Lionized Chess (BETA)

Note that in these rules, except in rule 1, whenever the concept of a Regular Piece is referred to, Pawns, Kings, and Lionizers are not incuded, but all other pieces are. Also, except in rule 1, whenever the concept of a Move is referred to, Captures are not included. The rules of international chess, shogi, chu shogi, and xiangqi referred to are the official rules as recognized by the International Chess Federation, the Japan Shogi Association, the Japanese Chu Shogi Association, and the World Xiangqi Federation as of 22 June 2023. Finally, the footnotes are referred to using numbers in curly brackets.

Main Rules

  1. The rules of Lionized Chess are the Basic Rules of Play given in the Laws of Chess except for the following differences. {15}
  2. If the last 50 Turns of each Player did not include a Capture, the game is Drawn.
  3. The pieces on the White Player's back Rank are Lance, Hot Horse, Mammoth, Lionizer, King, Ferz, Cold Horse, and Lance, from left to right from White's perspective.
  4. The pieces on the Black Player's back Rank are Lance, Hot Horse, Ferz, King, Lionizer, Mammoth, Cold Horse, and Lance, from left to right from Black's perspective.
  5. The Regular Power of the Lance is to Move or Capture as a Rook but only forwards. {01}{02}
  6. The Regular Power of the Cold Horse is to step 1 Square orthogonally to an empty Square and then compulsorily within the same Turn step 1 Square in the direction 45 degrees to the left of the direction of its orthogonal step. {03}{04}
  7. The Regular Power of the Mammoth is to Move or Capture as a Bishop but only exactly 2 Squares. {05}{06}
  8. The Regular Power of the Lionizer is to Move to any empty Square. {07}{08}
  9. The Regular Power of the Ferz is to Move or Capture as a Bishop but only exactly 1 Square. {14}
  10. The Regular Power of the Hot Horse is to step 1 Square orthogonally to an empty Square and then compulsorily within the same Turn step 1 Square in the direction 45 degrees to the right of the direction of its orthogonal step. {03}{09}
  11. All Regular Pieces on the same Rank, File, or Diagonal as a friendly Lionizer with no intervening pieces are Lionized for as long as that situation persists but no longer.
  12. Captured Regular pieces are not necessarily removed from the game completely but may be out of play temporarily.
  13. A Pawn upon reaching the Rank furthest from its starting position may not Promote but may either remain a Pawn or switch places with any Regular Piece friendly to it that is currently out of play due to having been Captured. {10}
  14. A piece that isn't Lionized can use its Regular Power.
  15. A Lionized piece cannot use its Regular Power if its controlling Player has no other Lionized pieces anywhere on the Board.
  16. If its controlling Player has at least 1 other Lionized piece anywhere on the Board, a Lionized piece can use the Regular Power of 1 other friendly Lionized Piece anywhere on the Board and then optionally use its own Regular Power immediately afterwards during the same turn. {13}
  17. If its controlling Player has at least 1 other Lionized piece anywhere on the Board and unless this would leave the position completely unaffected except for whose turn it is, a Lionized piece can go to a Square that the Regular Power of 1 other friendly Lionized piece anywhere on the Board would bring it and then immediately in the same Turn go from that square in accordance with its own Regular Power, leaving the piece on the Square it was on in the middle of the turn, if any, completely unaffected, and it may do this regardless of what is on the Square it was on in the middle of the turn. {11}{12}{13}
  18. There is no castling.
  19. All Regular Pieces on the same File as a friendly Pawn on that Rank furthest from its starting position are Lionized for as long as that situation persists but no longer.
  20. These rules cover both over-the-board play and other forms of play; in the case of other forms of play such as online play, rules are assumed to be amended as appropriate while keeping the game isomorphic.
  21. The game may be played without an arbitrer; in this case, the players themselves should impartially arbitrate as appropriate.

Footnotes

  1. Note that this is like a shogi lance.
  2. Its symbol is "L".
  3. Like a xiangqi horse, it cannot jump over a piece orthogonally adjacent to it.
  4. Its symbol is "C".
  5. Its symbol is "M".
  6. Like a xiangqi elephant, it cannot jump over a piece diagonally adjacent to it.
  7. It cannot Capture.
  8. For the sake of brevity, its name, "Lionizer", may be pronounced like how one might pronounce "ellzer".
  9. Its symbol is "H".
  10. This leaves the Pawn out of play and the previously Captured piece on the Square on the Promotion Rank that the Pawn moved to.
  11. This does not allow it to jump over a piece on either leg of its journey that the piece whose Regular Power it's using during that leg would not be able to jump from the beginning of that leg, but it does allow it to jump over a piece on the square on which 1 leg ends and the other begins.
  12. Note that using these pieces, the clause "unless this would leave the position completely unaffected except for whose turn it is" is irrelevant.
  13. Rules 16 and 17 mean that the relationship between a the possible Moves and Captures of a Lionized piece, its Regular Power, and the Regular Power of the other piece of the "1 other friendly Lionized piece anywhere on the Board" is similar to the relationship between a chu shogi lion's possible Moves and Captures, a King's power, and a King's power. In fact, if there was a non-King piece that, like a King, moved and captured like a Queen but only exactly 1 Square, and there were 2 such pieces belonging to the same Player on the Board, and those pieces and only those pieces were Lionized, those pieces would each Move and Capture exactly like a chu shogi lion except for the fact that they would not be subject to the chu shogi trading rules.
  14. Its symbol is "F".
  15. Notation strings for a Turn should begin with the Square the piece started on, then continue with the Square of any piece that was Captured but whose square the Capturer did not end the turn on if applicable, then continue or finish with the square the piece ended on, then finish with the symbol of the piece a Pawn switched places with if applicable. Some examples would be "e5a4", "e5e7f6", and "a2b1C".