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(The following is a revised version of the article that appeared in the March 30, 1977, issue of J'ADOUBE!, The Cincinnati Chess Magazine.)
During the 1960s and the Fischer Wave era of the 1970s it seemed that every couple of years there was a local revival of Kriegspiel, egged on by such stalwarts of "fun" chess as Howard Goodrich, Mike Juhasz, Bruce Zimov, the legendary Mike Thayer, and of course, this writer. (The chessplayers of those times would undoubtedly put the emphasis on the "of course"!)
Kriegspiel is a chess variant. Simply stated, it's the playing of a game of Regular Chess without either player ever seeing the opponent's moves or pieces. The players have to cleverly guess where the opposing material is located.
Until Double Bughouse came along around 1971, Kriegspiel was the only generally accepted variation of Chess. Now that Double Bughouse has (regrettably) passed by the wayside, Kriegspiel has a clear path to counterattack its way back onto the chess scene. Its greatest advantage is that it's the only form of chess that's a true spectator sport! It's enjoyed by both participants and onlookers. It's also tremendously funny most of the time. In part that's because the players one often sees tackling Kriegspiel are novices at it. But there is skill in the game. When an Expert learns what it's all about, he plays Kriegspiel like an Expert. Among its devotees have been such Experts (and city champions!) as Bob Timmel, Mike Thayer, and Rea B. Hayes.
The name Kriegspiel, which literally means "war game," has no special significance except as a name for this particular variant of chess. Kriegspiel uses a regular board, a regular set, and the regular rules of chess. It's different only in that White doesn't formally see and know Black's moves, and Black doesn't formally see and know White's moves.
The ideal arrangement is for the players to sit back to back, at separate tables, facing away from each other, with a third table in between. On the third table a Referee places his own set, maintains the correct position at all times, and keeps the gamescore. The players must not be able to see each other's boards or the Referee's board. It's very important that spectators not move the pieces on the Referee's board or in any other way interfere in the game. It's vital to the success of Kriegspiel for the Referee's board to always be absolutely correct and for the players not to benefit from any outside information.
Over the years we've seen several different versions of rules for Kriegspiel. CHESS SUTTON COLDFIELD, the English magazine, distributed a pamphlet with their rules. Kenneth Harkness, who authored the national rulebooks for USCF in the 1950s and 1960s, explained the game in his books. But just as Cincinnati is known for its distinctive chili, so too may it be known for the following Kriegspiel rules. This Kriegspiel recipe gives the players a sufficient amount of information from the Referee to make the game a sensible one, without providing too much. These rules also avoid wasting time, as do some versions, by giving out too little information.
A few sample games conclude this article. We reprint here an epic battle, appropriately played on November 11, 1971, the 53rd anniversary of the ending of World War I, between two reigning local Kriegspiel champions. In the White trunks was the city Kriegspiel Champion, Rea B. Hayes. In the Black trunks was the University of Cincinnati Chess Club's Kriegspiel King, Mike Juhasz. This game was played at the Parkway Chess Club, which at that time met at the Central Parkway YMCA in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The idea of Kriegspiel is this: The player on move attempts either to make a legal move, or to make moves called "tries" which have as their prime objective the obtaining of insight as to what the real position is. Any move or "try" which really is a legal move stands as that player's actual move in the game.
On his own board, each player's own pieces are "official," and the Kriegspiel version of "touch move" applies to them. They're for real, and their position must be identical to that shown on the Referee's set. The opposing pieces have no formal standing. Each player may set up pieces of the opposing color anywhere he wants, or not set them up at all; and he may move them any time he wants. (The Referee must completely ignore opposing-color material on each player's board. It isn't "official" and it may be on "wrong" or even absurd squares. The Referee must not allow himself to be confused by it.)
The Kriegspiel "touch" rule applies only to each player's own material: The Player isn't allowed to touch his own material except for the purpose of making a try. That is, "trying" to make a legal move. If a "try" is legal, it stands as the Player's real move. If it isn't a legal move, the Player is not required to move (or try) that piece again.
The best procedure is for the Referee to require players to acquit (let go of) the piece they make a "try" with, and to say nothing until they do so. This requirement eliminates the kind of sticky situation where the Referee blurts out some information but the player says "Oh, I didn't really mean to play that move!" and insists on the right to take it back because he's still holding onto the piece.
