Chess and Checkers have Finally Merged!
BREAKING: CHESS AND CHECKERS NOW ONE
Disclaimer: Some, or all of the information in this blog may be completely incorrect. Do not attempt to take this seriously.
For many years, chess experts have wondered why their game is different from checkers, which started much longer ago and has had a much more rich and diverse history.
Credits: Wikipedia
In both of the above pictures, it is abundantly clear that chess is extremely similar to checkers. They even have similar color schemes! Feel free to comment which you like better, chess or checkers, in the comments.
Today, FIDE, or the International Chess Federation, announced that they would be merging with the The Checkers Charitable Federation.
The goal, said FIDE chairman Alpha Ous is to "inspire and foster the connection between chess and checkers players, young and old."
This merge is not a new idea. Chess.com blogger and grandmaster Gregory Serper even stated that we can learn a lot about checkers from chess, and FIDE believes that this will be the next step to combining the two games. Amazon has even begun selling chess and checkers sets, which you can find at their website.
As a result, the new game, dubbed "chesckers," has instituted a few new rules which will help facilitate the transition for chess and checkers players alike:
1. Checkers will be used to replace all of the white and black pawns. The Charitable Checker Foundation has announced that they will begin to manufacture these checkers so that they fit the size of the chess board.
2. The checkers will have all of the powers of the pawns, except with a few edits. They will be unable to move 2 squares forward now, but may move once to the right or left and once up. To enforce fairness, the new rules also stipulate that the checkers may move backwards as well.
3. Promotion is outlawed. Moving your pawn to the first or eighth rank will result in an automatic forfeit for you. Experts have believed for a long time that the ability to promote pawns, or now checkers, gives one side an unfair advantage.
4. The king is forbidden from taking a checker, only other pieces. We have received many recent complaints that the king is simply too powerful and is destroying all of the pawns. FIDE and the Charitable Checker Foundation agree with our assessment of the king.
5. Only checkers may take other checkers. This part of the game will proceed like in regular checkers. However, if a checker is in front of another checker, you may take it since it can move like a pawn. (Note that checkers cannot take pieces either.)
6. A game is won by checkmate. However, if only checkers and the king remain on the board, it will be declared a draw, and an arbitrary coin flip will be used to decide who gets the "better side of the draw." The player who wins will obtain 3/4 points and the player who loses will obtain 1/4 points. We believe this is a fair method for deciding winners.
Those are the most important ones. For more information, you can visit the new chess and checkers website.
Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniatchi preparing for the last "true chess world championship." (Source: Chess.com)
Not all chess players agree with these drastic changes. Popular chess streamer Gandalf has spoken out against them, calling these changes "unfair." He believes they will ruin the future of chess.
GM Etatwerd Nagpot (@This_Cruel_Moon) also has expressed his misgivings about the new format: "It is as simple as the fact that a checker promotes to king at the end of the board while a pawn promotes to queen, knight, bishop, rook, anything other than a king. That is a disrespect to our beloved beta-monarch and I will not stand for it!"
In the end, these new changes have been implemented, and it is important for the chess world to move with them. As Alpha Ous says, "chess is a microcosm of man, always shaping into something new with the times, yet constantly infuriating."
It will be exciting to watch the next world chesckers championship. Until then, stay tuned for more updates about shocking changes in the chess world.
Happy April Fools's!
Until next time,
Your favorite official blogger serenesnowflake
