Baroque chess

Baroque chess is a chess variant invented in 1962 by Robert Abbott. In 1963, at the suggestion of his publisher, he changed the name to Ultima, by which name it is also known. Abbott considers his invention flawed, and he has suggested amendments to the rules, but these suggestions - like the new name he attempted to give it - have been substantially ignored by the gaming community, which continues, for the most part, to play by the 1962 rules. Since the rules for Baroque were first laid down in 1962, some regional variation has arisen, causing the game to diverge from Ultima.

Ultima starting position.

Ultima starting position.

Description

Baroque chess is usually played on a standard 8×8 chessboard with the standard Staunton design of chesspieces (not human figurines as has more frequently been the case with Chess).

The rules that follow are widely found on the internet, but other variants exist. A variant popular among students at Cambridge University in 1974 is described on this webpage.

The initial setup of the pieces is the same as in standard Chess, except for two things that the players must first decide on - center counter symmetry, and corner counter symmetry.

Establishing the Degree of Symmetry

Center counter symmetry allows either player to decide whether to switch his King and Withdrawer ("Queen") around, and then corner counter symmetry requires each player to decide which of his "Rooks" will be turned upside down. (The one that remains upright is the Coordinator, and the one that is turned upside down is the Immobilizer.) After these two kinds of symmetries are determined, White moves first.

For purposes of recording the moves that are played in the game, it is sufficient to employ an algebraic form of notation, as in Chess, and write the names of the pieces and the squares they are to be placed in. For instance, 1. Kd1 & We1, Ke8 & Wd8 (center counter symmetry), and 2. Ia1 & Ch1, Ih8 & Ca8 (corner counter symmetry).

If the symmetry resolution phases that are usually found at the start of the game could somehow be put off for later, then one may readily see how similar they are to the castling manoeuvers in Chess. They have the practical function of multiplying the number of games that are possible from the initial starting position.

Similar Ways of Moving...

All of the pieces on the first rank can move in all directions, like the Queen in Chess, but out of all of those pieces the King is the one piece alone that is limited to moving exactly one square at a time; it moves and takes just like the King in Chess.

The pieces on the first rank are all capable of moving like Queens. They have this power as a matter of privilege, as they are all considered to be Noble pieces. This is a kind of privilege that attaches to them at birth, that is, at the outset of the game, and is never diminished; they retain this privilege no matter where they go, except when they find themselves next to an Immobilizer (see below).

The pawns, on the other hand, move just like the Rook moves in Chess; they can only move left and right, and up and down, and are unable to move diagonally. Just as in Chess, pawns are the peasants of this game. Unlike Chess, pawns are never promoted to another kind of piece. (There is no magic square to which pawns can be moved and then promoted.)

... but with Different Ways of Capturing

All the pieces except for the King capture differently from their counterparts in chess, and all but the pawn and King have different names. The King is the only piece that captures, as chess pieces do, by moving into a square that is occupied by an enemy piece. All the other pieces capture enemy pieces in more complex ways. Friendly pieces are never allowed to capture other friendly pieces.

Pieces

The names of the pieces and rules for movement are as follows:

• The King moves and captures like a standard chess King. The objective of the game is to capture the opposing king. Fast play with a chess clock usually makes declaration of checkmate a very rare thing to achieve in actual face to face play.
• The pawns - or pinchers, as it were - move like standard chess Rooks. A pawn captures any opposing piece horizontally or vertically between the square to which the pawn moved and a friendly piece. This is considered a custodial form of capture because it has been likened to two men coming up on the sides of the person to be seized, and taking hold of his arms to carry him off. Pawns never capture diagonally, only horizontally or vertically. Another name for this piece that has been observed is straddler.

The remaining pieces all move like standard chess queens, but have unique methods of capture.

