights); this is in Parlett's, but is repeated here for completeness
  • , (comma) – separates move options; only one of the comma-delimited options may be chosen per move
  • () – grouping operator; see nightrider
  • - – range operator

The format (not including grouping) is: <conditions> <move type> <distance> <direction> <other>

On this basis, the traditional chess moves (excluding castling and en passant capture) are:

• King: 1*
• Queen: n*
• Bishop: nX
• Rook: n+
• Pawn: o1>, c1X>, oi2>
• Knight: ~1/2

Ralph Betza's "funny notation"

Ralph Betza created a classification scheme for fairy chess pieces (including standard chess pieces) in terms of the moves of basic pieces with modifiers.^[4]

Capital letters stand for basic pieces and components, besides the standard abbreviation for the chess pieces (R, N, B, Q, and K) the following letters are used: Wazir, Ferz, Alfil, Dabbaba, H (0,3)-leaper, Long Knight (CameL), J (2,3)-leaper (Zebra), and G (3,3)-leaper. Riders are denoted by duplication of the letter, e.g., NN is the funny notation for the nightrider piece; restricted range is denoted by a digit after the letter, e.g., R4 is a rook restricted to at most 4 steps.

Small letters in front of the capital letters denote modifications of the component. Often used modifiers are: forward, backward, right, left, sideward, vertical, move only, capture only, z crooked (moving in a zigzag line like the Boyscout), grasshopper, jumping (i.e., it must jump, cannot move without a hurdle), non-jumping like the Chinese Elephant, o cylindrical, pao (like the Chinese Cannon captures), then (for pieces that start moving in one direction and then continue in another, like the Gryphon and Aanca), and q circular movement (like the Rose).

In addition, Betza has also suggested adding brackets to his notation: q[WF]q[FW] would be a circular king, which can move from e4 to f5 (first the ferz move) then g5, h4, h3, g2, f2, e3, and back to e4, effectively passing a turn, and could also start from e4 to f4 (first the wazir move) then g5, g6, f7, e7, d6, d5, and back to e4.

Example: The standard chess pawn can be described in Ralph Betza's funny notation as mfWcfF (ignoring the initial double move).

There is no standard order of the components and modifiers. In fact, Betza often plays with the order to create somehow pronounceable piece names and artistic word play.

Addition to Betza's

Betza does not use the small letter i. It is used here for initial in the description of the different types of pawns.

