Grant Acedrex

abcdefghijkl
12a12 black rookb12 black upside-down rookc12 black princessd12 black giraffee12 black bishopf12 black upside-down queeng12 black kingh12 black bishopi12 black giraffej12 black princessk12 black upside-down rookl12 black rook12
11a11b11c11d11e11f11g11h11i11j11k11l1111
10a10b10c10d10e10f10g10h10i10j10k10l1010
9a9 black pawnb9 black pawnc9 black pawnd9 black pawne9 black pawnf9 black pawng9 black pawnh9 black pawni9 black pawnj9 black pawnk9 black pawnl9 black pawn9
8a8b8c8d8e8f8g8h8i8j8k8l88
7a7b7c7d7e7f7g7h7i7j7k7l77
6a6b6c6d6e6f6g6h6i6j6k6l66
5a5b5c5d5e5f5g5h5i5j5k5l55
4a4 white pawnb4 white pawnc4 white pawnd4 white pawne4 white pawnf4 white pawng4 white pawnh4 white pawni4 white pawnj4 white pawnk4 white pawnl4 white pawn4
3a3b3c3d3e3f3g3h3i3j3k3l33
2a2b2c2d2e2f2g2h2i2j2k2l22
1a1 white rookb1 white upside-down rookc1 white princessd1 white giraffee1 white bishopf1 white upside-down queeng1 white kingh1 white bishopi1 white giraffej1 white princessk1 white upside-down rookl1 white rook1
abcdefghijkl
Grant Acedrex, starting position
From left to right, the pieces on the back rank are: rook, lion, rhinoceros, giraffe, crocodile, aanca, king, crocodile, giraffe, rhinoceros, lion, rook.

Grant Acedrex is a medieval chess variant dating back to the time of King Alfonso X of Castile. It appears in the Libro de los juegos of 1283.

Rules

The following rules are from the reconstruction of Jean-Louis Cazaux and Sonja Musser. The game is played on a 12×12 board.

  • The king and rook move as they do in modern chess. Their Betza notation are thus K and R respectively.
  • The aanca (a beautiful and fearsome bird, very similar to a roc, sometimes translated incorrectly as gryphon) moves one square diagonally (like a ferz), before optionally continuing orthogonally outward any number of squares. Its Betza notation is t[FR].
  • The rhinoceros moves like a modern knight, before continuing diagonally outward any number of squares. (In H. J. R. Murray's translation, its first move is a non-capturing knight move, after which it acts as a bishop for the rest of the game.) Its Betza notation is t[NB].
  • The lion moves like a threeleaper or a camel, and can jump (a combined (3,0)-leaper and (3,1)-leaper). (In Murray's translation, it can only move as a threeleaper.) Its Betza notation is HL.
  • The giraffe moves like a zebra, a (3,2)-leaper. (In Murray's translation, it is a (4,1)-leaper.) In Betza notation is J.
  • The crocodile moves like the modern bishop. Its Betza notation is B.
  • The pawn moves like the modern pawn, but cannot make an initial double step or capture en passant. Its Betza notation is mfWcfF. When it reaches the other end of the board (the twelfth rank for White, or the first rank for Black), it promotes to the piece that was originally there: the exception is that a pawn promoting on the g-file becomes an aanca. For example, a pawn promoting on the a-file would become a rook.

Castling does not exist in Grant Acedrex. On its first move, however, a king may make a diagonal or orthogonal leap of two squares (Betza notation AD) in addition to its normal moves.

abcdefgh
8
c8 black circle
e8 black circle
c7 black circle
e7 black circle
c6 black circle
e6 black circle
a5 black circle
b5 black circle
c5 black circle
e5 black circle
f5 black circle
g5 black circle
h5 black circle
d4 white upside-down queen
a3 black circle
b3 black circle
c3 black circle
e3 black circle
f3 black circle
g3 black circle
h3 black circle
c2 black circle
e2 black circle
c1 black circle
e1 black circle
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves of the aanca
abcdefgh
8
a8 black circle
g8 black circle
b7 black circle
f7 black circle
h7 black circle
a6 black circle
c6 black circle
e6 black circle
g6 black circle
b5 black circle
f5 black circle
d4 white archbishop
b3 black circle
f3 black circle
a2 black circle
c2 black circle
e2 black circle
g2 black circle
b1 black circle
f1 black circle
h1 black circle
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves of the rhinoceros
abcdefgh
8
c7 black circle
d7 black circle
e7 black circle
a5 black circle
g5 black circle
a4 black circle
d4 white upside-down rook
g4 black circle
a3 black circle
g3 black circle
c1 black circle
d1 black circle
e1 black circle
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves of the lion
abcdefgh
8
b7 black circle
f7 black circle
a6 black circle
g6 black circle
d4 white giraffe
a2 black circle
g2 black circle
b1 black circle
f1 black circle
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves of the giraffe

Using dice

The game could be sped up by using octahedral dice to dictate which piece could move that turn, ranking them in the order: king (8), aanca (7), rhinoceros (6), rook (5), lion (4), crocodile (3), giraffe (2), and pawn (1).

Computer players

The multi-variant Chess engines Fairy-Max and Postduif can play Grant Acedrex under the XBoard or WinBoard user interface.

References

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