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Teramachy is the child of Metamachy
with 12 rows and Terachess with 16
columns. The design of this game started in 2019 and was finally
completed in 2020.
This is a chess variant with 23 different pieces on a 16x12
square board. There are the familiar 6, the 6 encountered in
Metamachy, 5 coming from Zanzibar
and the 6 FIDE compound pieces.
There are 192 squares and 96 pieces in total.
Caution: this
chess variant needs more play testing. It may evolve
yet
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The board has 16 x 12 checkered squares with a
white one at the right end of each player.
There are 48 pieces per side:
- 1 King, 1 Amazon, 1 Queen, 1 Marshal, 1 Cardinal, 1 Admiral, 1
Missionary, 1 Centaur, 1 Lion, 1 Eagle, 1 Rhinoceros, 1 Buffalo
- 2 Elephants, 2 Rooks, 2 Knights, 2 Bishops, 2 War Machines, 2
Princes, 2 Cannons, 2 Camels, 2 Giraffes, 2 Crocodiles
- 16 Pawns on 3rd row.
Moves
And Captures
Most of the pieces moves as they do at Metamachy
or Zanzibar.
- Rook: exactly as in usual
Chess, except there is no castling at Teramachy.
- Pawn: as in Metamachy,
not as is usual Chess. It can move straight forward one or two
square from any position on the board, without capturing. It
captures one square diagonally forward. When he reaches the last
row it promotes to one of the following major pieces: Amazon,
Lion, Eagle, Rhinoceros, Buffalo.
- Prince: as in Metamachy.
He moves and captures one square in any direction like a King,
but without being hindered by check. Like the Pawn, he can also
move without capturing to the second square straight ahead from
any position on the board. When he reaches the last row it
promotes to one of the major pieces like the Pawn does.
- Elephant: as in Shako
and Metamachy. It moves one or two
squares diagonally. When an Elephant moves two squares, no
matter what intermediate squares contain. Note that it always
stays on the same color of square.
- Machine: it is an orthogonal counterpart of
the Elephant as it moves one or two squares on the rows or the
columns. When a Machine moves two squares, no matter what
intermediate squares contain. Therefore, it combines the moves
of old Dabbaba and Wazir found in ancient Muslim Chess variants.
As in Zanzibar.
- Marshal:it combines the move of Rook and
Knight.
- Cardinal: it combines the move of Bishop and
Knight.
- Lion: exactly as in Metamachy.
It moves as a King (a single step move in any direction), or may
jump to a position two squares away, jumping in any orthogonal
or diagonal direction, or jumping as a Knight.
- Camel: as in Metamachy.
It jumps to the opposite square of a 2x4 rectangle, like an
extended Knight. No matter what intermediate squares contain. It
is also described as a (3,1) leaper. Note that it always stays
on the same color of square.
- Giraffe: as in Zanzibar.
It jumps to the opposite square of a 3x4 rectangle, like an
extended Knight. No matter what intermediate squares contain. It
is also described as a (3,2) leaper. Note that it always changes
the same color of its square. Under the name of Zebra, it is
also a fairy piece used by problemists for compositions.
- Cannon:exactly as in in Xiangqi.
Also in Shako and Metamachy.
It moves without taking like a Rook, but it takes by going in a
straight horizontal and vertical line and jumping over exactly
one piece. When a Cannon takes a piece, there must be exactly
one piece between the original and final square of the Cannon's
move - this piece may be of either color.
- Crocodile:as in Zanzibar.
It is the diagonal counterpart of the Chinese Cannon. It moves
like a Bishop and needs an intermediate piece between itself and
its victim to capture it. The Crocodile jumps the intermediate
and takes the victim on its square. The intermediate is left
unaffected. It is also known as Vao by problemists.
- Buffalo:as in Zanzibar.
It combines the leaps of the Knight (2,1 leaper), the Camel (3,1
leaper) and the Giraffe (3,2 leaper).
- Eagle:as in Metamachy.
It moves one square diagonally and then, slides away of an
indefinite number of squares vertically or horizontally. It is
authorized to go only one square diagonal. It can not jump and
the unobstructed path must start with the diagonal movement.
- Rhinoceros: as in Zanzibar.
It moves one square vertically or horizontally and then, slides
away of an indefinite number of squares diagonally. It is
authorized to go only one square in line or column. It can not
jump and the unobstructed path must start with the orthogonal
movement. It is a counterpart of the Eagle.
- Centaur: it is another compound piece that
moves as a Knight or a non-royal King.
- Admiral: it is another compound piece that
moves as a Rook or a non-royal King. That means that it is a
Rook that can also step one space diagonally. It corresponds to
the Dragon King that is found in Shogi.
- Missionary: it is another compound piece that
moves as a Bishop or a non-royal King. That means that it is a
Bishop that can also step one space orthogonally. It corresponds
to the Dragon Horse that is found in Shogi.
- Amazon: it combines the move of Queen and
Knight. An old idea, used by Russians instead of the Queen in
the 18th century.
- Pawn and Prince Promotion: A Pawn or a Prince
reaching the last rank of the board is immediately replaced by
an Amazon, a Lion, an Eagle, a Rhinoceros or a Buffalo.
Promotion to any other type of piece is not allowed. It is
permitted to promote a Pawn or Prince to a type of piece already
present on the same side; however; it is considered “good
etiquette” to avoid choosing a piece which is not captured yet,
if possible.
- En Passant capture: Any time a Pawn or Prince
takes a double step and passes through the capture square of an
opposing Pawn, that Pawn may capture the Pawn or Prince as if it
had only moved one square. This en passant capture must
be made in the immediate move following the double step. Only a
Pawn may capture en passant; the Prince does not have
this option.
- End Of Game:
The end-of-game rules, checkmate, stalemate, etc., are
identical to standard chess.
Pieces Value
Estimated average pieces value, normalized to 5 for the Rook :
Pawn: 1, Giraffe: 2, Camel: 2, Elephant: 2, Knight: 2,
Machine: 2.5, Prince: 3, Crocodile: 3, Bishop: 3.5, Cannon: 4,
Missionary: 4.5, Centaur: 4.5, Rook: 5, Cardinal: 5.5,
Rhinoceros: 6, Buffalo: 6, Admiral: 6, Lion: 6.5, Marshal: 7,
Queen: 8, Eagle: 8.5, Amazon:10
These values are just given for a very rough
estimate. A lot of players would disagree and give less or more
points to several piece. Never mind, make your own scale.
Find Teramachy
in the Chess Variant Pages
There is a preset
to play it there.
"Tera" c'est encore plus grand ! Jubilatoire ! L'échiquier
présente 16 x 12 cases et il y a 48 pièces par joueur.
Il y a 23 types de pièces différents: les 6 classiques, 6 déjà
rencontrées dans la Métamachie, 5
venant de Zanzibar et 6 pièces
composées. Comme toujours, toutes ces nouvelles pièces sont
faciles à se remémorer et ne posent aucun problème au joueur
classique qui voudra s'amuser.
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