Notable examples

Name	Parlett	Betza	Found in	Notes
Aanca		t[WB]		Moves one square like a rook followed by moving any number of spaces diagonally outwards (moving away from where it started).
Aanca (Grande Acedrex)			Grande Acedrex (Alfonso X, 1283)	See "Gryphon" Spanish Gryphon or Elephant Bird
Adjutant	1<>	fbW	Dai shogi and other large shōgi variants	See "Go-Between"
Adjutant (Tressan)			The Emperor's Game (L. Tressan, 1840)	See "Archbishop"
Advisor	1X	F	Xiangqi (Chinese chess)	Chinese Queen. Ferz that can't leave the palace (3×3 zone at the center of South and North sides). Originally 士 shì (Black Advisor) and 仕 shì (Red Advisor) in Chinese. Also known as Counsellor, Mandarin, Guard, Officer and, ambiguously, Minister.
Alfil	~2X	A	Shatranj (Persian chess)	Persian Elephant. A (2,2)-leaper. Originally Fil in Persian. Compare to Elephant. Alternate notation: ~2/2
Alfilrider	n(~2X) (in same direction)	AA	Fairy Chess Problems	A rider which moves any number of (2,2) cells (i.e., alfil moves) in the same direction in a straight line.
Alibaba	~2*	AD	Fairy Chess Problems	Combines the powers of Alfil and Dabbaba
Amazon	n*, ~1/2	QN	Knightmare Chess	Combines the powers of the queen and the knight. Also called Superqueen.
Andernach grasshopper			Andernach chess	A Grasshopper that changes the colour of the hurdle it leaps over. Also known as a Chopper.
Antelope	~3/4		Fairy Chess Problems	Jumps three squares diagonally followed by one square orthogonally outwards.
Anti-King	1*	K		This piece is in check when not attacked. If a player's anti-king is in check and unable to move to a square attacked by the opponent, the player loses (checkmate). The anti-king cannot capture enemy men, but can capture friendly men. A king may not attack the opponent's anti-king. The anti-king may not check its own king.
Archbishop	nX, ~1/2	BN	Capablanca chess (1920s)	Combines the powers of bishop and knight. Also called a Princess, Cardinal, Janus or Paladin.
Arrow pawn	o1+, c1X (Persson variant: o2+, c1X)	mWcF (Persson variant: mR2cF)	Arrow Pawn Chess	Moves one square orthogonally in any direction and captures diagonally in any direction. In the R. Persson 1938 variant it also moves two squares orthogonally (but cannot jump) and does not promote.
Arrow Pawn	o1+, c1X	mWcF	Arrow Pawn Chess (?)	See "Fusilier" Moves one square orthogonally in any direction and captures diagonally in any direction.
Arrow Pawn (Persson)	o2+, c1X	mR2cF	Arrow Pawn Chess (R. Persson, 1938)	Arrow pawn (Fusilier) that also moves two squares orthogonally (but cannot jump) and does not promote.
Ashwa			Chaturanga (Indian chess)	See "Knight" Indian Horse
Assassin			Stealth chess
Backslider	1<	bW		Moves one square orthogonally backward.
Backward Bishop	nX<	bB		Bishop restricted to backward movements.
Backward King	1*<	bK		See "Deserter" King restricted to backward movements.
Backward Knight	(~1/2)<	bhN		Knight restricted to backward movements.
Backward Narrow Knight	(~1/2)< (narrow)	bbN		Narrow Knight restricted to backward movements.
Backward Queen	n*<	bQ		Combination of Backward Bishop and Backward Rook: Queen restricted to backward movements.
Backward Rook	n<	bR		Rook restricted to backward movements.
Backward Wide Knight	(~2/1)< (wide)	bsN		Wide Knight restricted to backward movements.
Baidaq			Shatranj (Persian chess)	See "Shatranj Pawn" Persian Pawn
Balloon			Four Dimensional Chess	A bishop-like piece used in four-dimensional chess, i.e. it changes all coordinates simultaneously while moving.
Banshee	nX, n(1/2)	BNN		Combination of Bishop and Nightrider. Also known as Unicorn.
Barc	~2/1> (wide), ~1/2< (narrow)	fsNbbN		Wide/Narrow-Hunter: moves forward as a Wide Knight, and backward as a Narrow Knight
Basilisk	on* (Immo~1/2)	mQ (Immo-N)	Nova Chess	A piece that moves as a queen but immobilizes any piece within a knight's move of itself, that is, it prevents it from moving or taking. If it is a fairy piece with additional powers it may or may not perform these other tasks depending on the case in question. A Basilisk that is caught by another Basilisk in this fashion, for example, may continue to immobilize others, including the other Basilisk.
Basilisk (Dragonchess)			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	Moves like Copper General, captures like Iron General; bound to lower board. 3D movement: It has the power to freeze any opposing piece on the cell directly above it (on the middle board) automatically until the Basilisk moves away or is captured.
Bede	nX, ~2+	BD	Chess with different armies	Combination of Bishop and Dabbaba.
Berolina Pawn	o1X>, c1>, io2X>	mfFcfWimfF2	Berolina chess	Moves one square diagonally forward (except on its first move, when it may move two), but captures by moving one square straight forward. Compare with pawn.
Berolina Plus Pawn	o1X>, c1>=, io2X>	mfFcsfWimfF2	Berolina Plus chess	Berolina pawn which can also capture one step orthogonally to the side.
Bion		pB	Fairy Chess Problems	Lion confined to Bishop lines. Also known as Bishlion and Bishop-lion-hopper.
Bishop	nX	B = FF	Orthodox chess	Moves any number of free squares diagonally. Also known as Ferz-rider.
Bishopper	^nX	gB	Fairy Chess Problems	Grasshopper confined to Bishop lines. Also known as Bishop-hopper.
Bison	~1/3, ~2/3	LJ		Combination of Camel and Zebra.
Blind Dog	1<=, 1X>	sbWfF	Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Flying Cock and Backslider. Also known as Yen.
Blind Monkey	1=, 1X	FsW	Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Drunk and Ferz. Also known as Drunken Ferz and Diabolo.
Blind Tiger	1X, 1<=	FsbW	Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Ferz and Drunken Backslider, or Drunk and Old Monkey. Moves one square in any adjacent direction except orthogonally forward.
Boat			Chaturaji (4 player Indian chess, 11th century)	See "Alfil". (and, in India and Russia and southeast Asia the rook is sometimes called "boat".)
Bodyguard				See "Hia"
Boyscout		zB	Fairy Chess Problems	Moves like a bishop, but takes 90 degree turns after each step. Invented by J. de A. Almay in the first half of the 20th century. Rediscovered as Crooked Bishop by Ralph Betza.
Bug-Eyed Monster			Fairy Chess Problems	Can jump to any square which would not be reachable by any orthodox chess piece. Since the Amazon is the sum of all orthodox chess pieces, the Bug-Eyed Monster is the complement of the Amazon.
Bull			Full Tamerlane Chess (al-Âmulî & Arabshâh, 14th–15th centuries)[5]	See "Zebra"
Caliph	nX, ~1/3	BL		Combination of Bishop and Camel.
Camel	~1/3	C = L	Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	Old historic piece. Jumps 2 squares orthogonally followed by one square diagonally outwards.
Camelrider	n(1/3) (in same direction)	LL	Fairy Chess Problems	A rider which moves any number of (3,1) cells (i.e., camel moves) in the same direction in a straight line.
Cannon			Xiangqi (Chinese chess) Shako (1990–1999) & Metamachy (Jean-Louis Cazaux, 2012)	See "Pao" (Chinese Cannon). Compare with "Korean Cannon" Originally 砲 pào (Black Catapult) and 炮 pào (Red Cannon)
Canvasser	n+, ~1/3	RL		Combination of Rook and Camel.
Cao		mNcpN	Chinese	Moves like a knight when not capturing (that is, a (2,1) leaper), but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Cao's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of squares beyond the hurdle).
Capricorn			2000 A.D. (chess variant)	Captures by charging (moving to a vacant square orthogonally or diagonally adjacent to) an enemy piece.
Cardinal			Grand Chess (1984)	See "Archbishop"
Carpenter	~2+, ~1/2	DN		Combination of Dabbaba and Knight. Also known as Doughnut.
Castle			Pacific Chess (Hawaii, 1971) Mideast Chess (California, 1971)	See "Squirrel". (And, "castle" is often used colloquially for "rook".)
Cavalier		t[WB]t[BW]	Mideast Chess (California, 1971)	Combination of Aanca and Gryphon
Centaur	~1/2, 1*	NK	Fairy Chess Problems	Combination of Knight and Mann. Also known as Crowned Knight.
