The dabbaba, also known as the dabaaba or dabbabah, is a

fairy chess piece A fairy chess piece, variant chess piece, unorthodox chess piece, or heterodox chess piece is a chess piece not used in conventional chess but incorporated into certain chess variants and some unorthodox chess problems, known as fairy chess. Compar ...

that jumps two squares orthogonally (the directions a rook can move), leaping over any intermediate piece. In algebraic notation, it is given the symbol ''D''.

History and nomenclature

The dabbaba is a very old piece, appearing in some very early

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 ...

s, such as Tamerlane chess. The name ''dabbaba'' (Arabic: دَبَّابَة) means "

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

" in Modern Arabic. In older Arabic, it referred to a type of medieval siege engine designed to shelter men who are digging a hole in enemy fortifications (Latin: ''vinea''). The name has sometimes been translated as "war engine". The name ''dabbaba'' was also used for other pieces in old chess variants, such as one that moved like the modern

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Value

The dabbaba by itself is not much more powerful than a pawn, but as an additional power to other pieces, it is worth about half a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. Its value as a piece by itself is severely compromised by its being "twice-colourbound"—able to reach only a quarter of the squares on the 8×8

chessboard A chessboard is a game board used to play chess. It consists of 64 squares, 8 rows by 8 columns, on which the chess pieces are placed. It is square in shape and uses two colours of squares, one light and one dark, in a chequered pattern. During p ...

. Combining it with other pieces usually masks this weakness to some extent. A

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

and four dabbabas, with each dabbaba covering a different quarter of the chessboard, can easily force

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 ...

on a

bare king In chess and chess variants, a bare king (or lone king) is a king whose player has no other remaining pieces (i.e. all the player's other pieces have been ). Effect on the game Historical In some old versions of chess, such as "baring chess" and ...

References

Bibliography *

External links

Piececlopedia: Dabbabah
by Hans Bodlaender, ''

The Chess Variant Pages ''The Chess Variant Pages'' is a non-commercial website devoted to chess variants. It was created by Hans Bodlaender in 1995. The site is "run by hobbyists for hobbyists" and is "the most wide-ranging and authoritative web site on chess variants". ...

''
The Dabaaba
by Ralph Betza, ''

'' {{Chess piece Fairy chess pieces