Re: [math-fun] Slight change in the rules of chess
I'd describe en passant differently, involving only two moves: If A's pawn P moves two squares from the home rank, and if B has a pawn p immediately to the right or left of P, then -- only on the next move -- p can capture P by moving diagonally, just as if P had moved only one square, not two. --Dan << The "en passant" rule says that if A's pawn moves two squares from the home rank, attacking B's pawn, and on the next play, B moves the attacked pawn one square forward to avoid capture, that A, on the next move, can capture B's pawn in the same rank as if A's pawn had moved only one square on the earlier move. . . .
_____________________________________________________________________ "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain je ne sais quoi." --Peter Schickele
I was in a hurry this morning, and I totally screwed that one up. But I did have an idea about en passant. The en passant rule says that if a A's pawn moves two square, passing over a square attacked by B's pawn, B's pawn may capture on the next move as if A's pawn had moved only one square. I will hazard that in the early days of chess, pawns could move only one square at a time, even on the first move. To hasten the opening, the rules were modified to permit pawns to move two squares on the first move. However, this robbed pawns in the fifth rank of a rightful attack, and so en passant was instituted to restore that attack. Now my observation is, the two-square pawn move robs not only hostile pawns of the opportunity to capture at the pawn's third rank, but robs all hostile pieces of that rightful opportunity. For example, if a pawn, by moving two squares, crosses over a square where it could be have been captured by a bishop, that bishop be allowed on the next move to capture the pawn as if it had moved only one square. Why should only pawns have en passant attack? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Asimov" <dasimov@earthlink.net> To: "math-fun" <math-fun@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 11:00 AM Subject: Re: [math-fun] Slight change in the rules of chess
I'd describe en passant differently, involving only two moves:
If A's pawn P moves two squares from the home rank, and if B has a pawn p immediately to the right or left of P, then -- only on the next move -- p can capture P by moving diagonally, just as if P had moved only one square, not two.
--Dan
<< The "en passant" rule says that if A's pawn moves two squares from the home rank, attacking B's pawn, and on the next play, B moves the attacked pawn one square forward to avoid capture, that A, on the next move, can capture B's pawn in the same rank as if A's pawn had moved only one square on the earlier move. . . .
_____________________________________________________________________ "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain je ne sais quoi." --Peter Schickele
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Dan Asimov -
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