| 1 | p.boxed. |
| 2 | Different armies. |
| 3 | Most white pieces start "in hand", and promote when reaching 7th rank. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | figure.diagram-container |
| 6 | .diagram |
| 7 | | fen:rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/LH1CK1HL: |
| 8 | figcaption Deterministic initial position. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | p. |
| 11 | Shinobi Chess is a chess variant designed in 2021 by Couch Tomato. |
| 12 | The chess army (the "Kingdom", black) has invaded the land of the Sakura |
| 13 | Clan ("pink"). While initially unprepared and having few pieces |
| 14 | available, the Clan is very resourceful and can instantly recruit and |
| 15 | summon allies to defend at a minute's notice! |
| 16 | |
| 17 | p. |
| 18 | The Clan starts with many of its pieces in hand, and can drop them |
| 19 | on its side of the board (first 4 ranks) in lieu of moving a piece. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | p |
| 22 | | In addition to checkmate, |
| 23 | | one can win by bringing the king into the final rank ("campmate"). |
| 24 | br |
| 25 | | Stalemate and repetition are both losses. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | h3 New pieces |
| 28 | |
| 29 | p. |
| 30 | There are five new units unique to the Clan: Ninja, Dragon, Lance, |
| 31 | (Wooden) Horses, and Monks. Captains are a new piece available to both |
| 32 | sides, but only the Clan starts with one on the board. |
| 33 | Ninja, Dragon, and Captains do not promote (see below). |
| 34 | |
| 35 | p. |
| 36 | The Clan's king is called a Kage (K) and has a different symbol, but the |
| 37 | change is purely aesthetic and thematic: it behaves like an orthodox King. |
| 38 | |
| 39 | ul |
| 40 | li Captain (C) – Moves like a King. Pawns promote to a Captain. |
| 41 | li Ninja (J) = Knight + Bishop. |
| 42 | li Monk (M) – One-step bishop. |
| 43 | li Dragon (D) = Rook + Monk. |
| 44 | li. |
| 45 | Horse (H) – Moves only forward two squares, |
| 46 | and then one square to the side. |
| 47 | li Lance (L) – Moves only forward, like a unidirectional rook. |
| 48 | |
| 49 | p. |
| 50 | Clan minor pieces are considerably weak. However, with a little |
| 51 | resourcefulness, they can trap the stronger Kingdom pieces |
| 52 | and even win the battle. |
| 53 | |
| 54 | h3 Promotion |
| 55 | |
| 56 | p. |
| 57 | Pawns promote into Captains when reaching the 7th rank. |
| 58 | All minor Clan pieces also promote upon reaching the two last ranks: |
| 59 | ul |
| 60 | li Monk into Bishop. |
| 61 | li Horse into Knight. |
| 62 | li Lance into Rook. |
| 63 | |
| 64 | p |
| 65 | | Clan Rooks and Bishops look different, but the changes are purely |
| 66 | | aesthetic. Note that the symbol on the Bishop is a |
| 67 | a(href="https://handwiki.org/wiki/Sauwastika") sauwastika |
| 68 | | , not a swastika. |