• The Withdrawer, represented by the Queen, captures by moving directly away from an adjacent piece. Another name for this piece was retractor.
• The long-leapers, represented by the Knights, capture by jumping over an opposing piece in a straight line. A long-leaper may make multiple captures in the same line as long as each piece is jumped independently. Those variants of Baroque prohibiting multiple leaps call this piece the Leaper, and restrict it to capturing the first enemy piece it encounters, provided the next space is empty or open. It appears that the choice between a Long-Leaper and a Single-Leaper tends to affect game play by encouraging "hunkering down" and overdefending pieces, and allowing pieces to spread across the board more, with less attention to bulky blockades.
• The Coordinator, represented by the unmarked Rook, captures whatever opposing piece is on its file and the King's rank, or the King's file and its rank, after the Coordinator has moved.
• The Immobilizer, represented by the inverted Rook, does not capture anything, but immobilizes all adjacent enemy pieces.
• The Imitators (or Chameleons), represented by the Bishops, capture any piece by moving as a piece of the type captured would have moved to capture. Also Imitators or Chameleons immobilize enemy Immobilizers to which they are adjacent. Imitators cannot capture Imitators. In order for an Imitator to capture an enemy King, it must begin its turn adjacent to it, and step into its square. This is because the King is the only piece on the board that steps one square at a time, and captures by 'occupation' and 'replacement' - stepping into the enemy's square to capture it.

Diagrammed examples are indispensable to understanding the rules.

King

File:Ultima king move.png

The white King moves c4-d5 delivering checkmate. Normally it would not be possible for the two kings to be adjacent, but here the black king is unable to move due to the white immobilizer on f4, thus the d5 square is not under attack by black, and the white king is not moving into check.

Note that white could not play c4-d4, as that would place his own King in check from the black Withdrawer. Capturing the Withdrawer with c4-d3 would result in stalemate, as black would then have no legal moves.

Pawn/Pincher

File:Ultima pawn move.png

The white pawn (or Pincher) moves g4-d4, capturing the Black Immobilizer and black pawn. The Black Withdrawer on e5 is not captured because pawns capture only vertically and horizontally, not diagonally. The Black Imitator (Chameleon) on d3 is not captured, because there is no white piece on d2. Finally, the Black Long-leaper on g3 was safe because it moved between the two white pawns, rather than a white pawn moving to complete the custodial capture.

Withdrawer

File:Ultima withdrawer move.png

The White Withdrawer moves g6-d3, capturing the black pawn on h7. The pawn on g7 and the Imitator (Chameleon) on h6 are unaffected because the Withdrawer did not move in their respective lines, but the Withdrawer could have captured either by a move in the sixth rank or g-file respectively. Note that the Withdrawer also gives check to the Black King by threatening to move away on the d-file.

Long-Leaper

File:Ultima long leaper move.png

The white Long-Leaper moves d2-d4-d6-d8, capturing three black pieces. It might instead have captured the Black Withdrawer with either d2-g5 or d2-h6. On the other hand, the black pawn on b2 and the Black Chameleon on d1 are safe from the Long Leaper because there is no square on the opposite side on which the Long Leaper could land. Also the black pawns on f2 and g2 cannot be captured by d2-h2, because there is no space in between the two pawns which would allow the Long Leaper to make two separate jumps. A move of d2-b4 would be illegal because long leapers may not jump over friendly pieces. Some variations of Baroque forbid multi-leaping, if only because it is felt that the game is more playable if the Leaper is less powerful. By requiring the Leaper to stop its movement immediately after capturing the first piece, that objective is met admirably.

Coordinator

File:Ultima coordinator move.png

The White Coordinator moves d4-f6, capturing black's Leaper on c6 and Immobilizer on f2. If White had played d4-d6 instead, he would have captured black's Leaper and pawn. The Coordinator threatens only pieces on the same rank or file as the friendly King. This kind of capture is easier to visualize if you imagine an invisible cross emanating from the square the King is sitting on, and another invisible cross emanating from the square the Coordinator arrives at. The points where these two crosses intersect are the places where captures are possible.

Immobilizer

File:Ultima immobilizer move.png

The White Immobilizer moves f3-d5, immobilizing 5 black pieces. The black Leaper on g4, which had been immobilized, is now free to move again.

