FIDE Pieces for Trigonal Boards

Diagram 1 - 128 trig board

board_trig128e.png
Diagram 2
a-step Wazir

board_chrwazir.png
Diagram 3
e-step Wazir

board_conwazir.png
Diagram 4
i-step Ferz

board_chrferz.png
Diagram 5
p-step Ferz

board_conferz.png
Diagram 6
Guard move

board_conguard.png
Diagram 7
Crusader

crusader250.png
Diagram 8
Knight-Errant

errant250.png
Diagram 9
Paladin

paladin250.png
Diagram 10
Victor

victor250.png
Diagram 11
Companion

companion250.png
Diagram 12
Dart

dart175.png
Diagram 13
Abbot

abbot175.png
Diagram 14
Gyrkin

gyrkin175.png
Diagram 15
Druid

druid002.png
Diagram 16
Sidewinder

sidewinder01.png
Diagram 17
Turret

turret175-001.png
Diagram 18
Tower

tower175-001.png
Diagram 19
Dome

dome175.png
Diagram 20
Spire

spire175-001.png
Diagram 21
Belfry

belfry175-001.png

Introduction

With its dual classification of steps and the availability of up to 12 ordinarily adjacent cells and 12 extended adjacent cells, the Trigonal board offers a versatile arena for piece design.

This page looks at adapting the FIDE pieces and gives an estimate of their value on a 128 cell trigonal board (Diagram 1). See also Delta Chess

There are several companion pages dealing with non-FIDE pieces:

Special thanks must go to Joe Joyce for his insight and inspiration in opening up and developing this topic.

King (Guard)

The King's move is described as a single step in any direction and may also be termed a Guard's move.

On a square board this move can be broken down into an orthogonal step (a Wazir's move) and a diagonal step (a Ferz' move).

On a trigonal board we can further distinguish between a-step and e-step Wazir, and i-step and p-step Ferz.

There is also the choice to be made between keeping to the unextended (u-) adjacent trigs or allowing the use of the extended (x-) adjacent cells.

What were two components on a board with square cells are now eight on the trigonal board, and may be referred to as:

  • ua-step
  • xa-step
  • ue-step
  • xe-step
  • ui-step
  • xi-step
  • up-step
  • xp-step

Diagrams 2,3,4 and 5 illustrate these components for a piece standing on the red trig. Light blue trigs are the reachable unextended adjacent trigs, while dark blue are the reachable extended.

Diagrm 6 shows the full King's (Guard) move.

For the purposes of adapting the FIDE pieces and estimating their value, I shall ignore the extended adjacent cells. The King's move on a trigonal board is thus demonstrated by the light-blue trigs in Diagrm 6.

Knight

On a square-based board the Knight's move may be described as a Ferz' move followed by a Wazir's in the same general direction - or,equivalently, vice-versa.

On a trigonal board, ignoring the extended adjacent cells, this translates to :

  1. a-step then i-step
  2. i-step then a-step
  3. e-step then p-step
  4. p-step then e-step

1 and 2 are equivalent, leading to 3 basic types of knights and 2 natural combinations, namely

Movement Classification Name
a+i or i+a Chromatic
or
ch-knight
Knight-Crusader
(Crusader)
e+p Edge
or
e-knight
Knight-Errant
p+e Point
or
p-knight
Knight-Paladin
(Paladin)
e+p and p+e Connective
or
cv-knight
Knight-Victor
(Victor)
e+p and p+e
and
(a+i or i+a)
Complete
or
co-knight
Knight-Companion
(Companion)

See Diagrams 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.

Notes

  1. The Paladin was first described by Joe Joyce in this comment
  2. Following Joe's suggestion, both the Knight-Errant and Paladin may be termed short knights (maximum cells attacked is 9) while the Companion might be termed a long knight (attacks a maximum of 18 cells).

Bishop

The Bishop makes a series of Ferz' moves.

These may be i-ferz or p-ferz and the connecting point may remain constant or alternate. The resulting path made by the series of steps may be straight or curved.

Movement Classification Name
xi-ferz Constant Point
Straight Path
Dart
p-ferz Alternate Point
Straight Path
Abbot
p-ferz Constant Point
Curved Path
Gyrkin
i-ferz
or
p-ferz
Constant Point
Straight Path
Druid
i-ferz
or
p-ferz
Alternate Point
Curved Path
Sidewinder

See Diagrams 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16.

Notes

  1. The Dart is a slider, the slide consisting of a series of steps between extended adjacent trigs. Movement can only be blocked by pieces that occupy a trig that is part of the slide.
  2. The Druid and the Sidewinder are colour-bound and are thus true trigonal analogues of the FIDE Bishop.
    The Abbot and the Gyrkin are not colour-bound and could equally well be placed in the list of Rooks. They might best be considered a third type of slider where the steps are both a-wazir and p-ferz: perhaps Chaplains might be a good term for this intermediate class of sliders?
  3. Gyrkin is a falconry term for the male Gyrfalcon, a bird of prey that flies in circular patterns as it casts for quarry.

Rooks

The Rook makes a series of Wazir's moves.

These may be a-wazir or e-wazir and the connecting edge may remain constant or alternate. The resulting path made by the series of steps may be straight or curved.

Movement Classification Name
xa-wazir Constant Edge
Curved Path
Turret
a-wazir
or
e_wazir
Alternate Edge
Straight Path
Tower
a-wazir
or
e-wazir
Constant Edge
Curved Path
Dome
a-wazir Constant Edge
Straight Path
Spire
a-wazir Alternate Edge/Point
Curved Path
Belfry

See Diagrams 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21.

Notes

to be continued


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 License.