Centaur (Carrera)			Carrera's Chess (Pietro Carrera, 1617)	See "Archbishop"
Centurion			Archchess (Francesco Piacenza, 1683)	See "Squirrel"
Champion	1+, ~2*	WAD	Omega Chess	Combines the powers of the Wazir and the Alibaba.
Champion (Carrera)	n+, ~1/2	RN	Carrera's Chess (Pietro Carrera, 1617)	See "Chancellor"
Chancellor	n+, ~1/2	RN	Chancellor Chess (Ben Foster, 1887) Capablanca chess (1920)	Combines the powers of the rook and knight. Also called Empress or Marshal.
Charging Knight	(~1/2)>, 1*<	fhNsbK	Chess with different armies	Moves as a Forward Knight, or as a King backwards. Also known as forfnibakking (from Betza notation fhNrlbK)
Charging Rook	n>=, 1*<	fsRsbK	Chess with different armies	Moves as a Rook forwards and sideways, or as a King backwards. Also known as furlrurlbakking (from Betza notation frlRrlbK)
Chariot			Chaturanga (Indian chess)	See "Rook"
Chariot (Chinese)			Xiangqi (Chinese chess)	See "Rook" Originally 車 jū (Black Chariot) and 俥 jū (Red Chariot) in Chinese.
Checker	cn(^2X>), o1X>		Checkers (Draughts)	Multiple captures in one turn, or without capturing can move forward one diagonal space, but cannot move backward. Promotes to Checker King after it has finished a turn on the far rank of the board. Also spelled Draughts Man.
Checker King	cn(^2X), o1X		Checkers (Draughts)	Promoted Checker that can move diagonally backward. Also spelled Draughts King.
Chevalier			Mideast Chess (California, 1971)	See "Camel"
Chinese Pawn			Xiangqi (Chinese chess)	See "Soldier", or "Drunken Soldier" (after crossing the river, center line of the board), or Originally Zú (Black Private) and Bīng (Red Soldier) in Chinese.
Chopper				See "Andernach grasshopper"
Cleric			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	See "King" (on any board) 3D movement: Can move or capture to the cell directly above or below it.
Climbing Monkey			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Copper General"
Cloud Eagle	n<>, 1*, 3X>	fbRKfB3	Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Flying Stag and a Forward Bishop limited to 3 squares
Cocatriz			Grande Acedrex (Alfonso X, 1283)	See "Crocodile" ("Bishop") Spanish Cockatrice
Colonel	n>, n=, 2/1>, 1*	KfsRfhN	Chess with different armies	Combination of Charging Knight and Charging Rook: moves as forwards and sideways rook, the forwards moves of a knight, or a king. Also known as forfnifurlrurking (from Betza notation fhNfrlRK)
Commoner			Courier Chess (12th century)	See "Mann"
Commuter	~4X
Congo Pawn	1*>, o1< (past the river), o2< (past the river)	fWfF (fWfFmbR2 past the river)	Congo	Iron General that can also move (but not capture) one or two steps straight backward without jumping when past the river. It promotes to Congo Superpawn (on last rank).
Congo Superpawn	1*>=, o1<, o2<, o1X<, o2X<	sfWfFmbQ2	Congo	Congo Pawn that can move and capture one step straight sideways, and move (but not capture) one or two steps straight or diagonally backward without jumping.
Coordinator			Ultima	Captures any opposing piece that is on either of the two squares found at a) the intersection of its own file and the king's rank, and b) the intersection of the king's file and its own rank; these are found after the Coordinator has moved.
Copper General	1*>, 1<	fFfbW	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Iron General and Backslider: move one square in any direction forward or one square straight backward. Also known as Yale.
Counsellor			Xiangqi (Chinese chess) (Murray, Davidson, Golombek and Lau)	See "Advisor" ("Ferz") Also spelled Councellor
Courier			Courier Chess (12th century)	See "Bishop"
Courtier			Mideast Chess (California, 1971)	See "Zebra"
Crab	~1/2> (narrow), ~2/1< (wide)	ffNbsN		Narrow/Wide Knight-Hunter: moves forward as a Narrow Knight, and backward as a Wide Knight.
Crocodile			Grande Acedrex (Alfonso X, 1283)	See "Bishop" Originally Cocatriz in ancient Spanish.
Crocodile (Congo)	1*, n> (before the river), n= (inside the river), n< (after the river)		Congo Chess (1982)	It's a Mann (anywhere), a file-restricted Rook towards the river (outside the river), or a rank-restricted Rook (inside the river)
Crocodile (Full Tamerlane)			Full Tamerlane Chess (al-Âmulî & Arabshâh, 14th–15th centuries)[5]	See "Wazir" Originally Luxm (Sea Monster) in Persian.
Crooked Bishop				See "Boyscout"
Crooked Queen		RzB		Combination of rook and crooked bishop.
Crooked Rook				See "Girlscout"
Crowned Bishop				See "Dragon Horse"
Crowned Knight				See "Centaur"
Crowned Rook			The Duke of Rutland's Chess (1747)	See "Dragon King"
Dabbaba	~2+	D	Chaturanga (Indian chess) (al-Adli, c. 840) Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	Old historic piece, also known as War machine or Machine. Alternate notation: ~0/2
Dabbabarider	n(~2+) (in same direction)	DD	Fairy Chess Problems	A rider which moves any number of (0,2) cells (i.e., dabbaba moves) in the same direction in a straight line.
Dayrider	n(~2*)	AADD		Combination of Alfilrider and Dabbabarider. Also known as Alibabarider.
Decurion			Archchess (Francesco Piacenza, 1683)	See "Ferz"
Deserter	1<, 1X<	bK		Combination of Backslider and Sailor. Also known as Backward Pawn.
Dog	1>, 1X<	fWbF	Tenjiku shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Soldier and Sailor: move one square directly forward, or diagonally backward. Also known as Marine or Wazir/Ferz-Hunter (moves forward as Wazir, and backward as a Ferz).
Donkey	1=, ~2<>	sWfbD	Maka dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Drunk and file-restricted Dabbaba.
Dragon	o1>, c1X>, io2>, ~1/2	NmfWcfFimfW2	Fairy Chess Problems	Combination of Knight and Pawn. It does not promote upon reaching the eighth rank.
Dragon (Dragonchess)			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	See "Dragon Horse" (bound to upper board) 3D movement: Can capture remotely (without leaving level) one cell below it or like a Wazir pattern (to middle board).
Dragon Horse	nX, 1+	BW	Shōgi (Japanese chess)	Combination of Bishop and Wazir. Also known as Crowned Bishop.
Dragon King	n+, 1X	RF	Shōgi (Japanese chess)	Combination of Rook and Ferz. Also known as Crowned Rook.
Drunk	1=	sW		Moves one square orthogonally sideways.
Drunk Elephant	1X, 1>=	FsfW	Sho shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Drunk and Silver General (Burmese Elephant): moves one square in any adjacent direction except orthogonally backward.
Drunken Backslider	1=, 1<	sbW		Combination of Drunk and Backslider.
Drunken Deserter	1<=, 1X<	bsK		Combination of Drunken and Deserter.
Drunken Gorilla	1+, 1X<	WbF		Combination of Wazir and Sailor, or Drunk and Gorilla. Also known as Drunken Guerrilla.
Drunken Marine	1>=, 1X<	sfWbF		Combination of Drunk and Marine (Dog).
Drunken Sailor	1=, 1X<	sWbF		Combination of Drunk and Sailor.
Drunken Soldier	1>=	sfW	Xiangqi (Chinese chess)	Combination of Soldier and Drunk
Dummy				A piece with no moves at all. It may be captured, gain temporarily moving ability by relay, or pushed or pulled around by other pieces if there are pushing or pulling pieces on the board. Different from Zero.
Dwarf			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	Moves like Drunken Soldier, captures like Stone General: pawn without initial move that can move without capture one cell laterally. 3D movement: Can capture to the cell directly above it (to middle board) and return without capturing (to lower board).
Eagle	nX>, n<, 1*, 2X<	fBbRWbB2	Tori shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Bishop/Rook-Hunter (Falcon), King (or Japanese Falcon, or Wazir), and a Backward Bishop restricted to 2 squares
Eagle (Cazaux)			Metamachy (Jean-Louis Cazaux, 2012)	See "Gryphon"
Edgehog	n* (edges)	Q (edges)	Edgehog Chess I (John Driver, 1966) & III (Peter Aronson)[6]	A queen that can move only to or from the edge of the board (in an orthodox one: a-file, h-file, rank 1 or rank 8). Represented in diagrams by a queen rotated 90° counterclockwise