An Immobilizer can never be captured by an Immobilizer, or Imitator (Chameleon). An Immobilizer can never be captured by a King or Withdrawer unless the variation popular in Cambridge is being played, in which case the Immobilizer itself must first be immobilized. When an Immobilizer comes into contact with an Enemy Chameleon or Immobilizer, the two pieces freeze each other, after which neither can move unless the other is captured. In the version played at Cambridge, the power of an enemy Immobilizer to arrest a friendly piece's movement is defeated when another friendly Immobilizer or Chameleon is brought up to it, effectively cancelling out each other's power to arrest movement.

Some versions of Baroque allow an immobilized piece to commit suicide, i.e. be removed from the board, in lieu of the regular move of that player. There may be strategic reasons to open a line. For example, after the above diagrammed move, the Black Leaper on c5 may wish to commit suicide, so that the other Leaper can capture the White Immobilizer by jumping over it on the fifth rank. White cannot hinder this plan, because the Immobilizer is itself immobilized by the Black chameleon.

Chameleon/Imitator

File:Ultima chameleon move.png

In the above diagram, the white chameleon moves g6-e6-c6, astoundingly capturing all seven black pieces in one move and delivering check.

• It captures the black withdrawer by moving away from it.
• It captures the black long-leapers by jumping over them.
• It captures three black pawns by surrounding them. (A chameleon can only capture pawns on a horizontal move or vertical move, not on a diagonal move.)
• It captures the black coordinator by rank/file coordination with the white king.
• It delivers check by moving adjacent to the black king.

Observations Relating to Strategy

What to Do with Pawns

Because pawns have exactly one half the movement capability of the other pieces (save the King, which they are almost double), they should be moved twice as often as the others are. This is because they are more than twice as expendable, maybe even four times as expendable. In traditional Chess, pawns appear to be much stronger when adjacent to each other diagonally, forming pawn chains. Diagonal alignment also has a pleasing aesthetic appearance, too. However, in Baroque, pawns do not enjoy stronger placement when placed next to each other, but are in fact weaker that way, and for that reason the charm of diagonal arrangements should be resisted, however aesthetically seductive it may seem to be. Baroque pawns finding themselves in chains - whether diagonal or horizontal - are not any stronger than they would be if farther away from the enemy. There appears to be a direct relationship between distance and safety; conversely, the closer you get to the enemy, the more dangerous it is to your pieces. As for pawns, it is true that they make good cannon fodder, but it does not follow that they are any bit stronger when placed next to each other, and this doesn't matter whether it is horizontally or diagonally. Save your pawns for plugging up holes in your armor, because that's what they are best used for.

Incidentally, it might be surprising to find that pawns are actually much stronger when separated from one another by a distance equal to a Knight's move in traditional chess!

In the endgame; that is, on a board that is severely depleted of pieces, pawns are more safely located on the border than in the center. In an endgame with an enemy Leaper still around, the only safe squares on the board are the corners.

Just Don't Get Hemmed In

It's much better to have lots of space than very little. This means, more often than not, that players will tend to establish barricades against each other, and to realize these barricades, they must push their pawns as far as they can, often getting them into the very locations that are the worst places for pawns to be. Regardless of how this diminishes the value of a pawn, they are the very pieces most suited for plugging into holes, or building brick walls with, lest the enemy flex his arms, and manage to get through.

Dropping a Pawn is not the End of the World

Unless you are playing against a computer program, losing a pawn is not too likely to turn the game, let alone spell defeat. In fact, you will probably need at least 5 pawns at the end of the game to capture the solitary enemy King, supposing that all your other pieces in the board have by then been lost already. That means you should not worry too much about the strength of a pawn sacrifice, so long as it means getting your stronger pieces that much closer to the enemy King.

Travels of the Warrior King

Enemy Pieces lying upon the King's axis (rank and file) can be captured with your Coordinator. Although the King is the slowest piece on the board, being capable of entering upon a maximum of the 8 adjacent squares, as opposed to the 14 squares a pawn can move to (assuming an unencumbered path in each case), that does not at all mean you should move it twice as often a pawn, or four times as often as a Leaper. Nevertheless, the best time to move a King is after the game has stabilized, and assumed a more or less static, impassable "closed position." If most of your friendly pawns stand next to enemy pawns, shoulder to shoulder, you are probably in a "closed position." Similarly, if your Immobilizer finds itself immobilized, you are again - probably - in a "closed position." This is exactly the time you should start looking for a way of moving the King so that its rank or file is shared by an enemy piece. And the stronger an enemy piece, the better. In a closed position, it's a fairly good idea to move your King so that it stands on the same rank or file that the enemy Immobilizer lies on.

