I'm a Messianic Jew (a Jew who believes in Jesus, see my profile for more info), so I read the Bible regularly. The idea for this variant was sparked in my mind after reading 1 Kings 22:29-35, which gives the account of the death of Ahab, a wicked king who ruled over the nation of Israel. Ahab had allied himself with King Jehoshaphat of the neighboring nation of Judah, and the two of them went together to fight against the armies of Syria. Here's the passage describing Ahab's final battle:
So [Ahab] the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes." And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, "Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel." And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "It is surely the king of Israel." So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out.
And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded." And the battle continued that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, until at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot.
Seeing that chess is a game portraying a battle, I thought it more than appropriate for this specific battle to be an inspiration for a chess variant. So I called the game "Ahab Chess" since it's inspired by his death.
For those who are interested, there is a similar account of this same event found in 2 Chronicles 18:28-34. Also, I found out after making this variant that the righteous King Josiah of Judah also died while disguised as a common soldier, fighting against the army of Egypt, as found in 2 Chronicles 35:20-24.
I'm a Messianic Jew (a Jew who believes in Jesus, see my profile for more info), so I read the Bible regularly. The idea for this variant was sparked in my mind after reading 1 Kings 22:29-35, which gives the account of the death of Ahab, a wicked king who ruled over the nation of Israel. Ahab had allied himself with King Jehoshaphat of the neighboring nation of Judah, and the two of them went together to fight against the armies of Syria. Here's the passage describing Ahab's final battle:
Seeing that chess is a game portraying a battle, I thought it more than appropriate for this specific battle to be an inspiration for a chess variant. So I called the game "Ahab Chess" since it's inspired by his death.
For those who are interested, there is a similar account of this same event found in 2 Chronicles 18:28-34. Also, I found out after making this variant that the righteous King Josiah of Judah also died while disguised as a common soldier, fighting against the army of Egypt, as found in 2 Chronicles 35:20-24.