After each legal move is made, and before the Opponent begins his turn, the Referee records the move, makes it on his own set, and makes the announcements required by these rules. It's important that the Referee announce all the information required by the rules -- and nothing else. All announcements must be heard by both players. Also, spectators must not talk openly about the game, for even casual comments can give away valuable information. Finally, the Referee must endeavor to be 100% correct, or else the game is likely to be ruined.
If a "try" is a legal move, the Referee simply announces that the Player has moved. "Black has moved," he says. Or "White to move." After a while the Ref's likely to abbreviate this notification to monosyllables: "White." "Black." "White," he'll say.
However, if a "try" isn't a legal move, the Referee says "No" or "Illegal," and that try must be retracted. If the move is impossible, and the player must know it for some reason (like trying to capture one's own pieces), the Referee's appropriate response is "Nonsense." The "Nonsense" announcement discourages a Player from wasting time or attempting to use the Referee to mislead the Opponent.
The player continues to try to make a move until he finds one that's legal. When a legal move is completed, the Referee announces whichever of the following information is appropriate:
The following rules elaborate on certain prohibitions:
Some chess dealers sell tiny magnetic chess sets with boards no more than three inches wide. Pieces on such sets are typically just checkers with chess diagram symbols. These sets are useful for Kriegspiel referees if an extra set isn't available, or if portability is desired.
Playing the game is only half the fun. The other half is the postmortem, when the players play over the game and see what really happened! Since it ruins the party to have to stop in the middle because the gamescore can't be figured out, correct notation is important. For best results the Referee should have an assistant who records the moves and makes sure that King checks aren't overlooked. In the following game Black's play is outclassed by White's. Nimzovitch should've been a Kriegspiel player, because in Kriegspiel overprotection is essential. Note White's careful preparations and overall technique.
REA B. HAYES (X) vs. MIKE JUHASZ (B), November 11, 1971. 1. P-KB4 P-KB3 29. R1-Q5 P-N4 2. N-KB3 P-QB3 30. PxP PxP 3. P-KN3 K-B2 31. Q-KB2+ K-N3 4. B-R3 P-K3 32. NxBP RxN 5. O-O P-QN3 33. RxR RxP 6. P-QB3 B-N2 34. QxR B-K3 7. P-R3 P-N3 35. R-R5 K-B3 8. P-QN4 P-KR3 36. Q-Q2 B-B4 9. B-QN2 B-N2 37. Q-Q5 N-K2 10. P-Q3 P-Q3 38. P-B5 B-B1 11. QN-Q2 P-R3 39. P-B6 B-R6 12. P-B4 Q-K2 40. R-QB5 B-B1 13. P-K4 N-Q2 41. Q-B4 K-N2 14. P-Q4 R-Q1 42. P-B7 K-N3 15. R-K1 R-R2 43. RxP+ K-B3 16. P-K5 QPxP 44. R/N-Q5 K-K3 17. QPxP PxP 45. Q-Q4 N-B3 18. NxP NxN 46. R-Q8 B-N2 19. BxN BxB 47. P-B8=Q+ K-K2 20. RxB P-B4 48. Q-KB4 BxQ1 21. PxP PxP 49. RxB N-Q5 22. Q-K2 B-R8 50. R5-B7+ K-K3 23. R-K1 R-QB1 51. R-B6+ NxR 24. BxP+ QxB 52. RxN+ K-Q4 25. RxQ B-N7 53. Q-B4+ K-K4 26. R-K5 B-R6 54. Q-K6+ K-Q5 27. N-K4 B-Q2 55. R-B4+ K-Q6 28. R-Q1 R-B3 56. Q-K4+ Resigns
REA B. HAYES (X) vs. MIKE JUHASZ (B), November 11, 1971. 1. f4 f6 29. R1d5 g5 2. Nf3 c6 30. fxg hxg 3. g3 Kf7 31. Qf2+ Kg6 4. Bh3 e6 32. Nxc5 Rxc5 5. O-O b6 33. Rxc5 Rxh2 6. c3 Bb7 34. Qxh2 Be6 7. a3 g6 35. Ra5 Kf6 8. b4 h6 36. Qd2 Bf5 9. Bb2 Bg7 37. Qd5 Ne7 10. d3 d6 38. c5 Bc8 11. N1d2 a6 39. c6 Bh3 12. c4 Qe7 40. Rc5 Bc8 13. e4 Nd7 41. Qc4 Kg7 14. d4 Rd8 42. c7 Kg6 15. Re1 Rh7 43. Rxg5 Kf6 16. e5 dxe 44. Rgd5 Ke6 17. dxe fxe 45. Qd4 Nc6 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 46. Rd8 Bb7 19. Bxe5 Bxe5 47. c8=Q+ Ke7 20. Rxe5 c5 48. Qf4 Bxc8 21. bxc bxc 49. Rxc8 Nd4 22. Qe2 Ba8 50. R5c7+ Ke6 23. Re1 Rc8 51. Rc6+ Nxc6 24. Bxe6+ Qxe6 52. Rxc6+ Kd5 25. Rxe6 Bb2 53. Qc4+ Ke5 26. Re5 Ba3 54. Qe6+ Kd4 27. Ne4 Bd7 55. Rc4+ Kd3 28. Rd1 Rc6 56. Qe4+ Resigns 1-0
