Two moves on the first move?

I recently played a game OTB with someone for the first time.  He is from India, and said he hadn't played in 15 years.

He had the white pieces, and when we started the game he moved Nc3 AND b3.  I wasn't sure if he was kidding, so I looked at him, hesitated a second, then said, "You know you can only make one move at a time, right?"  He said, "Yeah.  But two on the first move, right?"  I said no, so he moved his pawn back to b2.

Has anyone ever heard of this?  Maybe a regional thing in some part of India, or a common kid's rule? There's a chess variants article in Wikipedia, but I didn't see this.

Thanks,

Rich

I have never heard of it.

You should have explained that it is Black that gets the double-move on the first move, to compensate for White moving first.

Sounds like someone did a poor job explaining opening pawn moves to him.

Tell him you only get two moves in a row if your first move puts the opponent in check.

"He had the white pieces, and when we started the game he moved Nc3 AND b3."

Tough game, was it?

Hyperaccelerated Larsen attack

Iheard about it, but it's used only among  the weakest players; those who play on a bench in a park and never use clocks. When I ocassionally encounter it as black the game goes something like this: 1. e4 and d4, 1...Nf6 and Nxe4. It probably has to do with the custom from shatranj (persian/arabian chess, IX-XV century), when the pieces were slower and it took a lot of time to develop them, to start the game from prearanged simethrical position, so called tabia.

I had someone who thought they could move a pawn forward one square and immediately capture because "the pawn can move twice from its starting position'. 

That's a lot better than what I thought at first.  I thought the guy wanted 2 moves as White but Black would still only get 1 move!  

Only time I've ever heard of it is when you invoke King's privilege, three moves to your opponent's one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57jOssjTbWw

It's good to be the king.

But b3 and Nc3 does prevent any "funny business". The Indian guy obviously knows "his" game.

I've seen it used as an "odds giving" mechanism by players and coaches.  

I'd have asked them if they thought a pawn could move like a knight, then could my knight move like a pawn?

 That's because you can move your pawn 2 squares forward first move.

Until 1475 the bishop had a very limited move that might have inspired "your rules".

The bishop only moved to the second square diagonaly, allowed  to "jump" the pieces that are eventualy in the way.

I too think someone explained the two-square pawn step to him and he kind of misunderstood it ...

Never heard of it, but two-move chess sounds familiar- that's when you move two moves every turn.

I meet a guy who said he can start a game moving a pawn for two square or two pawn for one square. I'll think he was fooling me!

(sorry for my ugly english )