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Capablanca chess

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8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black princessd8 black bishope8 black queenf8 black kingg8 black bishoph8 black empressi8 black knightj8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawni7 black pawnj7 black pawn7
6a6b6c6d6e6f6g6h6i6j66
5a5b5c5d5e5f5g5h5i5j55
4a4b4c4d4e4f4g4h4i4j44
3a3b3c3d3e3f3g3h3i3j33
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawni2 white pawnj2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white princessd1 white bishope1 white queenf1 white kingg1 white bishoph1 white empressi1 white knightj1 white rook1
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Capablanca Chess. Archbishop is placed between knight and bishop on the queen's side, chancellor on the king's side.

Capablanca Chess is a chess variant that exists in several versions played on a board of either 10x10 or 10x8 squares. The game is named after its inventor, the former world chess champion, José Raúl Capablanca. Note that he proposed this variant while he was world champion, not as "sour grapes" rationalization after losing his title, as some critics erroneously asserted.[1] Capablanca thought that chess would be played out in a few decades, that games between chess grandmasters would always end in a draw. This danger of "draw death" was a main motivation for him to create a more complex and rich version of chess.

Besides usual set of Chess pieces, each player has additionally two new pieces:

The new pieces have properties that enrich the game. For example, the archbishop can checkmate a lone king by itself (king in a corner, archbishop placed diagonally with one square in between). Capablanca thought that adding these two powerful pieces would reduce the likelihood of a draw and make the game itself more interesting.

Ideas that predate Capablanca Chess

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8a8 black rookb8 black princessc8 black knightd8 black bishope8 black queenf8 black kingg8 black bishoph8 black knighti8 black empressj8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawni7 black pawnj7 black pawn7
6a6b6c6d6e6f6g6h6i6j66
5a5b5c5d5e5f5g5h5i5j55
4a4b4c4d4e4f4g4h4i4j44
3a3b3c3d3e3f3g3h3i3j33
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawni2 white pawnj2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white princessc1 white knightd1 white bishope1 white queenf1 white kingg1 white bishoph1 white knighti1 white empressj1 white rook1
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Carrera Chess. Earliest chess variant on 8x10 board with archbishop and chancellor.

Capablanca was not the first person to suggest a similar variant of chess. In 1617, Pietro Carrera published a book Il Gioco degli Scacchi, which contained a description of a chess variant played on 8x10 board. He placed new pieces between a rook and a knight. Chancellor was on the king's side and archbishop on the queen's side. Carrera used names champion instead of chancellor and centaur instead of archbishop. The game was largely forgotten after the death of the inventor.

In 1874, Henry Bird proposed a chess variant similar to Carrera's variant. The only significant difference was the opening setup. The chancellor was placed between the queen's bishop and queen and the archbishop was placed between the king's bishop and king. Bird used names guard instead of chancellor and equerry instead of archbishop.

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8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black empresse8 black queenf8 black kingg8 black princessh8 black bishopi8 black knightj8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawni7 black pawnj7 black pawn7
6a6b6c6d6e6f6g6h6i6j66
5a5b5c5d5e5f5g5h5i5j55
4a4b4c4d4e4f4g4h4i4j44
3a3b3c3d3e3f3g3h3i3j33
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawni2 white pawnj2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white empresse1 white queenf1 white kingg1 white princessh1 white bishopi1 white knightj1 white rook1
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Bird's chess. Another predecessor of Capablanca chess.

Setup of the Pieces

Capablanca proposed two opening setups for Capablanca Chess. In one opening setup, he proposed that the archbishop be placed between the bishop and the queen and that the chancellor be placed between the king and the king's bishop. This setup has the flaw that it leaves the pawn in front of the king's bishop undefended, allowing white to threaten mate on the first move.

Capablanca subsequently revised the opening setup so that the archbishop was between the queen's knight and bishop, and the chancellor was between the king's knight and bishop. He also experimented with 10x10 board sizes, where the pawns could move up to three squares on the initial move.

In his book, The Adventure of Chess, Edward Lasker writes (p.39): ...I played many test games with Capablanca, and they rarely lasted more than twenty or twenty-five moves. We tried boards of 10x10 squares and 10x8 squares, and we concluded that the latter was preferable because hand-to-hand fights start earlier on it.

Lasker was one of the few supporters, and grandmaster Hungarian Geza Maroczy also played some games with Capablanca (who got the better of him). One of the few rational critics, British champion William Winter, thought that there were too many strong pieces, making the minor pieces less relevant.

The names for new pieces, archbishop and chancellor, were introduced by Capablanca himself. These names are still used in most modern variants of Capablanca Chess.

Variants inspired by Capablanca Chess

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8a8 black rookb8 black princessc8 black knightd8 black bishope8 black queenf8 black kingg8 black bishoph8 black knighti8 black empressj8 black rook8
7a7 white rookb7 white bishopc7 white queend7 white knighte7 white kingf7 white empressg7 white knighth7 white princessi7 white bishopj7 white rook7
6a6 black rookb6 black bishopc6 black knightd6 black empresse6 black queenf6 black kingg6 black princessh6 black knighti6 black bishopj6 black rook6
5a5 white rookb5 white bishopc5 white queend5 white knighte5 white kingf5 white princessg5 white knighth5 white empressi5 white bishopj5 white rook5
4a4 black rookb4 black knightc4 black bishopd4 black queene4 black kingf4 black empressg4 black princessh4 black bishopi4 black knightj4 black rook4
3a3 white knightb3 white rookc3 white empressd3 white bishope3 white queenf3 white kingg3 white bishoph3 white princessi3 white rookj3 white knight3
2a2 black rookb2 black queenc2 black knightd2 black bishope2 black princessf2 black kingg2 black bishoph2 black knighti2 black empressj2 black rook2
1a1 white empressb1 white rookc1 white knightd1 white bishope1 white princessf1 white kingg1 white bishoph1 white knighti1 white rookj1 white queen1
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The opening setups for Aberg's variation (8), Grotesque Chess (7), Univers Chess (6), Ladorean Chess (5), Embassy Chess (4), Optimized chess (3), Schoolbook Chess (2), and Paulovich's variation (1). All are displayed from white's point of view of the board.

Capablanca Chess has inspired a number of chess variants, the most popular of which are Grand Chess and Gothic Chess. There are several other attempts to find an optimal starting position:

The diagram on right shows the arrangement of pieces for most of these variants. Besides different starting positions, some variants have special rules for castling.

Another interesting recent development is Capablanca Random Chess, invented in 2004 by Reinhard Scharnagl. This game combines ideas of Fischer Random Chess and Capablanca Chess. It also applies the sound principle which demands that in the starting position, all pawns are protected by at least one piece.

Homemade Archbishop (left) and Chancellor (right) pieces, built from readily available plastic pieces from standard chess sets.

See also

  • ChessV - a program (licensed under the GPL) which plays Capablanca Chess and all of the other proposed 10x8 setups, as well as several other chess variants against the computer.
  • SMIRF - a program which plays all 12,118 Capablanca Random Chess variants except Gothic Chess due to its US patent.

References

  • D.B. Pritchard (1994). The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. ISBN 0-9524142-0-1.
  • Edward Lasker (1959). The Adventure of Chess, ISBN 0-486-20510-X.
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