Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/chess-variants

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Dragonfly (chess variant)

Chess variant played on a 7×7 board

Dragonfly (chess variant)

Chess variant played on a 7×7 board

| tright | |rd|bd|bd|kd|nd|nd|rd |pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl |rl|bl|bl|kl|nl|nl|rl |Dragonfly 7×7 starting setup

Dragonfly (also known as Shuttle Chess or Bird Chess) is a chess variant invented by Christian Freeling in 1983. There are no queens, and a captured bishop, knight, or rook becomes the property of the capturer, who may play it as their own on a turn to any open square. The board is 7×7 squares, or alternatively a 61-cell hexagon with two additional pawns per side.

The game is an offshoot and simplification of a Freeling game named Loonybird (or Dragon Chess). Still, "Play is complex and interesting. Draws are rare too."

Game rules

The standard rules of chess apply, including winning by checkmate. But Dragonfly follows these special rules:

  • A bishop, knight, or rook that is captured enters the capturing player's pieces in hand in their own color. As a move, a player may drop any one of the pieces they have in hand on any open square (if the move is otherwise legal). Captured pawns do not go in hand and are instead removed from the game.
  • Pawns do not have an initial double-step option. (So, en passant is not possible.) A pawn promotes when reaching the furthest to any piece of the player's choosing from those currently held in hand by their opponent. (If the opponent has none, then a pawn move to the furthest rank may not be made.) The chosen piece is removed from the opponent's in-hand stock.
  • Castling is permitted, and normal castling conventions apply, with the king shifting over two squares in either direction. But castling with a dropped rook is not allowed.

Dragonfly hex

Dragonfly hex starting setup<ref name=Addenda />

Dragonfly on the hex board is played the same as Dragonfly 7×7, except that pieces move and capture as in Gliński's hexagonal chess (with the exceptions that pawns have no initial double-step option, and castling is permitted).

References

Bibliography

  • {{cite book
  • {{cite book |editor-last=Beasley |editor-first=John

References

  1. Pritchard (1994), p. 362
  2. Pritchard (1994), p. 96
  3. Pritchard (2007), p. 159
  4. (April–September 1994). "Dragonfly". [[British Chess Variants Society]].
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

chess-variants 1983-in-chess board-games-introduced-in-1983
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Dragonfly (chess variant) — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report