The Withdrawer Can Break Blockades

Although the Withdrawer is admirally well-suited for picking off pawns here and there, you should keep in mind how the loss of a pawn or two is rarely enough to turn the game. Rather, you should save your Withdrawer for picking off enemy pieces adjacent to your Immobilizer. It's true, they aren't going anywhere, so you don't have to worry about them that much, but unless your Immobilizer is also immobilized, it will make the board that much safer if they are picked off (captured).

The Leaper May Be the Strongest Piece

Although the Single-Leaper can move as far as the other noble pieces can, it is quite probably the most powerful piece on the board. And for those versions of Baroque permitting the piece to multi-leap, it is certainly the most powerful piece on the board. If you must trade it off, try to get four or five pawns for it, or a couple of Imitators, and if you do that, you will be doing fairly well.

The Imitator/Chameleon Is Always Useful

The value of an Imitator/Chameleon arguably goes up as piece density goes down. This is because you can always use it to capture the enemy King, even at the end of the game when there aren't any other pieces on the board. On the other hand, it may require five pawns at the end of the game to capture the enemy King.

The Coordinator - Best Left in the Background

A good deal of the symbolism behind Baroque lies in the choice of the Staunton design for chess pieces, as the most appropriate pieces for Baroque. For instance, the Staunton design requires that the King be the tallest piece on the board, with a little cross on the top of its head. The cross that the King wears is said to represent a "cross of accusation" emanating from the square that the King is sitting on, and starting from that point, running through the entire board, and not to be blocked by intervening pieces. It doesn't matter how many pieces lie in the way, or attempt to block it, the "invisible cross" of the King travels across the entire board. The Coordinator acts as a Defender of the Faith, or an Attorney General (actually more like a "Councillor" or "Minister" in a Star Chamber), and can summarily execute any enemy piece found standing on the King's cross, this constituting an act of heresy punishable by death. In a sense, the Coordinator can symbolize the head of a secret police, coordinating with the King.

For this reason it is a good idea to give the Coordinator enough elbow room to run across the board, and establish an intersection of its own rank and file, with the "cross of accusation" that always emanates from the square the King is standing on. But at the same time, you don't want to move the Coordinator to the center of the board where it can be captured by an enemy piece. Coordinators are best kept behind barricades and not in front of barricades. An open file, or an open diagonal, is always a good place to put a Coordinator, if only because it increases the efficiency of its "prosecutions." In light of the religious allegory, some people refer to the Coordinator as a 'Crucifier.'

Like the Imitator/Chameleon, the Coordinator becomes more powerful as the number of pieces on the board goes down.

The Coordinator is best left lurking in the background, or on a file or diagonal that is open, or highly likely to open up. As you might have guessed, randomly moving pieces on a rectangular grid tends to open up diagonals more frequently than rows or files. Positioning your coordinator on a diagonal tends to be more productive than positioning it on a row or file.

Baroque Variants

Maxima

Baroque played on a somewhat larger board that is mostly rectangular but for a couple extra squares that are outside the board, located at D0 and E0 just behind the King and Queen's squares. A matching pair of squares are also on the other side of the board, just beyond the Black King and Queen (D9 and E9). Although one objective of the game is to capture the King, an alternative objective allows depositing a piece in the pair of squares on the other side of the board. Unlike Baroque, the King in Maxima moves like the Knight in Chess, making for a game with much more fluid movement of pieces.

Optima

Baroque that is similar to Maxima with additional pieces and rules.

