RandomDog #1, FINAL: Connect the Tree with Magician's Deathmatch - Puzzles vs. VM_LeaderAbhyudaya

(Links on how to play all involved Bulldog pieces could be found in this thread by @Evert823. Links on how to play Magician Deathmatch faerie pieces can be found in this thread, located in Drom Sealis's Chess Variant Trove.)

Welcome all to the final deathmatch of RandomDog Tournament #1, played by opponents @Puzzles (formerly Pootzies, formerly Player4Speed) and @VM_LeaderAbhyudaya. 

White: Puzzles (formerly Pootzies, formerly Player4Speed)

Black: VM_LeaderAbhyudaya

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Gamestart position here is different than standard

R-(Bulldog)-N-B-Q-K-B-N-(Bulldog)-R

p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p

Bulldog position.

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Pieces utilized for this deathmatch:

1 - Tree

2 - Magician and her promoted stages: High-Priestess and Telepath (crossover from Dromina Sealis's Variant Trove)

3 - the Time Thief, which replaces the Queen

4 - a total of four secret Bulldog pieces, two by each opponent (which will be specified in the proceeding section), now revealed for the first time at GameStart

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Contestants have both reported to me their choice of two secret pieces that they would like to "spawn" in start squares, i1, j1, a8 and b8.

(After further review and consideration, I feel that it would be best to include both opponents choices in both's armies; as one opponent's choices were a bit disadvantageous when juxtaposed to the other' opponent's. So, as such, i2, j2, a7 and b7 have also been created as start squares, to accommodate two more Bulldog pieces per player.)

- Assigned start squares i1 and b8 is the Angel, as chosen by @Puzzles.

- Assigned start squares j1 and a8 is the Lumberjack, as chosen by @VM_LeaderAbhyudaya.

- Assigned start squares i2 and b7 is the Dwarf, as chosen by @Puzzles.

- Assigned start squares j2 and a7 is the Werewolf, as chosen by @VM_LeaderAbhyudaya.

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Additional Rules of this Final Deathmatch:

I - In this final match, players must eliminate opponent either by checkmate or by causing him/her to have an Abandoned Tree. This means that, as a player's Tree must always be orthogonally adjacent to one or more allied piece at all times, victory would be achieved by causing the opponent's Tree to be separated orthogonally from an opponent piece; and not be able to come in orthogonal contact again with an opponent piece by the end of the opponent's next turn. Causing one's own Tree to come back into orthogonal contact with an allied piece is called Reconnecting the Tree. 

The one exception to this, where an Abandoned Tree does not need to immediately be Reconnected by the end of the opponent's turn, is if the opponent is in check during that turn. Check must be resolved, and Reconnection is required by the end of the opponent's following turn.

The Tree has no capturing ability. It steps 1 square orthogonally per move. It can be captured, just as any other non-King piece can. Once captured, rules regarding Abandoned Tree and Reconnection are nullified for the contestant of whose Tree is no longer on the board. In this situation, checkmating said-opponent would be the remaining method of obtaining victory.

II - Players are dealt an additional optional recourse: by being allowed to switch out a Bishop for a Magician during a turn. A switch is considered one move. Once a Magician is switched in, she may not be switched back out again for a Bishop. A Magician, or one of her promoted pieces, may also come into play through Pawn Promotion. A player may have as many Magicians as there are Bishops to switch out for them; or as there are pawns to promote to them.

Added 8/13/24 - It appears I left out how the Magician promotes to the High-Priestess/Telepath. Once a pawn reaches the 6th rank (3rd rank for Black), one allied Magician, per player's discretion, is promoted (effective immediately) to either the High-Priestess or Telepath; again, per player's discretion. 

Similarly to the pawn, all three pieces’ moving power is different than their capturing.

• Magician (M) 
  
  1. Moving – Slides 1 or 2 squares diagonally
  2. Capturing – Leaps as far as 2 squares diagonally or orthogonally.
     ..

• High-Priestess (H) 
  1. Moving – Slides 1 or 2 squares orthogonally or diagonally
  2. Capturing – Leaps 1 or 2 squares diagonally, orthogonally, or like Knight (5x5 Area Attack)..