Edgehog (Limited)	n* (edges from non-edges, non-edges from edges)	Q (edges from non-edges, non-edges from edges)	Edgehog Chess II (John Driver, 1966) & III (Peter Aronson)[6]	Edgehog on non-edge positions (in an orthodox chess: b-file to g-file or rank 2–7), Queen on edge positions: when it moves from an edge, it may not move to an edge.
Elegant Queen	1*	K	Chess 2: The Sequel	See "Mann"
Elemental			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	Moves like non-leaping King+Dabbaba, captures like non-leaping Wazir+Dabbaba; on lower board. 3D movement: Can move or capture on any non-leaping Wazir pattern above (to middle board) or below (to lower board).
Elephant	2X	nA	Xiangqi (Chinese chess)	Chinese Alfil. A (2,2)-leaper, but it cannot jump over an intervening piece. In Chinese chess, the Elephant is restricted to its half of the board. Originally 象 xiàng (Black Elephant) and 相 xiàng (Red Minister) in Chinese
Elephant (Burmese)			Sittuyin (Burmese chess)	See "Sin" ("Khohn")
Elephant (chess 2)	o3+, c(1+&1+&1+)(same direction) (can attack friendly pieces) enemyattackdistance:<3	(put in here)	Chess 2: The Sequel	a piece that can move 3 spaces orthogonally, if attacking it always does maximum steps, unable to attack it from more than 2 steps away
Elephant (Congo)			Congo Chess (1982)	See "Wazir Dabbaba"
Elephant (Indian)			Chaturanga (Indian chess) (Biruni, c. 1030)	See "Khon"
Elephant (Korean)	2/3	nJ	Janggi (Korean chess)	Non-leaping Zebra.
Elephant (Modern)	1X, ~2X	FA	Shako (1990–1999) & Metamachy (Jean-Louis Cazaux, 2012)	Combination of Ferz and Alfil (Persian Elephant).
Elephant (Persian)			Shatranj (Persian chess)	See "Alfil"
empowered bishop	nX, ~1/2 (when next to empowered knight), n+ (when next to empowered rook),	fill in	Chess 2: The Sequel	An empowered piece can move like any different empowered piece, as long as they are adjacent.
empowered knight	~1/2, n+ (when next to empowered rook), nX (when next to empowered bishop)	fill in	Chess 2: The Sequel	An empowered piece can move like any different empowered piece, as long as they are adjacent.
empowered rook	n+, ~1/2 (when next to empowered knight), nX (when next to empowered bishop)	fill in	Chess 2: The Sequel	An empowered piece can move like any different empowered piece, as long as they are adjacent.
Empress			Tutti-Frutti Chess (1978)	See "Chancellor"
Evil Wolf	1>=, 1X>	sfK	Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Drunken Soldier and Stone General. Also known as Pikeman and Drunken Pawn.
FAD	1X, ~2*	FAD	Chess with different armies	Combines the powers of the Ferz and the Alibaba.
Falcon	nX>, n<	fBbR	Falcon-Hunter Chess	Moves forward as a bishop (on diagonals), and backward as a rook (along a file). Also known as Bishop/Rook-Hunter, and Free tile in Maka dai dai shogi and Tai shogi.
Falcon (Japanese)			Tori shogi	See "Drunk Elephant"
Faras			Shatranj (Persian chess) Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	See "Knight" Persian Horse
Ferocious Leopard	1X, 1<>	FfbW	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Ferz and Go-Between, or Silver General and Backslider: moves one square in any adjacent direction except orthogonally sideways. Also known as Crane (Tori shogi) and Horrible Panther.
Ferz	1X	F	Shatranj (Persian chess) Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	Persian Queen or Minister. Combination of Stone General and Sailor: moves one square diagonally in any direction. Also known as Cat Sword (Dai shogi).
Ferz Alfil	1X, ~2X	FA		See "Modern Elephant"
Ferz Dabbaba	1X, ~2+	FD		See "Kirin"
Ferz Knight	1X, ~1/2	FN		Combination of Ferz and Knight
Ferz/Wazir-Hunter	1X>, 1<	fFbW		Combination of Stone General and Backslider (moves forward as Ferz, and backward as a Wazir).
Fibnif	~1/2 (narrow), 1X	fbNF	Chess with different armies	Combination of Narrow Knight and Ferz
Fish			Out-Khmer (Hills' Cambodian chess)	See "Soldier" It promotes to King after crossing the river (center line of the board).
Fiveleaper	~5+, ~3/4			Leaper making moves of length 5 units
Flamingo	~1/6		Fairy Chess Problems	Jumps 5 squares orthogonally followed by one square diagonally outwards.
Flying Cock	1=, 1X>	sWfF	Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Drunk and Stone General. Also known as Sidewinder.
Flying Dragon			Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Chinese Elephant"
Flying Falcon	nX, 1>	BfW	Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Bishop that can step one square forward.
Flying Goose			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Copper General"
Flying Horse	1+, 2X>	WnfA	Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Wazir and Wood General.
Flying Ox	nX, n<>	fbRB	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Bishop and Reverse Chariot
Flying Stag	n<>, 1*	fbRK	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Reverse Chariot and Mann
Fool			Courier Chess (12th century)	See "Schleich" ("Wazir")
Fortress	1X, ~2+	FD	Pacific Chess (Hawaii, 1971)	See "Kirin"
Forward Bishop	nX>	fB	Checkers chess (Hans Multhopp, 1974)	Bishop restricted to forward movements.
Forward King	1*>	fK	Checkers chess (Hans Multhopp, 1974)	See "Iron General" King restricted to forward movements.
Forward Knight	(~1/2)>	fhN	Checkers chess (Hans Multhopp, 1974)	Knight restricted to forward movements.
Forward Narrow Knight	(~1/2)> (narrow)	ffN		See "Japanese Knight" Narrow Knight restricted to forward movements.
Forward Queen	n*>	fQ	Checkers chess (Hans Multhopp, 1974)	Combination of Forward Bishop and Forward Rook: Queen restricted to forward movements.
Forward Rook	n>	fR	Checkers chess (Hans Multhopp, 1974)	See "Lance" Rook restricted to forward movements.
Forward Wide Knight	(~2/1)> (wide)	fsN		Wide Knight restricted to forward movements.
Fox			Wolf Chess (1943)	See "Archbishop"
Fox (Fox&Geese)			Fox and Geese	See "Ferz". Also "King" Can capture by jumping like a Checker. Some variations prevent the Fox from moving but not capturing diagonally.
Free Bear	nX, n= ~2X>	sRBfA	Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Free Boar and forward-restricted Alfil.
Free Boar	nX, n=	sRB	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Bishop and Rook restricted to sideways directions.
Friend			Fairy Chess Problems	Dummy piece. Move like any friendly piece that is guarding it. Compare with Orphan.
Frog	1X, ~3+	FH		Combination of Ferz and Threeleaper
Fury			2000 A.D. (chess variant)
Fusilier	o1+, c1X	mWcF	Centennial Chess	Moves and captures like a pawn in all four directions. Invented by F. Marinelli in 1770. Also known as Steward or Quadrapawn.
Gaja			Chaturanga (Indian chess)	See "Alfil". Also "Indian Elephant" ("Khon"), or "Dabbaba" Indian Elephant. Also known as Hasty
General	1+, "Flying General": cn> (against enemy General)	kW, "Flying General": cfR (against enemy General)	Xiangqi (Chinese chess)	Chinese King. Royal Wazir that can't leave the palace (3×3 zone at the center of South and North sides), except for executing the Flying General move: a capturing Forward Rook against the enemy General that it's used to enforce checkmate. Originally 將 jiàng (Black General) and 帥 shuài (Red Governor) in Chinese.
Ghost	~n/m (inpallatable)	fill in	Chess 2: The Sequel	Teleports to any open square. They cannot capture pieces, but they also cannot be captured.
Giraffe	~1/4		Grande Acedrex (Alfonso X, 1283) (H.J.R. Murray, 1913)	Old historic piece. Jumps one square diagonally followed by three squares orthogonally. Originally Zaraffa in ancient Spanish. Compare with Zurafa.
Giraffe (Congo)	~2*, o1*	ADmK	Congo Chess (1982)	Alibaba that moves but does not capture as a King. Compare with Pasha
Girlscout		zR		Moves like a rook, but takes 90 degree turns after each step. Compare with Boyscout.
Gliding Swallow			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Rook"
Gnu	~1/2, ~1/3	NL	Fairy Chess Problems	Combination of knight and camel.
Go-Between	1<>	fbW	Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Soldier and Backslider: moves one square forward or backward. Also known as Adjutant.
