PlunderChess is a commercial

chess variant A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways. "International" or "Western" chess itself is one of a family of games which have related origins and could be co ...

, 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.

Rules

The so-called ''plundering'' occurs when a chess piece captures an opposing chess piece and "plunders" or "acquires" additional moving capabilities directly from the piece it just captured. Plundering is optional and may be declined by the player making the capture. When plundering is elected, the capturing piece "couples" or "attaches" to itself a vest that corresponds to the moving capabilities it is acquiring from the captured piece. The plundered vest must give added moving capabilities to the piece that wears it or it will not be allowed to plunder. This means that a

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

can never wear a

rook Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military *Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft * USS ' ...

vest because a queen can already make the moves of a rook and a rook vest provides no additional benefit to the queen. All pieces may plunder a

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an his ...

vest in order to gain the ability to capture via

en passant ''En passant'' (, "in passing") is a method of capturing in chess that occurs when a pawn captures a horizontally adjacent enemy pawn that has just made an initial two-square advance. The capturing pawn moves to the square that the enemy paw ...

. Additionally, pieces with a pawn vest, besides the rook and queen, gain the ability to move forward 2 spaces as long as it is on the second rank; this also allows that piece to be captured via en passant, whether by a pawn or by a piece using a pawn vest. However, it is important to note that a

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

with a pawn vest may not use a pawn's double-step move option if it would result in the king being able to be captured via en passant. The added moving capability provided by a plundered vest may be used one time only on any future move: i.e., the plundered vest may be used on its very next move or carried around and used later in the game. After a vest is used to move a chess piece on the board, it must be returned to the stand out of play. No more than one plundered vest is allowed on any one piece at a time. If a chess piece with a plundered vest makes another capture, it may upgrade to a stronger vest. If a player captures a piece with a vest, that player may take the vest it wears or a vest that represents the captured piece. The

with the vest can use it to reach the last

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * H ...

. In this case the pawn gets immediately promoted. However, the pieces with pawn vest cannot promote. The pawn can also move to the first rank by a vest move. But it has double-move capability only when moving from 2nd to 4th rank. A piece with a vest can give a

check Check or cheque, may refer to: Places * Check, Virginia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Check'' (film), a 2021 Indian Telugu-language film * ''The Checks'' (episode), a 1996 TV episode of ''Seinfeld'' Games and sports * Check (chess), a thr ...

(or eventually

checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

) to the opponent's

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

using vest-move power.

External links

PlunderChess
- official website.

by Hans L. Bodlaender. Chess variants 1988 in chess Board games introduced in 1988 {{chess-stub