The author would like to add two comments on the concepts of "nonsense" and "any." First, I've noticed that some Kriegspiel enthusiasts either avoid applying the "nonsense" announcement rule, or reject it. The result is that a player can get away with non-sensical "tries" all day long and the referee acts as that player's dupe by going along with the ruse. I believe that good referees should be able to understand why this point is important, should be sharp enough to spot nonsense tries, and should rigorously apply the rule.
Secondly, one school of Kriegspiel believes in the "Any?" rule, whereby a player has to ask whether there are any possible pawn captures. Anybody who's played Kriegspiel for more than three minutes knows that under this system the proper, and necessary, thing to do is to ask "Any?" on every single move, even when it's obviously unlikely, illegal, or impossible. The result is inquiries by both players, on every move, lasting the entire game, and sometimes repeated several times during a turn to move. The opponents of the "Any?" rule consider all this to be very silly.
The worst of both worlds is when the "Any?" rule is used and the "nonsense" announcement rule is not! That turns the game into a joke. In contrast, the rules suggested in this article make for a practical and reasonable version of "blind" chess, with an encouragement for a significant element of skill -- like regular chess.
He also asks for computer programs that take the role of referee.Apart from some internet servers, I do not know these. Please inform me about such programs.
The above was authored by: David Moeser.
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The above was edited/posted by: Hans L. Bodlaender
Created on: June 25, 1997. Last modified on: January 04, 2001.
Date | Name | Rating | Comment |
---|---|---|---|
Michael Nelson | None | Cincinnati-style Kriegspiel should be playable by different armies--the rules specify that only pawn/piece is announced for a capture, not which piece. The CWDA promotion rule needs to be modified to allow pawn promotion only to pieces in one's own army--otherwise you would have to know what army the other player is using to know your promotion choices. (This weakens the Colorbound Clobberers a bit in the endgame--the CC's often promote a pawn to the other side's Queen piece.) Check announcements need consideration--what does the referee say if the player is checked by a Camel? This is a Knightish type check, but not on the same squares as would be indicated by 'check by Knight'. A check from a Half-Duck three sqaures away may still be 'on the file', but the player's legal moves are different than if the same check were by a Rook or Queen (interposing is useless, but retreating on the file may work.) Perhaps the best check announcement rule for KWDA is simply to announce 'check' with no directional indication. | |
gnohmon | None | It occurs to me that one might attempt to play Kriegspiel with Different Armies. Of course, you don't know in advance what army the other player has! If the armies must be chosen from a short list of predefined armies, the player who makes the first capture of a non-Pawn gets a big advantage of knowledge (in addition to any material advantage). Perhaps this makes it a bad game. | |
Mike Nelson | Good | On the whole, a significant improvement on standard Kriegspiel. A possible rule to distinguish 'No' from 'Nonsense': A move is 'nonsense' if the player can determine it is illegal from the player's own position and the referee's last announcement. No more remote inferences are considered. Examples of detemining illegality from the announcement: 1. 'Black captures at d1' White attemting Ra1-g1 is nonsense. 2. 'Black checks on the long diagonal' White attempting to capture or interpose on the file is nonsense. On the other hand: 'Black captures at b1' on the previous turn, folowed by 'Black capures at d1' on the current turn, then Ra1-g1 is nonsense but Ra1-c1 is no. (In fact, it could be legal as Black's moves could have been Qxb1, Qxd1 or similar.) |
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