Welcome Plamen Draganov

I am really honored to welcome in our Club such a special guest as @Plamen_Draganov, reigning world champion of Hnefatafl, game with an unpronounceable name, also known as 'Viking Chess' (or Tablut in its minor variant).

Draganov took the title in 2021 and we wish him to keep it up in the next World Championship of 2022. I think it will be in September or October, but I'm not sure about the dates.

We cannot say that Hnefatafl is truly a 'Chess variant', however, there are similarities with Chess: there is a King on the field that must be rescued, by White, or must be captured, by Black. The roles of the two players are different, so normally two games are played. The defender, i.e. the player who has to rescue the King, owns half of the men 一 compared to the attacker 一 plus the King.

All pieces move like the Rooks in Chess, while the Hnefatafl way to capture is unique and differs from both Chess and Checkers. Pieces are captured if 'sandwiched' between two enemy pieces, or between an enemy piece and a restricted square, those being the 4 corners and the central square.

Many Tafl variant exist. The way to capture the King and the winning requirements for both players can vary slightly from one variant to the others. Copenhagen Hnefatafl is some-how considered the standard (on a 11x11 board), while Tablut (on a 9x9 board) is recommended by the World Tafl Federation as the best variant for beginners... Well, I am starting from that one!

I don't know about you guys, but to me, all games smelling of ancient are really attractive!!

一Samuele, The_Bishop一

Ruler of the ChatuRangers

Here a short tutorial video, really helping for me: