Battle Chess
Ingram was before the enemy captain. The two stared each other down trying to predict the others moves. All of Ingram's men were in a dire position, nearly any wrong move could cause them to lock arms with an unpredictable foe and he had already lost a few soldiers to the enemies superior location.
"Knight to d7" Ingram finally proclaimed.
"Darius you're up," the opposing captain said.
Darius was the name written on the white bishop piece on the spot d7. He was a small individual wielding two practice blades and some studded leather armor. He looked very quick on his feet. Ingram hoped that his Knight, Robert, could win out against him.
"Alright Robert. You're up," Ingram said.
A large man clad in full plate armor rose from a seated position and picked up a shield with a practice longsword. His face was shrouded by the helmet but his name had been etched into the wood of the black Knight piece, the light wood showing from under the layer of ink that the piece had been dyed in.
The two men, Robert the Knight and Darius the Bishop, made their way to a small clearing in view of the chessboard situated between the two captains. A soldier from Ingram's ranks stood off to the side of each of them.
"Salute!" the third soldier commanded. Robert and Darius saluted in customs each of their homes had, Roberts raising his sword in front of his face and swinging it to the side while Darius took a deep bow. They then took their fighting stances. The third soldier looked at each fighter to see they were prepared.
"Fight!" he said.
Darius was far quicker than Robert and dashed to meet the armored man before he could take more than a few steps. He dove to plunge the practice blade into the front of Robert and as Robert raised his sword Darius spun to the side and tried to stab at him from a different angle directly towards a seam in Robert's plate armor.
Robert's sword came down directly on top of Darius' sword, pinning it to the ground. He had been expecting the feign from the nimble man! Next came Robert's shoulder, knocking Darius onto his back and releasing the pinned sword. Darius felt dazed as the man's shoulder had almost as much force as a Dwarven warhammer. Robert raised his sword and brought it down.
Stopping inches from Darius, now realizing he had lost. Robert put the practice sword into the scabbard and held out a hand to the downed Darius. Blinking, Darius grabbed the armored gauntlet and Robert pulled the man to his feet.
"Well fought," Darius said to Robert.
"Same to you," Robert replied.
"Best of luck. You'll need it," Darius said with a smirk.
"Knight takes Bishop!" the third soldier shouted.
Ingram let out a sigh of relief. Had he lost that piece he would have been done for, he thought. Ingram slid the knight piece to the former location of the Bishop. Without so much as a beat the opposing captain spoke up.
"Queen to d7," the tall elven man said.
Robert had not taken the time to get out of the ring as a short half-elf woman stepped into the ring. Her armor was full-plate and she branded a longsword but no sheild. A grin could be seen going from ear to ear. She wore no helmet, revealing her nearly shaved brown hair.
"That last fight made me excited for this. Hope you aren't too worn out!"
History
The origin of Battle Chess is ultimately uknown. However, the story goes that some fellow commanders were playing a game of chess when the captain of a group of soliders came to ask how to improve his leadership skills in combat. The commanders mentioned that field combat was the best way but often costly. When the captain asked what game they were playing the commanders described the game to him. The captain left and devised a way for his soldiers to get in some sparring and for him to get better at his skills as a leader. The commanders found a large group of soldiers gathered around several soldiers sparring. When they came to break up the fight they saw the captain with another fellow captain sitting at a chess board. Curious they asked what was happening when the captain described the variation of the game that they had shown him. Realizing it was a training exercise they let the game continue and were impressed by both the soldiers and the captains in the execution.
Now Battle Chess is universally used to train leaders and soldiers during more peaceful times. It is also used to raise troop moral and bring a competetive nature to the brutality of war. Within Itherion tournaments have been held for it at the City of Gold's temple to Anar.
Execution
Battle Chess is setup with a simple chess set and a fighting area. Team size varies based on the format that the teams are playing. The two accepted formats are Front Lines and Champions. Each team member is assigned to a specific chess piece, often written onto the piece or attached with some form of parchment and string. One team member must play the role of "commander" who will play the game of chess. Once the pieces have been assigned (which varies based on they game format) the game can begin.
The game is played like a normal game of chess but with one variation. When a piece would normally take another piece, it instead begins what is called a "clash". Each team then puts forward the associated soliders according to the pieces and the two spar. When one surrenders or is knocked out, the piece associated to the winner remains on the board in the location the clash occurred and the game continues. The game requires intimate knowledge of the soldiers assigned to each piece and a good eye for analyzing the opponent.
Variation of Formats
The variation in formats is based on the number of team members. In Front Lines, there are 8 team members: one for the commander role, and 7 to be assigned to each back row piece and the pawn directly in front of it. This variation it is often accepted that the first match between soldiers ends in a surrender as to not lose energy during the game. In Champions, there are 16 team members: one for the commander role, and 15 for each game piece. This one is more common among the Silver Army as squads of soliders are generally split up into 16 soldiers. This is also the only accepted format used for the Conclave Battle Chess Championships.Standard Rules
In most organized play the use of ranged weapons and magic is not permitted. This because of the leathality of both ranged weapons and magic since there is not a safer alternative. This leads to only melee combat with practice weapons since killing the opponent is often not desired among your own army. This rule has been subverted in rare cases usually in dungeons or in games with Devils. Each soldier is permitted to bring any weapon and armor set they choose given that it does not have any magical properties. The purpose of the games is to represent skill in combat and not who has the better equipment. When a board is provided teams may choose to bring their own chess pieces that have team members names on them. This is common among the Silver Army with squads being the most likely to play on the same team across all their games. This has also led to some unique rituals upon the death or retirement of a soldier.Components and tools
If space is limited the use of a Chess set and a space for sparring is all that is needed to play. If a chess set is not available but space is in abundance, then drawing lines in the ground and playing out on a massive board where the soldiers are the pieces is accepted (this can only be used for the Champions format and is what is used for the Conclave Battle Chess Championships as it is more visually appealing for audiences).
Participants
With its prevalence the specific pieces in Battle Chess often come with their own unique roles. These are so prevalent that it has even made its presence in the different titles within a squad in the Silver Army.
Comments