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This page is written by the game's inventor, M Winther.

External Link: Venator Chess

The Venator always moves in two legs. It slides orthogonally and jumps any piece to the next square, from where it slides on any of the two diagonals in the prolonged movement direction. The square behind the jumped piece must be empty and the Venator cannot stop on this square. If the Venator lacks screens for jumping, then it cannot move. The Venator is worth the same as a knight or bishop (preliminary estimate). Despite the fact that the Venator is dependent on screens for moving it is a dynamic piece that puts great demands on the chessplayer. It is not hard to activate it from its initial position in the corner, although this demands planning. The Venator is a relative of the Korean cannon (in Korean Chess), which can only move if there exist pieces to jump over.

The Venator ("Hunter") was a gladiator type in ancient Rome that was foremostly pitted against wild animals. The Gustavian board makes it possible to introduce this piece while maintaining a maximum of strategical possibilities in a standard Western chess context. A Zillions program and more information is here.

External Link: http://www.two-paths.com/bg/venatorchess.htm


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By M Winther.
Web page created: 2006-09-27. Web page last updated: 2006-09-27