Chancellor Chess

Chancellor Chess

Chancellor Chess was published by the American Ben Foster in his 1889 book of the same name. It is played on a 9×9 board (81 squares) with black squares in the corners, and adds one Chancellor (a Rook+Knight compound) per side to an otherwise standard FIDE chess army, plus one extra Pawn per side. The Chancellor piece had appeared earlier in European chess literature (Pietro Carrero, 1617, called it the Centaur), and Foster’s book provided historical context for it.

The Board

9 files (a–i) × 9 ranks = 81 squares. Black squares occupy the corners.

Starting Position

White (rank 1): Rook a1 · Knight b1 · Bishop c1 · Queen d1 · King e1 · Chancellor f1 · Bishop g1 · Knight h1 · Rook i1

White pawns (rank 2): a2–i2 (9 pawns)

Black (rank 9): Rook a9 · Knight b9 · Bishop c9 · Queen d9 · King e9 · Chancellor f9 · Bishop g9 · Knight h9 · Rook i9

Black pawns (rank 8): a8–i8 (9 pawns)

The Chancellor

The Chancellor combines the moves of a Rook and a Knight: it slides any number of squares horizontally or vertically, or leaps in an L-shape as a Knight. It is approximately equal in value to the Queen. Pawns may promote to Chancellor.

Castling

Castling occurs under the same conditions as in orthodox chess (King not in check, neither piece has moved, no attacked squares in the King’s path). When castling, the King moves two squares toward the Rook, and the Rook moves three squares in the opposite direction. This applies to both kingside and queenside castling. The Chancellor does not participate in castling.

Promotion

Pawns reaching the last rank may promote to Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight, or Chancellor.

Special Rules

All standard FIDE chess rules apply on the 9×9 board except where noted above. En passant applies as in standard chess.

Attribution

Chancellor Chess by Ben Foster, published 1889. Rules from chessvariants.com/large.dir/chancellor.html (Hans Bodlaender, 1997).