Golden Bird			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Golden General"
Gold General	1+, 1X>	WfF	Shōgi (Japanese chess)	Combination of Wazir and Stone General: moves one square in all four orthogonal directions, or one square diagonally forward.
Goose			Fox and Geese	See "Stone General". Also "Evil Wolf" The Geese are restricted to being able to move directly forwards, diagonally forwards or sideways only, but limitations on the movements can also be varied.
Goose (Japanese)	~2X>, ~2<	fAbD	Tori shogi	Alfil/Dabbaba-Hunter (moves forward as Alfil, and backward as Dabbaba).
Gorgon			2000 A.D. (chess variant)	Paralysing queen.
Governor			Xiangqi (Chinese chess)	See "General" Chinese General (Red)
Grasshopper	^n*	gQ	Fairy Chess Problems	A hopper which moves along the same lines as a queen and lands on the square immediately beyond that of the hurdle. One of the most popular fairy pieces. In diagrams, the Grasshopper is usually represented by an inverted queen.
Graz Pawn	1*>, io2*>	fWfFifmW2ifmF2	Fairy Chess Problems	Combines the powers of the Berolina pawn and the standard pawn. Also known as the Sergeant, this piece was used as early as 1943 in Arno von Wilpert's Wolf Chess. It occurs (without the initial double move) as Iron General in large shogi variants from the 15th century, e.g., in Tenjiku shogi.
Griffin (Dragonchess)			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	See "Zebra" (on upper board) 3D movement: Can move or capture one jump triagonally (Ferz pattern) below (to middle board) or above (to upper board).
Gryphon		t[FR]	Grande Acedrex (Alfonso X, 1283)	Originally Aanca in ancient Spanish. Moves one square diagonally followed by moving any number of spaces like a rook outwards (moving away from where it started). Also known as Elephant Bird
Guard			Xiangqi (Chinese chess) (John Gollon)	See "Advisor" ("Ferz")
Guard (Pacific)			Pacific Chess (Hawaii, 1971)	See "Mann"
Guerrilla	1<>, 1X<	fWbK		Combination of Marine (Dog) and Backslider. Also known as Gorilla.
Heavenly Horse		ffbbN	Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Narrow Knight"
Hero (Dragonchess)			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	See "Modern Elephant" (on middle board) 3D movement: Can move or capture one jump triagonally (Ferz pattern) below (to middle or lower board) or above (to upper or middle board).
Hia	2* (hia power)	Q2 (hia power)	Hiashatar (Mongolian decimal chess)	Mongolian Bodyguard. Moves like a Queen, but can only move one or two squares. It has a special power: any piece sliding must stop its move if it moves through any square a king's move away from the bodyguard. Any piece a king's move away from the bodyguard can only move one square. Only knight-like pieces are immune to this power.
Hiashatar Pawn	o1>, c1X>, io3>	mfWcfFimfW3	Hiashatar (Mongolian decimal chess)	Mongolian Pawn. Orthodox Pawn with a triple step on first move.
Horned Falcon	nX, n<=, 1> (Japanese Lion move), ~2+> (Japanese Lion move)	BsbRfWfD or BrlbRdhfWfD	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Move as a Bishop, as a Rook (except forward), or as a Lion up to 2 squares orthogonally forward.
Horse			Xiangqi (Chinese chess)	See "Mao" Originally 馬 mǎ (Black Horse) and 傌 mà (Red Horse) in Chinese.
Horse (Indian)			Chaturanga (Indian chess)	See "Knight"
Howling Dog	n>, 1<	fRbW	Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Lance and Backslider.
Hunter	n>, nX<	fRbB	Falcon-Hunter Chess	Moves forward as a rook (along a file), and backward as a bishop (on diagonals). Also known as Rook/Bishop-Hunter, and Multi General in Tenjiku shogi and Taikyoku shogi. Compare with Superpawn.
Ibis	~1/5			Jumps 4 squares orthogonally followed by one square diagonally outwards.
Imitator			Ultima	Also known as Chameleon
Immobilizer	on* (Immo1*)	mQ (Immo-K)	Ultima	The Immobilizer, invented by Robert Abbott, moves as a chess queen. At the end of its move, any enemy piece that is on a square adjacent to the Immobilizer is frozen in place, and can not move away until the Immobilizer moves away or is captured. The Immobilizer can never move to an occupied square and can not capture pieces. If two Immobilizers move next to each other, they are both frozen until the end of the game or until one is captured. An immobilized piece may commit suicide, e.g., to open a line of attack. This action counts as a move. Also known as Freezer
Iron General	1*>	fWfF	Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Move one square in any direction forward. Compare with Graz Pawn.
Jamal			Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	See "Camel" Persian Camel
Janus			Janus chess (1996)	See "Archbishop"
Japanese Pawn			Shōgi (Japanese chess)	See "Soldier" It promotes to Tokin (Gold General)
Jetan Pawn			Jetan (Burroughs' Martian chess)	See "Evil Wolf", or "Drunken Elephant". Compare with "Martian Pawn" ("Ferz")
Jeweled General			Shōgi (Japanese chess)	See "King"
Joker			Fairy Chess Problems	Dummy piece. Move like the last piece moved by the opponent. Also known as Jester.
Jungle Queen	n+, ~1/2	RN	Chess 2: The Sequel	See "Chancellor"
Kangaroo	~1/2, ~2X	KA		Combination of Knight and Alfil
Khohn	1X, 1>	FfW	Makruk (Thai chess)	Thai Nobleman. Combination of Ferz and Soldier: move one square in any direction diagonally or one square straight forward. It has the same moves as the Silver General in shogi, Burmese Elephant in sittuyin and Indian Elephant in chaturanga (Biruni, c. 1030)
King	1*	K = WF	Orthodox chess	Combination of Wazir and Ferz: move one square in any direction. Royal in orthodox chess. A non-royal piece which moves in this way is sometimes called a Commoner or Mann (German Man).
King (Dragonchess)			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	See "King" (on middle board) 3D movement: Can move or capture to the cell directly above or below it.
Kirin	1X, ~2+	FD	Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Ferz and Dabbaba
Knight	~1/2	N	Orthodox chess	It jumps one square orthogonally followed by another square diagonally.
Knight (Japanese)		ffN	Shōgi (Japanese chess)	Narrow Knight restricted to forward movements.
Korean Cannon		pR	Janggi (Korean chess)	Moves and captures along orthogonal lines by jumping exactly one piece, called the hurdle. There can be any number of free squares before and after the hurdle. Unlike the Pao it moves the same way for capturing and non-capturing moves. In chess problems it is sometimes called Rook-line-hopper, Rook Lion or Rion.
Korean Pawn			Janggi (Korean chess)	See "Drunken Soldier"
Kraken	~n/m			Leap to any square on the board, including the one it is currently on (leaping to the current square has the effect of passing a move). Compare with Universal leaper.
Lance	n>	fR	Shōgi (Japanese chess)	Moves any number of squares directly forward.
Leeloo			Quintessential Chess	Combines the powers of Quintessence and rook
Left General	1X, 1<>, 1= (only right)	FfbrW	Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Asymmetrical combination of Ferocious Leopard and right Wazir.
Left-handed Pinwheel	(~1/2)> (narrow & left), (~2/1)> (wide & left), (~1/2)< (narrow & right), (~1/2)< (wide & right)	l[ffN], l[fhN], r[bbN], r[bhN]		Knight restricted to counterclockwise movements.
Left Quail	n>, nX< (right diagonal), 1X	fRbrBblF	Tori shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Lance, Ferz and a Backward Bishop restricted to right side.
Leo	on*, c^&	mQcpQ	Akenhead's Chess (1947)	Combines the powers of the Pao and Vao; it moves like a queen when not capturing (that is, a (1,0) or (1,1) rider), but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Leo's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of squares beyond the hurdle).
Leon	~1/3, ~3+	LH	Grande Acedrex (Alfonso X, 1283)	Spanish Lion. Combination of Camel and Threeleaper
Lias' Pawn	o1>, o1=, c1X>, io2>	mfsWcfFimfW2	Lias' proposal	An extended pawn which can also step one square sidewards. Proposed in the 1920s by A. G. Lias to improve standard chess
