![]() ![]() I enjoy the experiences and feel I learn from each game and enjoy the process of very slowly getting little better each time. This too, evens out the game for players of different base chess skills.Ĭhess is a great game. As you have the ability to get three extra Queens and getting your Pawns to the end of the board is a lot easier when they can have the power of a rook for example, the ability to catch up is a lot more, and also the opportunity to win when you are behind on points, is much greater. There is no catch-up mechanic in Chess, and I would argue that 90% of the time, the better player wins, so sometimes it does feel like you are going through the motions unless you can find a similarly matched opponent. Players will often be happy to trade at this point as they remain ahead and going on the attack can lead players to open up their defence and become more vulnerable. When you fall behind in chess early on it can be hard to catch up. This is a great leveller for players of different abilities of the classic game. No longer can you play the classic openings your parents taught you, (or that you learnt from YouTube!) Combining pieces opens the game to much more aggressive openings, and pieces being able to combine movement means everything you once focused on, has changed. Second major difference to normal chess is all the old moves, tactics and rhythms you are used too are gone. You sometimes have to teach an old dog new tricks. As such games can be won or lost a lot quicker, and it feels a lighter game with less significant consequences of one bad move, so players tend to think less, they worry less and ultimately, have more fun. You can move pawns much quicker and acquire up to three more Queens for a possible total of four on the board at any one time. More so than any other variation I have tried before, it’s much faster in both the decision time for players and game length. There are four main differences I want to talk about here. Or in a few turns, you can jump your Knight onto your Queen, creating a monster piece that can now go almost anywhere. Bar of course the King, which remains as a standard piece.Īs such, your opening move could be to combine your Rook with a pawn giving your pawn the chance to charge forward with reckless abandon. Adam Laws designed the pieces and introduced something that he coined “the Robe” which is shown in the reverse of all pieces and allows for each one to fit snugly into any other. Because it happened so smoothly in practice, it seemed to make me accept it more in principle. The seamless way that the pieces fit together encouraged my mind to accept it as a concept. The manufacture and design of the pieces joining is beautiful. The simple rule change of pieces combining shakes the entire core of the game and I was amazed at how quickly I accepted this change in my mind. What I have found is that this is a completely different game. I was unsure how I was going to feel about Chessplus and how my son who had just learnt the classic game would find it but was very excited to find out. He is getting quite good and challenges me a lot already. Mainly online with friends, but more recently with my son who is seven and during lock-down, asked to learn. I was instantly intrigued and have since been playing this game a lot. They are all quite fun and add some novelty to this ancient masterpiece, but none have ever captured my imagination for long.Ī few weeks back I was made aware of a new version of chess from an Australian father and daughter team, that had introduced a rule that absolutely intrigued me. Considering it has been around for 1300 years you would think it is due an upgrade or at least an expansion, right? How lazy have these designers been?! In truth, there are several chess variants out there such as four-player games, circular boards and even versions where captured pieces then turn coat and fight for their new masters. For the purposes of this review I am going to assume that you have played, or at least know about Chess! A perfect two-player battle of minds, patience and forward planning. ![]()
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