Bashni

Bashni
Genres	Board game ; Abstract strategy game
Players	2
Setup time	< 1 minute
Playing time	Varies, chess clocks can be used
Chance	None
Skills	Strategy, tactics
Synonyms	Stolbovye shashki; Towers draughts

Bashni (also known as Stolbovye shashki) is a draughts game based on the rules of Russian draughts, main difference from other draughts games is that after capturing pieces instead of being removed from the board are placed under the piece that jumped over them, forming a column (Russian word Bashni meaning column). It is played in Russia and some parts of the former USSR. A variant, Lasca, was invented by World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker, using a mixture of the rules from Bashni and English draughts.

Rules

Board. Bashni is played on a 8×8 board with alternating dark and light squares. The left down square field should be dark.
Starting position. Each player starts with 12 pieces on the three rows closest to their own side. The row closest to each player is called the "crownhead" or "kings row". Usually, the colors of the pieces are black and white, but possible use other colors (one dark and other light). The player with white pieces (lighter color) moves first.
Pieces. There are two kinds of pieces: "men" and "kings". Both kinds of pieces may be a simple piece or column. Kings are differentiated as consisting of two normal pieces of the same color, stacked one on top of the other or by inverted pieces.
Men. Men move forward diagonally to an adjacent unoccupied square.
Kings. If a player's piece moves into the kings row on the opposing player's side of the board, that piece is "crowned", becoming a "king". The piece now has the ability to move both diagonal backwards and forwards to an adjacent unoccupied square.
Capture. If the adjacent square contains an opponent's piece, and the square immediately beyond it is vacant, the opponent's piece may be captured and placed under the piece that jumped over it and create a column. Jumping can be done forward and backward. Multiple-jump moves are possible if, when the jumping piece lands, there is another piece that can be jumped. Jumping is mandatory and cannot be passed up to make a non-jumping move. When there is more than one way for a player to jump, one may choose which sequence to make, not necessarily the sequence that will result in the most amount of captures. However, one must make all the captures in that sequence. If the column make jump over opponent column only upper piece removed from the opponent column.
If a man touches the kings row during a capture and can continue a capture, it jumps backwards as a king. The player can choose where to land after the capture.
Column. Move as man if upper piece is man (man′s column) and move as a king if upper piece is a king (king′s column). If a man′s column touches the kings row only upper piece become king.
Winning. A player with no valid move remaining loses. This is the case if the player either has no free pieces left (not under opponent column) or if a player's pieces are obstructed from making a legal move by the pieces of the opponent.
Draw. The game is considered a draw when the same position repeats itself for the third time, with the same player having the move each time. If one player proposes a draw and his opponent accepts the offer. If quantity of pieces and their composition after 15 moves don't change.

A soldier must jump forward over an enemy soldier, making a column from the two pieces.

A column controlled by an officer (notice the marking) must jump backwards over an enemy column, whose uppermost piece is put under the attacking column.

A soldier jumps over a rival column, and reaches the last row of the board to become an officer (notice the marking).

Notation

Games and positions are recorded using a special notation – algebraic notation. The vertical columns of squares are labeled from a to h. The horizontal rows of squares are numbered 1 to 8 starting from White's side of the board. Thus each square of the board has a unique identification of file letter followed by rank number.

Move from e3 to d4 are recorded as e3-d4.
Move with capture are recorded as c5:e3 (used a colon :).

	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

Starting position. White move first.

1. c3-b4 b6-c5

2. b4-a5 a7-b6

3. b2-c3 c5-b4

4. a3:c5:a7 c7-b6

5. a5:c7:e5 f6:d4:b2

6. a1:c3 d8-c7

For record a position with column Men are recorded as «О», King as «1». Captured opponent's piece are recorded under note «/».

For example:

White: с1 - 1/0000, d6 – 000000, f4 – 0000; black: а1 – 110101/1, b2 – 00.

Official rules

First official rules was adopted by Assembly members of the Saint Petersburg regional Club 16–17 March 2002.

External links