![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Gorgone_ceramica.jpg/210px-Gorgone_ceramica.jpg)
2000 A.D. is a chess variant created by V. R. Parton which employs fairy chess pieces on a 10×10 board.[1][2] Parton published the variant in his 1972 monograph My Game for 2000 A.D. and After.
Description
[edit]Parton describes his invention as "the game for Future Players in the Next Millennium", feeling that to be sufficiently challenging for later generations a variant should possess a larger board and increased possibilities. The distinction between moving and capturing methods of most of the pieces is a feature characteristic of the game.[a]
The Gorgon, Ximaera (Chimaera), and Fury are all terrifying female monsters from Greek mythology. The Dragon is also referred to by Parton as female (Parton 1974:19). The Attendant stands next to the Empress at the beginning of the game and moves as a chess king, but is stripped of all normal royal powers.[b]
Game rules
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/2000_A.D._init_config.png/330px-2000_A.D._init_config.png)
White moves first. Capturing the enemy Empress wins the game. There is no castling or checking in 2000 A.D.
Pieces that move and capture the same way
[edit]The following pieces capture the same as they move :
Empress (E)
- Moves as a chess queen;
- If captured the game is over.
Attendant (A)
- Moves as a chess king without royal powers.
Unicorn (U)
Pawn (P)
- Moves one step straight or diagonally forward;
- A Pawn can promote on entering opponent's half of the board to any piece previously lost.
Pieces that move as a queen but have other power
[edit]The following pieces move as a chess queen, but capture (or exercise other power) in their own special ways:
Capricorn (C)
- Captures by charging (moving to a vacant square orthogonally or diagonally adjacent to) an enemy piece;
- Can capture up to seven pieces in one turn, if they are all adjacent to the square the Capricorn charges to.
- A Capricorn has the ability to capture Gorgons.
Gorgon (G)
- Captures as a chess queen;
- Petrifies (immobilizes) any enemy piece it attacks;
- If petrified by an enemy Gorgon, does not lose its power to petrify other pieces;
- A Gorgon can be captured only by a Unicorn or a Capricorn.
Ximaera (X)
- Cannot capture but is subject to capture;
- Swaps places with any enemy piece it attacks;
- If swapped with an enemy Ximaera, the player may reverse-swap them, but not on his next turn.
Dragon (D)
- Captures by leaping an enemy piece to any vacant square immediately beyond it;
- Can make multiple captures in a single turn in the same direction;
- In a multiple capture, a Dragon is immobilized after one of the captures, if a Gorgon attacks it.
Mimotaur (M)
- The Mimotaur[c] (presumably a Minotaur that mimics)[1] captures in the same manner as the piece being captured;[3]
- Counter-petrifies an enemy Gorgon;
- Can swap places with an enemy Ximaera;
- A Mimotaur is incapable of attacking another Mimotaur;
- Must be adjacent to the Attendant to capture it;
- Must be in front of and adjacent to a pawn to capture it.
Alternate piece
[edit]The following is an alternate piece; if used, Furies replace Gorgons in the starting position:
Fury (F)
- Combines the powers of all the other pieces "[...] into one Supreme Terror" (Parton 1974:22).
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "The feature of the game, possibly inspired by Ultima, is that all the major pieces move as a queen but each has its own method of capture."[1]
- ^ Capturable and the weakest of the non-pawn pieces, the Attendant probably best "serves as a screen for the empress".[1]
- ^ "The Mimotaur (the spelling is correct as the name of this Fury monster) [...]"[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Pritchard (1994), p. 328
- ^ Pritchard (2007), pp. 157–58
- ^ a b Parton (1974), p. 21
Bibliography
- Parton, V. R. (1972). My Game for 2000 A.D. and After. WorldCat. p. 12. OCLC 57502218.
- Parton, V. R. (1974). Chessery for Duffer and Master. Amazon. pp. 19–23. ASIN B0007C9VCY.
- Pritchard, D. B. (1994). The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Games & Puzzles Publications. ISBN 0-9524142-0-1.
- Pritchard, D. B. (2007). Beasley, John (ed.). The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. John Beasley. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1.