Liberated Horse	n>, 2<	fRbR2	Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Moves forward as a Rook (Lance), or one or two squares orthogonally backward.
Lion		pQ	Fairy Chess Problems	A hopper which moves along the same lines as a queen and which can land on a square any distance beyond the hurdle. Also known as queen-line-hopper.
Lion (Cazaux)	1*, ~2*, ~(1/2)	KNAD	Metamachy (Jean-Louis Cazaux, 2012)	Simplified Japanese Lion (same range but no special powers)
Lion (Congo)	1*, c(n*) (against enemy Congo Lion)		Congo Chess (1982)	King that may not leave its 3×3 castle except to capture another Lion on the same vertical or diagonal line.
Lion (Full Tamerlane Chess)			Full Tamerlane Chess (al-Âmulî & Arabshâh, 14th–15th centuries)[5]	See "Threeleaper"
Lion (Japanese)	1* (Japanese Lion move), ~2* (Japanese Lion move), ~(1/2) (Japanese Lion move)	KNADdK	Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Move 2 steps or jumps per turn in any adjacent direction. It can capture up to two pieces per turn, capture an adjacent piece without moving (stationary feeding), or move and return (effectively passing a turn).
Lion Dog	3*	Q3	Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	A Queen that can not move more than three squares.
Locust	c(^n*)	cgQ	Edgehog Chess II (John Driver, 1966)[6]	A Grasshopper that can not move without capturing (can't jump over a friendly piece). Compare with Checker King.
Long-leaper			Ultima
Mage			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	See "Queen" (on middle board), or "Wazir" (on upper or lower boards) 3D movement: Can move or capture one or two cells above or below it (but can't leap between upper and lower boards, and vice versa).
Maharaja	n*, ~1/2	QN	Maharajah and the Sepoys	A royal Amazon, the only piece for white.
Mandarin			Xiangqi (Chinese chess) (John Gollon)	See "Advisor" ("Ferz")
Mann	1*	WF	Courier Chess (12th century)	See "King" German Man or Commoner: non-royal King.
Mantri			Chaturanga (Indian chess)	See "Ferz" Indian Queen or Minister
Mao	1/2	nN	Xiangqi (Chinese chess)	Chinese Horse. Moves like a knight except that it does not leap. It steps one square orthogonally in any direction, then continues one square diagonally in the same general direction. The square stepped to orthogonally must be vacant. For example, with mao on b2 and pawn on b3, the mao is blocked from moving to a4 or c4; if the pawn were on c3, the mao could reach both squares. Found in Akenhead's Chess (1947).
Marine				See "Dog"
Marshall			The Sultan's Game (L. Tressan, 1840)	See "Chancellor" Also spelled Marshal.
Martian Pawn			Martian chess	See "Ferz". Compare with "Jetan Pawn"
Mimotaur			2000 A.D. (chess variant)
Minister			Chaturanga (Indian chess) Shatranj (Persian chess) Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	See "Ferz" Also known as Counsellor
Minister (Chinese)			Xiangqi (Chinese chess)	See "Elephant". Also "Advisor" Chinese Elephant (Red)
Moa			Chinese	As the Mao, but the first step is diagonal and the second orthogonal, not the other way round.
Monkey (Congo)	o1*, cn(^2*)		Congo Chess (1982)	Checker King allowed to play orthogonally too.
Moo				Combination of Mao and Moa.
Murray Lion	~2*, c1*	ADcK		Can move and capture as an Alfil or Dabbaba, and capture only as a king. This piece stems from a misinterpretation of the Lion of chu shogi but has become popular in fairy chess problems and chess variants. It is named after the chess historian H. J. R. Murray who brought it up.
Nao		mNNcpNN	Chinese	A Chinese Nightrider moves as a normal Nightrider (that is, a (2,1) rider) when not capturing, but which captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Nao's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of knight moves beyond the hurdle).
Narrow Knight	~1/2 (narrow)	ffbbN		Knight restricted to most forward and most backward movements. Compare with Wide Knight.
nemesis	n* (inpallatable – king)	fill in	Chess 2: The Sequel	fill in
nemesis pawn	1>,1(towards king),cX>	fill in	Chess 2: The Sequel	fill in
Nightrider	n(1/2) (in same direction)	NN	Fairy Chess Problems (T.R. Dawson) Edgehog Chess II (John Driver, 1966) & III (Peter Aronson)[6] Cavalier Chess (Fergus Duniho, 1998)	A rider which moves any number of (2,1) cells (i.e., knight moves) in the same direction in a straight line. A Nightrider on b2 on an empty board, therefore, can move to a4, c4, d6, e8, d3, f4, h5 and d1. A pawn of the opposing colour on d6 could be captured, but the Nightrider could not move any further in that direction (i.e., it couldn't move on to e8). In diagrams, the Nightrider is usually represented by an inverted knight. One of the most popular fairy pieces. (See diagram below.)
Nightrider-hopper			Fairy Chess Problems	Move to next square beyond any piece in lines of knight moves. Also known as Knight-line-hopper
Nobleman			Makruk (Thai chess)	See "Kohn"
Nobleman (Pacific)			Pacific Chess (Hawaii, 1971)	See "Queen"
Odysseus			Fairy Chess Problems	The Odysseus' move depends on the file where it is located: It moves as a rook on files a and h, as a knight on files b and g, as a bishop on files c and f, as a queen on file d and as a king on file e. Also known as Querquisite.
Officer			Xiangqi (Chinese chess) (John Gollon)	See "Advisor" ("Ferz")
Old Monkey	1X, 1<	FbW	Maka dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Fers and Backslider. Also known as Inverted Silver and Backward Elephant
Oliphant			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	See "Rook" (bound to middle board) No 3D movement
Orphan			Fairy Chess Problems	Dummy piece. Move like any enemy piece that is attacking it. Compare with Friend.
overtaker	c(^"piece")	cg"piece"		A piece that captures by leaping over an enemy piece like a Checker: Checker, Checker King, Grasshopper, Locust.
Oxcart			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Lance"
Padah			Chaturanga (Indian chess)	See "Shatranj Pawn" Indian Pawn or Indian Soldier. Also known as Sainik (Warrior)
Paladin			Cavalier Chess (Fergus Duniho, 1998)	See "Archbishop"
Paladin (Dragonchess)			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	See "Centaur" (on middle board) or "King" (on upper or lower boards) 3D movement: Can move or capture by making a 3D knight-like jump between boards.
Pancake		pNNK		Combination of man and cannon-style nightrider
Pao		mRcpR	Xiangqi (Chinese chess)	Chinese Cannon. Moves like a rook when not capturing (that is, a (1,0) rider), but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Pao's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of squares beyond the hurdle). Found in Akenhead's Chess (1947). Compare with Korean Cannon.
Pasha	1*, ~2*	KAD	Paulovits's Game (1890)	Combination of King and Alibaba. Also known as Mastodon.
Pawn	o1>, c1X>, io2>	mfWcfFimfW2	Orthodox chess	Moves one square straight forward (except on its first move, when it may move two squares), but captures one square forward diagonally. It's the same pawn from Chadarangam (Telugu chess). Compare with Berolina pawn.
Pawn of "piece(s)"			Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405) Full Tamerlane Chess (al-Âmulî & Arabshâh, 14th–15th centuries)[5]	A Pawn that promotes to piece. Examples: Pawn of Pawns, Pawn of Dabbabas, Pawn of Camels, Pawn of Elephants, Pawn of Minister (Ferz), Pawn of Shah (King), Pawn of Vizir (Wazir) or Pawn of Sea Monster (Luxm), Pawn of Giraffes, Pawn of Vanguards (Bishops), Pawn of Horses (Knights), Pawn of Lions, Pawn of Rukhs (Rooks)
Pawn of King			Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	A Pawn that promotes to Prince. Also known as Pawn of Shah
Pawn of Pawns			Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	A Pawn that promotes to Pawn of King.
Pentere			Quinquereme Chess	Combines the powers of queen and Quintessence.
Pheasant	~2>, 1X<	fDbF	Tori shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Dabbaba/Ferz-Hunter (moves forward as Dabbaba, and backward as Ferz).
