European Chess Rules

Basic Rules | Clarifications (Areas) | Gameplay Suggestions and Variants | Back to Index

• Whenever a special ability (i.e. Prussia’s pulling) would cause a player’s king to be checked by any player other than the current player, the special ability is completely ignored for that turn.
• If a new piece is introduced (i.e. elephant), feel free to represent it with any piece you want. However, remember that when an ability requires "pieces of the same kind", only pieces of that kind are allowed, not even minor variations, i.e. archbishops are not bishops). However, even if a piece is modified (i.e. Athenian bishops or Mafia rooks), it is still considered a "piece of the same kind" as long as it has the same illustration in the configuration diagram.
• Similarly, if you receive a special piece (i.e. minister or archbishop), when you checkmate an opponent, it moves as described in the rules for its country, but if you receive a modified normal piece (i.e. Athenian bishop or Mafia rook) it loses its special powers and moves as it does for your country.
• When an ability refers to a player’s starting area, the 2x4 corner is usually referred to. Occasionally, a 3x5 area is used, but this is always clarified. For more information on all the different "areas" referred to in European Chess, see the Areas page.
• "Capture", "destroy", and "remove" are three separate actions. If a power protects your pieces against one of these, it does not protect you against the others unless that is explicitly stated.
  • "Capture" refers to taking a piece, and, aside from the Mafia, involves a piece moving to a square occupied by an enemy piece. When a piece is captured, it is placed by the side ofthe board belonging to the player who captured the piece.
  • "Destroy" and "remove" refer to removing a piece from the board indirectly, through the use of a nation's special ability. Removal is more powerful - there are very few defenses against it.
• When an ability refers to units being X squares away (i.e. Russia and Carthage), this only counts horizontal and vertical moves. In the diagram to the right, the pawn is five squares away from the elephant.
• When a player is defeated through his own special ability (i.e. Mycenae or UN Peacekeepers), it counts as though the player who just moved defeated him. Remember that when you defeat another player, even through his own ability, you get all his remaining pieces!