Renaissance

As Shogi is to Chess, so is Renaissance to Baroque -- it is a game of rebirth, where captured pieces gradually find their way back onto the board with the assistance of a piece that looks a lot like a big Ankh. Renaissance is played on a 9x9 board with a Swapper (or Resurrector or Ankh) that moves like a Queen for all ordinary purposes, but for swapping actions must move like a King, trading places with any adjacent piece (both friend or foe), never capturing it. Consistent with the concept of the Swapper (or Resurrector) being a piece wholly incapable of killing, it can also step into any adjacent empty square, and leave behind a previously captured piece resurrected by placing it in the square just vacated. Although, seen in that light, the Swapper is like a piece of life, it can be transformed into a 1 square Bomb when captured and readmitted to the board - but capable only of death. Instead of moving, a Bomb need merely explode to effect the destruction of both friendly pieces and enemy pieces adjacent to itself, and suiciding in the process. (In the event that this remote possibility ever occurs, the Bomb's explosion constitutes a kind of suicide where the destroyed pieces are removed from the wheel of life and death. There are also two more pieces that, like the Coordinator, are not capable of unassisted capture: the Pusher and the Puller. They can move like Queens for ordinary purposes, but for the purpose of exercising their special powers, they must be adjacent to the affected piece at the start of the turn. If they begin adjacent to a piece (regardless if friendly or foe), they can push or pull it by 1 square. For a Pusher, the empty square on the other side must be open (except for the unusual circumstance of driving a King into an enemy piece, or an Imitator into a King.) Although the Pushers and Pullers are not capable of capture, their pushing and pulling manoeuvers can result in other pieces being forced to make captures. For instance, a Pusher could push an immobilized King into an enemy Immobilizer, resulting in capture. Similarly, a Puller could pull a Withdrawer away from an enemy Immobilizer, causing capture. A lot of surprising things can happen by pushing and pulling. While it is not hard to imagine a Pusher driving a friendly Pawn into a pinching manoeuver, effecting a capture, it could equally push an enemy Coordinator into a square causing a capture of a friendly piece. Along the same line of thinking, a Pusher could push an enemy Withdrawer away, but if it should have done that, the Withdrawer will be retreating from the place the Pusher was, and that is enough to cause it to be captured! Thus pushing an enemy Withdrawer away is like making a push into a suicide move.

Rococo

Rococo is a species of Baroque that is played on a 10x10 board for the purposes of captures, but on the inner 8x8 square just inside it for the purpose of movement. To put it another way, the outer perimeter of squares can only be entered as a result of a capturing manoeuver. In addition to the traditional Baroque pieces, Rococo has an Advancer piece that moves like a Queen, but captures the enemy piece it has run up next to, stopping just short of the piece taken. As is usual for most pieces of the Baroque family, the Advancer will not enter into the space vacated by the captured piece, it merely runs up to it, and stops short by 1 square. Unlike the game of Renaissance described above, Rococo has a similarly named Swapper piece that moves like a Queen, but trades places with the enemy it runs up to, a full Queen's move away. The Rococo Swapper has the unusual property of self-destructing at will, in lieu of moving, provided it is not at the same time immobilized, with the effect of taking one enemy piece alongside it. What really sets Rococo apart from Baroque is the way the pawns work; they are called cannonball pawns and move like a King, stepping 1 square in all directions, or leap over any adjacent piece (friend or foe). The only way that they can effect capture is by leaping, and landing on the enemy piece. They cannot capture like a King does. Apparently as compensation for their limited mobility, the cannonball pawns can be promoted into other pieces when they reach the other side of the board.

An Observation into the Strategy of Playing Rococo

The pawn formations unique to the parent game, Baroque, already significantly different from traditional chess, are not seen in Rococo. Instead, Rococo's cannonball pawns seem to hang away from enemy pieces by two or three squares, rarely coming into contact with each other without advance preparation. In both Chess and Baroque, however, fine nuances in manoeuvering are made possible by locking positions together, made concrete by the establishment of well-defined pawn structures. This sort of thing is lacking in Rococo.

External links

• Ultima by Robert Abbott
• Ultima from the Chess Variant Pages
• Rococo from the Chess Variant Pages
• An Illustrated Guide to Ultima Pieces - Animated GIFs show how the pieces capture.
• Ultima on Game Courier - Play Ultima against others online