Pocket mutation chess
Encyclopedia
Pocket mutation chess is a chess variant
invented by Mike Nelson in 2003.
In this game a player can take a piece from the board and put it into a pocket. The piece in the pocket can be put back on the board later. When placing the piece into the pocket the player can mutate the piece, i.e. change it to the different piece.
The game is one of Recognized Chess Variants at Chess Variant Pages.
As a players move, a piece in the pocket can be dropped on any empty position on the board, except the last rank. A pawn can make only a single step from the first rank, but can do a double step from the second one, even if dropped there or moved from the first rank. The en passant
rule applies as in standard chess. Pawns that reach the last rank do not get promoted immediately. Instead, they can be placed into the pocket and promoted to a piece of higher class.
There is no castling
in this chess variant. The game is declared a draw if no capture or promotion was made for 50 consecutive moves.
s in this game. All pieces are divided into the following classes. All pieces from the same class are of presumably the same (or close) value.
Chess variant
A chess variant is a game related to, derived from or inspired by chess. The difference from chess might include one or more of the following:...
invented by Mike Nelson in 2003.
In this game a player can take a piece from the board and put it into a pocket. The piece in the pocket can be put back on the board later. When placing the piece into the pocket the player can mutate the piece, i.e. change it to the different piece.
The game is one of Recognized Chess Variants at Chess Variant Pages.
Rules
The starting position in this game is the same as in standard chess. Players make moves as in standard chess. Instead of moving, a player can take one of their own pieces from the board and put it into the pocket, provided that the pocket is empty. If the piece is placed into the pocket from the last rank, it gets promoted to a piece of higher class. Otherwise the player has an option to mutate the piece into a different piece of the same class. The choice of mutating (or not) must be made at the time the piece is removed. White cannot use the pocket on the first move. The King cannot be placed into the pocket.As a players move, a piece in the pocket can be dropped on any empty position on the board, except the last rank. A pawn can make only a single step from the first rank, but can do a double step from the second one, even if dropped there or moved from the first rank. The en passant
En passant
En passant is a move in the board game of chess . It is a special pawn capture which can occur immediately after a player moves a pawn two squares forward from its starting position, and an enemy pawn could have captured it had it moved only one square forward...
rule applies as in standard chess. Pawns that reach the last rank do not get promoted immediately. Instead, they can be placed into the pocket and promoted to a piece of higher class.
There is no castling
Castling
Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. It is the only move in chess in which a player moves two pieces at the same time. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook on the player's first rank, then...
in this chess variant. The game is declared a draw if no capture or promotion was made for 50 consecutive moves.
Classes of the pieces
Besides usual pieces there are several fairy chess pieceFairy chess piece
A fairy chess piece or unorthodox chess piece is a piece analogous to a chess piece. It is not used in conventional chess, but is used in certain chess variants and some chess problems...
s in this game. All pieces are divided into the following classes. All pieces from the same class are of presumably the same (or close) value.
| Class | Usual pieces | Combined with knight | Combined with nightrider | Combined with king | Combined with nightrider and king |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  pawn |
||||
| 2 |  bishop |
 knight |
|||
| 3 |  rook |
 nightrider |
super bishop (bishop+king) | ||
| 4 |  cardinal (bishop+knight) |
super rook (rook+king) | |||
| 5 |  queen |
 chancellor (rook+knight) |
cardinal rider (bishop+nightrider) | super cardinal (bishop+knight+king) | |
| 6 | chancellor rider (rook+nightrider) | super chancellor (rook+knight+king) | super cardinal rider (bishop+nightrider+king) | ||
| 7 | amazon (queen+knight) | super chancellor rider (rook+nightrider+king) | |||
| 8 | amazon rider (queen+nightrider) |
External links
- Pocket mutation chess by Mike Nelson.