Wazir (chess)

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The wazir, represented by an inverted rook, may move to any marked square or capture the pawn on d5.

The wazir or vazir (word used for describing Queen in Indian chess) is a fairy chess piece that may move a single square vertically or horizontally. In notation, it is given the symbol W. In this article, the wazir is represented by an inverted rook.

Name etymology

The name wazīr (vazir) (Arabic/Persian: وزير from Middle Persian vichir) means "minister" in several West and South Asian languages and is found in English as vizier. Wazīr (Vazir) is also the Arabic and Persian name of the queen.

History and nomenclature

The wazir is a very old piece, appearing in some very early chess variants, such as Tamerlane chess. The wazir also appears in some historical large shogi variants, such as in dai shogi under the name angry boar (嗔猪 shinchō). The general in xiangqi moves like a wazir but may not leave its palace or end its turn in check.

Value

Fortress positions in the
rook vs. wazir endgame

Black to move, draw

Black to move, draw

The wazir by itself is not much more powerful than a pawn, but as an additional power to other pieces, it is worth about half a knight. Three wazirs and a king can force checkmate on a bare king, but not easily; two wazirs and a king can force stalemate on a bare king, but not easily. The endgame of rook versus wazir is a win for the rook except in two drawing fortress positions for the wazir. The ferz, despite being colorbound, is more powerful than the wazir in the opening phase of the game due to its larger mobility forward. A wazir and a ferz cannot force checkmate on a bare king unless the bare king is significantly close to a corner that is the same color as the square of the ferz, but the combination of a knight and a wazir, that of a camel and a wazir, and that of a giraffe (the (1,4)-leaper) and a wazir can usually do so. 4.29% of the positions with knight and wazir against the bare king are fortress draws.

References

• Endgame statistics with fantasy pieces by Dave McCooey, The Chess Variant Pages
• Dickins, Anthony (1971) [Corrected repub. of 1969 2nd ed., The Q Press, Richmond, Surrey, England]. A Guide to Fairy Chess. New York: Dover Publications Inc. ISBN 0-486-22687-5.

External links

• The Wazir by Ralph Betza, The Chess Variant Pages
• Piececlopedia: Wazir by Hans Bodlaender and Alberto Monteiroat, The Chess Variant Pages