• Telepath (T) 
  1. Moving – Leaps like Knight
  2. Capturing – Leaps as far as 2 squares diagonally, orthogonally or like Knight (5x5 Area Attack)

 Special Attribute

• Home-File Transference (or simply Transference) - If a Magician, High-Priestess or Telepath occupies a border file (a- and h-files on FIDE standard 8x8 board) on the first three** ranks from her side, she may move onto the square of the same rank on the opposite border-file, assuming that the destination square isn't occupied by an ally piece. (If occupied by an enemy piece, moving onto that square captures the enemy piece.) This maneuver counts as a move.

**(On the FIDE 8x8 board: a1-3 and h1-3 for White; a6-8 and h6-8 for Black)

III - Castling is allowed, but only with the corner Rook. 

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Rules of Bulldog Correspondence apply to this match. (Exception: this match is untimed; there is no 3-days-per-move maximum. Contestants may post reminder "waiting for move" or "waiting for board" every once so often.)

Outcome of match will be reported back to @Martin0 for rating adjustments. 

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I will typically render diagrams after 1 pair of moves (1 Black move, 1 White move); though,  as many as 2 pairs of moves (black-white-black-white move) can be made without a diagram. After that, please call "Waiting for Board" or "WFB".

Diagrams will reflect a pair of moves at a time.

Diagrams will be primarily rendered from the perspective of White's view (@Puzzles), although secondary diagrams in Black's view (@VM_LeaderAbhyudaya) will also be provided.

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As soon as @Puzzles makes his/her first move, the game is commenced.

The victor of this match triumphs in RandomDog Tournament #1!

Best foot forward, both!

~~BattleChessGN18~~ (host)

Click here for VM_LeaderAbhyudaya's view as Black.

I do want to apologize that this took eons to finally start! Much of it was out of my control.

If I'm understanding this correctly, castling is only legal with the a1 rook?

Yes, that is correct. As White, it's a1 for you; and j8 for Black.

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Rules have been updated to reflect how the Magician promotes, as I seemed to have left that out.

I'll play 1.c4

People still playing Bulldog in 2024? Wow! Thanks for keeping this alive!

Haha It's never too late to come back. (@HolographWars) You should start a single match with an opponent! Perhaps you can do it with our latest newcomer, @KapitalP_Pro. (I can host, if desired.)

It warmed my heart to see more than a handful of our veterans come back and join together again.

And, for me, on the way I got the wonderful opportunity to meet two players of whom I've never seen in this club before; both of whom made it as the reigning final champions of whom this deathmatch was made.

01.c4 will be reflected in the first diagram (proceeding GameStart), pending Black's 01... move.

https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/list-of-pieces-used-for-bulldog-and-infinite-chess

(For my convenience (: )

Hey guys

I'm leaving for a trip tomorrow morning as there's 5 straight holidays in my country

So I'll respond in 4-5 days if that's ok

Haha That's totally ok. Thanks for letting us know.

I'll not count it as vacation time, since, to be fair and honest, I myself took forever to start this thread, due to my schedule.

Hi! I'm finally back

My move is Nf5

Bxf4

See that? I knew the coincidence thing was going to happen again! Guess who posted 6 minutes right before I was going to?

I knew it was going to happen.

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.

.

01. c3-4______________________________________________01... Ne7-f5

Click here for VM_LeaderAbhyudaya's view as Black.

White's 2.̶̶B̶̶̶̶x̶̶̶̶f̶̶̶̶4̶̶̶̶ Bxf6 will be reflected in the proceeding diagram pending Black's 2... move.

lol

Oh I meant to say Bxf6 btw

I was looking at that and was going to correct you, but I got distracted by the predictable coincidence that I knew was goin to happen, and then I copy and pasted your move and lunkheadedly mis-stated it as Bxf4 myself.

I talk too much. Let me correct.

Update - Corrected.

01. c3-4______________________________________01... Ne7-f5

Click here for VM_LeaderAbhyudaya's view as Black.

White's 2.Bxf6 will be reflected in the proceeding diagram pending Black's 2... move.

Umm..

Unless I'm stupid, isn't Nxe3 just checkmate