Phoenix	1+, ~2X	WA	Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Wazir and Alfil. Also known as Waffle.
Phoenix (Bird Chess)			Tori shogi (Japanese Bird Chess) (1799)	See "King"
Pil			Shatranj (Persian chess)	See "Alfil" Persian Elephant
Pincer			Ultima	Also known as Squeezer
Prince			Tamerlane chess	A capturable King, promoted from a Pawn of King. Originally Shâhzâda in Persian. Also known as Adventice King (Shâh masnû‘a) when promoting from Pawn of Pawns originally.
Princess			Tutti-Frutti Chess (1978)	See "Archbishop"
Pterodactyl	~3/3, ~5/5, ~0/15		Chess mathematics	The simplest triple range amphibian. George Jelliss demonstrated a pterodactyl's knight's tour on a 16×16 board in 1985[7]
Quang Trung Rook			Quang Trung Chess	Moves as rook but when capturing must move on square away from captured piece in the same direction.
Queen	n*	Q = RB	Orthodox chess	Combines the powers of the bishop and rook.
Queen of the Night	n*, n(1/2) (in same direction)	QNN		Combines the powers of the queen and nightrider.
Quintessence			Quintessential Chess	A Nightrider who takes 90-degree turns in a zigzag manner on each step. First described in 2002 by Jörg Knappen and found in several chess variants since then.
Raiding Falcon	n<>, 1+, 1X>	fbRWfF	Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Vertical Mover and Stone General (Reverse Chariot and Flying Cock)
Raja			Chaturanga (Indian chess)	See "King" Indian King (no castling)
Rao		mqNcpqN	Chinese	A Chinese Rose —moves as a normal Rose when not capturing, but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Rao's destination square. The captured piece can be any distance beyond the hurdle.
Ratha			Chaturanga (Indian chess)	See "Rook" Indian Chariot
Raven	n+, n(1/2) (in same direction)	RNN		Combination of Rook and Nightrider. Also known as Unicorn.
reaper	~n/m (-line 8) (can attack friendly pieces) (cannot threaten royalty)	fill in	Chess 2: The Sequel	fill in
Reflecting Bishop			Billiards Chess (M. Jacques Berthoumeau, 1950s) Edgehog Chess II (John Driver, 1966) & III (Peter Aronson)[6]	Moves like a bishop, but additionally is allowed to "bounce" off the edge of the board when making a move, similar to a hockey puck or billiard ball. Its path continues down the diagonal to any legitimate square after the "bounce".[8]
RennCavalier		t[FR]t[RF]	Renniassance Chess	Moves in the same move one square diagonally and any number of squares othogonally or any number of squares orthogonally and one diagonally. It has two paths to the same target square and must make at least a blockable knight's move. Called Cavalier in RennChess, but the name Cavalier is used for other pieces as well. Renniassance Chess was invented by 1980 by Eric V. Greenwood.
RennDuke		t[WB]t[BW]	Renniassance Chess	Moves in the same move one square orthogonally and then any number of squares diagonally or any number of squares diagonally and then one straight. It has two paths to the same target square and must make at least a blockable knight's move. Called Duke in RennChess, but the name Duke is used for other pieces as well.
Revealer (Full Tamerlane Chess)			Full Tamerlane Chess (al-Âmulî & Arabshâh, 14th–15th centuries)[5]	See "Tripper", or "Queen" (Forbes, 1860) Also known as Sentinel
Reverse Chariot	n<>	fbR	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Rook restricted to forward and backward directions.
Rhinoceros (Grande Acedrex)		t[NfB]	Grande Acedrex (Alfonso X, 1283) (Jean-Louis Cazaux)	For Murray interpretation, see "Unicorn" Moves as a Knight followed by moving any number of spaces diagonally outwards like a Forward Bishop. Originally Unicornio in ancient Spanish.
Right General	1X, 1<>, 1= (only left)	FfblW	Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Asymmetrical combination of Ferocious Leopard and left Wazir.
Right Quail	n>, nX< (left diagonal), 1X	fRblBbrF	Tori shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Lance, Ferz and a Backward Bishop restricted to left side.
Right-handed Pinwheel	(~1/2)> (narrow & right), (~2/1)> (wide & right), (~1/2)< (narrow & left), (~1/2)< (wide & left)	r[ffN], r[fhN], l[bbN], l[bhN]		Knight restricted to clockwise movements.
Rion			Fairy Chess Problems	See "Korean Cannon" Lion confined to Rook lines.
Roaming Boar			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Drunk Elephant"
Rook	n+	R = WW	Orthodox chess	Moves any number of free squares orthogonally. Also known as Wazir-rider.
Rookhopper	^n+	gR	Fairy Chess Problems	Grasshopper confined to Rook lines.
Root-fifty-leaper	~5X, ~1/7			Leaper making moves of length units (i.e. a (5,5)-leaper or a (1,7)-leaper).
Rose		qN	Chess on a Really Big Board	Moves as a Nightrider, except that rather than moving in a straight line, it moves along pseudo-circular ones. A rose standing on e1 on an empty board, for instance, can move to any of the squares on the large circle c2, b4, c6, e7, g6, h4 and g2; as well as c2 and a1; or d3 and b4; or d3, e5 and g6; or f3, e5, c6 and a5; or f3 and h4. As with the nightrider, an opposite-coloured piece on any one of these squares can be captured, but prevents the rose from progressing any further along that line. See diagram below.
Royal "piece"	"piece" (royal)	k"piece"	Fairy Chess Problems	A piece that may not be left in or moved into check. Examples: Royal Ferz (kF), Royal Wazir (kW), Royal King (kK), Royal Queen (kQ), Royal Rook (kR), Royal Knight (kN), Royal Bishop (kB), Royal Alfil (kA), Royal Dabbaba (kD), Royal Camel (kL), Royal Grasshopper (kgQ), Royal Nightrider (kNN), Royal Joker (k"Joker"), ...
Royal King	K (royal)	kK	Orthodox chess	Combination of Royal piece and King
Rukh			Shatranj (Persian chess) Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	See "Rook" Persian Rook
Running Rabbit	n>, 1X	fRFbW	Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Lance and Old Monkey
Sailor	1X<	bF		Moves one square diagonally backward.
Schleich			Courier Chess (12th century)	See "Wazir" German Fool or Spy
Scorpion	1*, ^n*	KgQ	Fairy Chess Problems	Combination of king and grasshopper
Sergeant			Wolf Chess (1943)	See "Graz Pawn"
Shah			Shatranj (Persian chess) Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	See "King" Persian King (no castling)
Shatranj Pawn	o1>, c1X>	mfWcfF	Shatranj (Persian chess)	Persian Pawn. Orthodox Pawn without double step on first move. It's the same pawn from Chaturanga (Indian chess), Chaturaji (4 player Indian chess), Makruk (Thai chess), Ouk Chatrang (Cambodian chess), Shatar (Mongolian chess) and Senterej (Ethiopian chess).
Ship		t[FfbR]	Tamerlane 2000 (Jean-Louis Cazaux, 1978–2000)	Gryphon restricted to vertical movements
Side Mover	n=, 1+	WsR	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of a Rook restricted to sideways and Wazir (or Soldier)
Silver General	1X, 1>	FfW	Shōgi (Japanese chess)	See "Khohn"
Sin			Sittuyin (Burmese chess)	See "Silver General" ("Khohn") Burmese Elephant
Soaring Eagle	n+, nX<, 1X> (Japanese Lion move), ~2X> (Japanese Lion move)	RbBfFfA or RbBdhfFfA	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Move as a Rook, backward as a Bishop, or as a Lion (Japanese) up to 2 squares diagonally forward.
Soldier	1>	fW	Shōgi (Japanese chess)	Moves one square orthogonally forward. It's the same pawn from Xiangqi (Chinese chess), before crossing the river.
Sparrow Pawn			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Soldier"
Spy			Courier Chess (12th century)	See "Schleich" ("Wazir")
Spy (Chess Empire)	2>, 2=, (1/1)>	fsDfF	Chess Empire (2002)	The Spy can move two spaces forwards or sideways, or can move like a knight one forward and then one horizontally or vice versa. It can leap over pieces and can only move two spaces; thus, it is "trapped" on its own color like a bishop.
Squirrel	~0/2, ~1/2, ~2/2	DAN	Fairy Chess Problems (N. Kovacs, 1937)	Jumps to any field in a distance of 2. It was discovered independently several times and is also known as Centurion or Castle.
