| In Bodyguard Chess the pieces move as in orthodox chess, with the exception of the additional pieces, the 'Bodyguard' and the 'Kvagga'. The Bodyguard slides one or two steps in any direction. It has about the same value as a queen (my estimate). The Bodyguard can stymie the movement of enemy pieces. This implies that an enemy piece can only move one square at at time so long its movement occurs on the squares immediately surrounding the Bodyguard (an enemy Kwagga will lose its second leap). Unlike the Mongolian Bodyguard, this version is capable of checkmating the enemy king.
The Kwagga moves like an extended knight, three squares orthogonally plus one step to the side. It can multiply this jump in the same direction. This means that the Kwagga moves like a Camelrider. However, unlike the Camelrider, the Kwagga can only capture on the first jump, and the next square must be empty. The Kwagga is as valuable as a bishop (my estimate). Due to the 9x9 board, castling is "long" on both sides.
The Bodyguard piece derives from 'Hiashatar', a Mongolian variant (also implemented in Zillions). The only difference is that this very version is capable of checking and checkmating the enemy king. This, and the fact that the board is smaller than in Hiashatar, makes this version of the Bodyguard much more powerful. |
