Zelenskyy Chess
ZELENSKYY CHESS
(I know the official spelling is Zelenskyy, but I will use it with 1 "y" for easier readability from now on)
How many times has this ever happened to you?!
Well, look no further because I have the solution for you! I created this new variant where instead of the King, you get not 3, not 2, but 1 Zelensky ...for the price of 2.
What are you waiting for?
Zelensky Chess is a chess variant played on a standard 8 x 8 board. The piece setup is identical to standard chess, except the King is replaced by Zelensky (e1 for White and e8 for Black).
ZELENSKY PIECE RULES:
The Zelensky piece moves exactly like the King in standard chess, except for the ability to capture both opponent and friendly pieces.
However, after capturing a friendly piece, Zelensky becomes immobilized for 2 turns, unable to move. During this time, the player must rely on their other pieces to defend him.
VICTORY PLAN:
A player wins by checkmating the opponent’s Zelensky (standard chess rule) or by capturing all their own pieces for his own survival (a bit risky strategy that requires careful planning to avoid exposing Zelensky to checkmate).
RULES:
- En Passant remains the same
- Pawns promote at the 8th rank to any piece, expect another Zelensky
- Zelensky doesn't castle because he refuses to share safety with a Rook when he can take all the defense credit for himself
POSITIVE SIDE:
In standard chess White would have lost due to back rank mate blunder (M1), but Zelensky escapes the g2 pawn to save himself because even in his own variants he finds himself in trouble. The index number on the top-left corner of Zelensky's square indicates how many moves is he going to be immobilized.
NEGATIVE SIDE:
In standard chess White King would retake the Rook on h1, but that's the downside of the rule in this variant. Now White should at least target the pawns with the bishop to have a chance at managing a draw.
Zelensky Chess can be tricky. Players need to balance offence and defense while staying ready for unexpected non-standard evaluation shifts.
EXAMPLE:
In this example mate was inevetable for White. But it still shows that it is not that easy to escape when you are in a mating nate. Resting for 2 moves makes him vulnerabile and during those turns, the opponent can easily go for mate.
Also an important note: when the Black Rook checked Zelensky on d2, White tried to prevent it with Rd1 from behind. But that obviously doesn't work because, even though White's Zelensky was no longer frozen, it was stil Black's turn and Black captured White's Zelensky.
FINAL WORD:
Z is cooking