Stone General	1X>	fF	Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Moves one square diagonally forward. Compare with Berolina Pawn.
Strutting Crow			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Dog"
Superpawn	on>, cnX>	mfRcfB	Fairy Chess Problems	Moves without capture any number of fields forward, captures diagonally forwards like a bishop. Promotes on the 8th rank. Cannot capture en passant nor be captured en passant. May be placed in the first rank. Invented by Werner Speckmann in 1967.[9]
Superqueen				See "Amazon"
Swallow			Tori shogi	See "Soldier"
Swallow's Wings			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Side Mover"
Swooping Owl			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Dog"
Sylph			Dragonchess (3D)	See "Berolina Pawn" (on upper board) 3D movement: Can capture to the cell below it (to middle board) and return without capturing (to upper board).
Taxi			Fairy Chess Problems	Moves without capture one step forward or backwards, captures one square diagonally forwards like a pawn. When in the second rank can move one, two or three steps forward or one backwards. Can promote on the 8th rank or continue to be a Taxi. Can capture en passant other pawns or Taxis. May be placed in the first or eight ranks.
Thief			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	See "Bishop" (bound to middle board) No 3D movement
Threeleaper	~3+	H	Fairy Chess Problems
Threerider	n(3+)	HH	Fairy Chess Problems
Tiger	o2X, c2X&2X (back to original spot)	somebody fill in	Chess 2: The Sequel	moves 2 spaces diagonally, when attacking moves back to original spot
Tokin			Shōgi (Japanese chess)	See "Gold General"
Treacherous Fox	1X, 1<>, ~2*<>	FfbWAfbD	Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Ferocious Leopard that can move forward or backward as 'Alibaba (Pasha without orthogonally sideways movements).
Tripper	~3X	G		Jumps three squares diagonally, leaping over any intermediate piece.
Ubi-Ubi	n(1/2) (any direction)	NN (any direction)	Ubi-Ubi Chess (Koen Versmissen, Dirk Borst & Hans Bodlaender, 1998)	A Nightrider without direction restrictions.
Universal leaper		U		Leap to any square on the board apart from the one it is on. Compare with Kraken.
Unicorn			Raumschach (1907)	In Raumschach it is a triagonal rider, moves through the vertices of the cubes. See diagram below. The name unicorn is also used for several pieces in 2 dimensions, e.g., for the Archbishop or for the combination of bishop and nightrider also known as Banshee.
Unicorn (Dragonchess)			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	See "Knight" (bound to middle board) No 3D movement
Unicorn (Grande Acedrex)		BimN	Grande Acedrex (Alfonso X, 1283) (H.J.R. Murray, 1913)	For Cazaux interpretation, see "Rhinoceros" Bishop with a first movement of a Knight that can't capture. Originally Unicornio in ancient Spanish.
Unicornio			Grande Acedrex (Alfonso X, 1283)	See "Unicorn" (by Cazaux), or "Rhinoceros" (by Murray) Spanish Unicorn
Vanguard	nX (except 1X)	B (except F)	Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	Bishop that can't be used as Ferz (adjacent diagonal squares must be free and skipped). Originally known as Talî'a in Persian. Also known as Scout.
Vao	onX, c^&	mBcpB	Akenhead's Chess (1947)	Moves like a bishop when not capturing (that is, a (1,1) rider), but captures by leaping over an intervening piece and taking the piece on the Vao's destination square (the captured piece can be any number of squares beyond the hurdle).
Vertical Mover	n<>, 1+	WfbR	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Reverse Chariot and Wazir (or Drunk)
Violent Bear	1=, 2X>	sWnfA	Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Drunk and Wood General.
Violent Ox	2+	nD	Dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Non-jumping Dabbaba.
Violent Stag			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Silver General"
Violent Wolf			Wa shogi and other large Shōgi variants	See "Gold General"
Waffle	1+, ~2X	WA	Chess with different armies	See "Phoenix"
Wallaby	c(^2*), o1*, ^2* (over friendly pieces)	KgQ2 (over friendly pieces), KcjQ2 (checker?)	Edgehog Chess III (Peter Aronson)[6]	Combination of omni-directional Checker and Grasshopper restricted to 2 squares over friendly pieces
Warrior			Chaturanga (Indian chess)	See ("Padah") "Shatranj Pawn" Originally Sainik in Indian.
Warrior (Dragonchess)			Dragonchess (3D, 1985)	See "Shatranj Pawn" (bound to middle board) No 3D movement
Warrior king	1*, c1* (do and return in all 8 directions) (+1move) (can attack friendly pieces)	fill in later	Chess 2: The Sequel	moves like a king and can do a whirlwind attack that removes all pieces around it; can do an extra move after each turn
Wazir	1+	W	Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	Persian Vizir. Combination of Drunk and Go-Between (Adjutant): moves one square orthogonally in any direction. Also known as Angry Boar (Dai shogi) or Drunken Adjutant.
Wazir Alfil	1+, ~2X	WA		See "Phoenix" Combination of Wazir and Dabbaba
Wazir Dabbaba	1+, ~2+	WD		Combination of Wazir and Dabbaba
Wazir Knight	1+, ~1/2	WN		Combination of Wazir and Knight
Whale	n<>, nX<	fbRbB	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Hunter and Reverse Chariot.
White Horse	n<>, nX>	fbRfB	Chu shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Combination of Falcon and Reverse Chariot.
Wide Knight	~2/1 (wide)	sN		Knight restricted to most sideway movements. Compare with Narrow Knight.
Wild horse	~1/2 (can attack friendly pieces)	N (can attack friendly pieces)	Chess 2: The Sequel	A knight that can attack friendly pieces
Wildebeest			Wildebeest Chess	See "Gnu"
Withdrawer			Ultima	Also known as Retreater
Wizard	1X, ~1/3	FL	Omega Chess	Combines the movement of Fers and Camel.
Wolf			Wolf Chess (1943)	See "Chancellor"
Wood General	2X>	nfA	Dai dai shogi and other large Shōgi variants	Flying Dragon restricted to forwards.
X/Y-Hunter				Moves forward as piece X, and backward as piece Y. Compare with Hunter.
Ximaera			2000 A.D. (chess variant)
Yale				See "Copper General"
Zaraffa			Grande Acedrex (Alfonso X, 1283)	See "Giraffe" (by Murray), or "Zebra" (by Cazaux) Spanish Giraffe
Zebra	~2/3	Z = J	Fairy Chess Problems	Old historic piece. Jumps one square orthogonally followed by two squares diagonally outwards.
Zebra (Congo)			Congo Chess (1982)	See "Knight"
Zebrarider	n(2/3) (in same direction)	JJ	Fairy Chess Problems	A rider which moves any number of (3,2) cells (i.e., zebra moves) in the same direction in a straight line.
Zero	~0/0			A piece which can make a zero move, i. e., jump and land on its starting square without any side effects. This gives the player the option to pass a move. Sometimes used as a component to more complex pieces. It is different from the piece with no move at all called Dummy
Zurafa	~1/4.n+(outwards)		Tamerlane Chess (1336–1405)	Starts with a (1,4) leap (like the modern Giraffe) and may continue moving outwards as a rook.

a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h Nightrider. Makes any number of knight moves in the same direction.

a b c d e f g h i j 10 10 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 j Rose. Moves as Nightrider, but along pseudo-circular lines. (two possible paths depicted.) It may move clockwise or counterclockwise.

E D C B A Unicorn. Represented here by an inverted knight, in Raumschach it moves through the vertices of cubes (triagonally). A unicorn from its starting position can reach only 30 cubes. The white unicorn's destination squares are marked with white dots, black's with black dots. The boards are stacked, with board E on top.

See also

• Penultima—a chess variant in which novel fairy pieces are invented for each game

References

Bibliography

External links

• Piececlopedia An extensive list of fairy chess pieces, their history and movement diagrams
• Who is Who on Eight by Eight Compiled by Ivan A Derzhanski, shows also piece values
• A Guide to Variant Chess: All the King's Men