- ...Only the initial position changes, but this makes a huge difference.
- In particular, castling would be rather pointless so it's disabled here.
- En-passant captures are impossible because all pawns already reached 7th rank.
-
-h3 About the initial position
-
-p.
- Since truly random start can allow a mate in 3 with a knight,
- the kings have at least one knight neighbor in the initial position.
- This allows to move free out of potential check from the very beginning.
+ There are only one rook, one bishop and one knight per side in this variant.
+ That explains the name. The king and queen are still there,
+ and the three remaining slots are taken by new pieces:
+
+ul
+ li.
+ The lancer 'L' is oriented and can only move in the direction it points,
+ by any number of squares as long as an enemy isn't met
+ (it can jump over friendly pieces). If an opponent' piece is found,
+ it can be captured. After moving you can reorient the lancer.
+ li.
+ The sentry 'S' moves like a bishop but doesn't capture directly.
+ It "pushes" enemy pieces instead, either on an empty square or on other
+ enemy pieces which are thus (self-)captured.
+ li.
+ The jailer 'J' moves like a rook but also doesn't capture.
+ It immobilizes enemy pieces which are vertically or horizontally adjacent.