The Mortar moves like a knight, but cannot capture this way. In order to capture it makes an orthogonal cannon capture-jump. It jumps over any piece and lands, like a cannonball, on the enemy piece farther back, provided that any intermediate squares are empty. The Mortar's value is 3, that is, the same as a bishop (preliminary estimate). Other rules are the same as in standard chess, except for the possible promotion to Mortar. The unusual H-shaped board makes it possible to introduce this piece without giving it undue advantage in the opening, thus avoiding monotonous opening strategies.