User:Hypnotron/Joint chess

Joint chess (also known as connected chess) is a chess variant played on two or more standard chessboards placed side by side. It is not to be confused with double chess or Marseillais chess. Each player controls only one color on one board; however, if legal, players are allowed to move one of their pieces onto another board, transferring ownership of that piece to player of the same color on the destination board.

History

Joint chess was created by Emil Psanter, Ryan Zou, and Michael Loughnane at the Hershey Chess Club in 2017. Its rules continued to be tweaked and modified until December of 2017, when the final rules were set.

Rules

Joint chess follows most of the same rules as standard chess, but with additional rules involving "crossing over" onto another board.

Board setup

In joint chess, multiple standard chessboards are placed side by side, creating a single, wide board on which play occurs. Each 8 x 8 board is referred to as a "mini-board."

Piece movement

All pieces move in the same manner they do in standard chess. A move that involves placing a piece onto a square that is located on a different mini-board is still legal. Each player can only move pieces that are, at the time of play, are on their board.

Move order

In joint chess, all white players move in succession (from right to left), and afterwards, all black players move in succession (from left to right). This circular fashion of motion creates potential for tactics that involve a "lead" and "proceed" player. (See "Lead and proceed").

Strategy

Lead and proceed

The "lead" player moves their piece onto the "proceed" player's board, and on the "proceed" player's turn, the "proceed" player carries out an attack involving the piece that was just transferred to them.