PlunderChess

PlunderChess is a commercial chess variant, first sold in 2004, in which the capturing piece is allowed to temporarily take the moving abilities of the piece taken. The game is played with colored plastic rings to mark which abilities have been adopted by pieces.

Someone playing PlunderChess. The black king has a rook vest, and a white rook has a bishop vest.

Rules

The variant's original move, plundering, occurs when a piece captures an opposing piece, allowing it to obtain a "vest". Players making captures do not need to take the vest. Plundering may not happen if the piece already has the moveset of the piece captured. Vests allow the piece to move like the piece captured. For example, if a knight captures a rook, then that knight can move like a rook. This is called a "vest move". If a piece has a pawn's vest, it may capture via en passant, or move 2 spaces on its second rank. This opens it up to en passant. If the piece in question is the king, then the king may not move 2 spaces if it would result in the king being captured en passant.

Vests can be used at any time, as long as the piece still has the vest. Vests can only be used once, afterwards, they are returned to the stand until the piece the vest represents is captured again.

Pawns with vests can use their vest moves to reach the last rank. If this happens, the pawn gets immediately promoted. Pieces with pawn vests can't promote, nor can a pawn vest be promoted. Pawns can also move to the first rank with a vest move, but can only move 2 squares on the 2nd rank.

Pieces with vests can give checks, as well as checkmate, to the opponent's king using vest moves.

Variants of the rules

Vest-shifting variant

Vest-shifting is a variant of PlunderChess in which players may "vest-shift" instead of moving. Vest shifts allow players to move vests from one piece to another, giving it the vest.

External links

• PlunderChess - official website.
• PlunderChess: Pictures and a review by Hans L. Bodlaender.