| Millennium Chess is played on an 8 by 15 size chess-board, and each player
controls nearly twice as many pieces (two queens, two kings, four bishops,
etc.). Most of the rules of the game are the same, with some special rules
regarding capturing and check-mating the kings. A player's first king can
be left in danger of capture and actually captured - once the first king
is captured, the remaining king can then be put in check and check-mate as
in normal chess.
The Zillions language does not allow to note directly a win/loss-condition
like "Checkmate the last King", therefore the following method is used:
The game starts without Kings but with two Pre-Kings on each side.
When a Pre-King shall be captured the second Pre-King will be changed into
a true King with the same moves. Then this alone King can be checkmated.
A side effect of this method in the previous version of the zrf was
that the Zillions engine avoided to capture Pre-Kings, because the
uprising King had a tenfold value than the captured Pre-King.
Therefore the value of the Pre-Kings is boosted by a tweaking method
proposed by Keith Carter.
Richard Hutnik beforehand made a ZRF with the easier to implement goal
of capturing both kings. A variant with this goal is included here also.
From the brochure and web-site:
"Millennium Chess was developed to improve the skills of the average to
excellent chess player. This is accomplished by maintaining the basic
dynamics and structure of the of the game, while increasing the number
of strategic moves.
By expanding the size of the battlefield and increasing the number of
pieces, a chess player's mind is forced to accept a greater strategic
load. This subconsciously builds one's 'chess muscles'."
For more information on Millennium Chess, visit the Millennium Chess website:
http://www.vipchess.com/MillenniumGameRules.htm |
