Janus Chess

Chess variant played on a 10x8 board

a b c d e f g h i j

8 a8 black rook b8 black princess c8 black knight d8 black bishop e8 black king f8 black queen g8 black bishop h8 black knight i8 black princess j8 black rook 8

7 a7 black pawn b7 black pawn c7 black pawn d7 black pawn e7 black pawn f7 black pawn g7 black pawn h7 black pawn i7 black pawn j7 black pawn 7

6 a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 h6 i6 j6 6

5 a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 h5 i5 j5 5

4 a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 g4 h4 i4 j4 4

3 a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3 i3 j3 3

2 a2 white pawn b2 white pawn c2 white pawn d2 white pawn e2 white pawn f2 white pawn g2 white pawn h2 white pawn i2 white pawn j2 white pawn 2

1 a1 white rook b1 white princess c1 white knight d1 white bishop e1 white king f1 white queen g1 white bishop h1 white knight i1 white princess j1 white rook 1

a b c d e f g h i j

Janus Chess initial position. The januses (knight+bishop compounds) start on the b- and i-files.

Janus Chess is a chess variant invented in 1978 by Werner Schöndorf^[1] from Bildstock, Germany. It is played on a ×ばつ8 board and features a fairy chess piece, the janus , with the combined moves of a bishop and a knight. The janus piece is named after the Roman god Janus because this god was usually depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions.

Description

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The usual set of chess pieces is extended with two pawns and two januses per player. Each janus is placed between a rook and a knight. The relative position of the king and queen is reversed compared to chess. After castling, the king stands on either the b- or i-file and a rook stands on either the c- or h-file, depending on which side castling is done.

The janus is considered almost as powerful as a queen and is usually valued at about 8 points (based on chess piece values with pawns valued at 1). It is the only piece in the game that is able to checkmate the opponent's king without the assistance of any other piece, with the king in a corner and the janus two squares away on a diagonal, but this checkmate cannot be forced . Due to the extra pieces, each player starts the game with considerably more "material power" compared to standard chess; however, the game has only a slightly higher material "power density",^[2] since there is more room for players to maneuver pieces because of the larger board (×ばつ8 = 80 squares). Due to the different board and pieces, players are unable to use normal chess opening theory, and chess tablebases have limited value in the endgame.

Janus Chess has been popular in Europe^[3] with regular tournaments drawing strong players.^[1] Several chess grandmasters have played this game including Viktor Korchnoi, Péter Lékó and Artur Yusupov. Korchnoi said: "I like playing Janus Chess because one can show more creativity than in normal chess."^[1]

References

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^ ^a ^b ^c Pritchard, D. B. (2007). "Janus Chess". In Beasley, John (ed.). The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. John Beasley. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1.
^ vickalan (Jan 22, 2017). "Comparison of Material Power in Variant-Chess Games", Chess.com.
^ Game rules (Janus Chess), BrainKing.com.

External links

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Janus Chess by Hans L. Bodlaender, The Chess Variant Pages
Janusschach Janus Chess (in German)
BrainKing.com play Janus Chess over an Internet server.

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Chess variants (list)

Orthodox rules

Different starting position	Fischer random chess Displacement chess Transcendental chess
Different number of pieces	Dunsany's chess Handicap
Unorthodox board	Balbo's game Circular chess Cylinder chess Double chess Grid chess Hexagonal chess (Cross chess, Masonic chess) Infinite chess Millennium 3D chess Minichess (Los Alamos chess) Rhombic chess Spherical chess Three-dimensional chess Triangular chess

Unorthodox
rules with
traditional
pieces

Standard ×ばつ8 board	Andernach chess Atomic chess Beirut chess Checkless chess Chessplus Circe chess Crazyhouse Cubic chess Dynamo chess Extinction chess Hostage chess Knight relay chess Legan chess Losing chess Madrasi chess Monochromatic chess Patrol chess PlunderChess Portal chess Progressive chess Three-check chess Way of the Knight
Multimove variants	Avalanche chess Kung-Fu Chess Marseillais chess Monster chess Progressive chess
Elements of chance	Dark chess Dice chess Knightmare Chess Kriegspiel Penultima
Unorthodox rules on an unorthodox board	5D Chess with Multiverse Time Travel Alice chess Apocalypse Chad Chessence Congo Diplomat chess Dragonfly Jeson Mor Parallel worlds chess Rollerball

Unorthodox
rules using
non-traditional
pieces

Standard ×ばつ8 board	Baroque Berolina Chakra Chess with different armies Duell Falcon–hunter chess Grasshopper chess Musketeer chess Pocket mutation chess Cheskers
Compound pieces	Almost chess Capablanca chess Capablanca random chess Chancellor chess Embassy chess Grand Chess Janus Chess Maharajah and the Sepoys Modern chess Seirawan chess Tutti-frutti chess
Unorthodox boards and pieces	2000 A.D. Chesquerque Chess on a really big board Courier-Spiel Dragonchess Gess Omega Chess Stratomic Dekle's triangular chess Wildebeest chess Wolf chess

Multiplayer

Inspired games

Chess-related
games

Historical	Chadarangam Chaturaji Chaturanga Courier chess Grant Acedrex Semedo Shatranj Short assize Tamerlane chess
Regional	Janggi variants Makruk Senterej Shatar Shogi Chu shogi Dai shogi Other variants Sittuyin Xiangqi Jungle Banqi Manchu chess Game of the Three Kingdoms Game of the Three Friends Game of the Seven Kingdoms Other variants

Software

Description

See also

References

External links