How To Play Trice's Chess

Many newcomers to Trice's Chess are tempted to use this piece earlier in the game than is otherwise recommended. However, even the variant inventor Ed Trice has been found doing this on more than one occasion.

Even though the Chancellor can hop around between the Pawns, it is best to wait until some Pawns have been removed from the board before putting it out near the center.

How to best utilize a Chancellor in the Opening Pawns Knights Bishops Archbishops Archbishops Queens Kings

The opening stage of the game is where players typically strive to get their pieces into play without necessarily engaging in a full-fledged conflict.

However, the board can become a "crowded place" if both players merely deploy pieces and avoid captures at all costs. So somewhere in between is the best way to prepare the field for battle.

As a general Rule of Thumb chancellors are brought into play after archbishops and sometimes before queens.

NEVER DEPLOY THE CHANCELLOR TOO EARLY because the enemy knights and bishops can usually chase it into a bad position where it has to be traded for less than it is worth!

The animation above was between two strong players. Notice that white deployed the chancellor somewhat early, and made sure to retreat it to a very safe square. Notice also that it did not block his own bishop in the process.

EXAMINE ALL POSSIBLE RETREAT SQUARES AVAILABLE FOR YOUR CHANCELLOR before getting too excited about where you're moving it to it in the opening! (shown with the blinking empty squares.)

The Chancellor in the Middlegame Pawns Knights Bishops Archbishops Archbishops Queens Kings

The animation shown above quickly replays the game in fast forward mode to arrive at the quintessential middlegame point for a Chancellor move to be issued.

The most common first move for a chancellor is into the g-file of its own second rank. This would be Cg2 for white and Cg7 for black.

It's almost always a great idea to place your Chancellor in the same file as your opponent's king. If black castled kingside, Ce1-g2-i3 is a standard short manuever for white.

In the detailed animation shown above, this maneuver is a precursor to a sharp tactic that leads to more pins levied against the black King.

With time running short, and white dominating the position, black resigned as a show of respect to his worthy opponent.

The Chancellor in the Endgame Pawns Knights Bishops Rooks Archbishops Queens Kings

Experienced 8x8 chess players are "used to" maneuvering their Queens (they don't have Chancellors!) in front of the enemy King to inflict the most damage.

In Trice's Chess on the 10x8 board, we have seen many instances where the Chancellor is most dangerous when it gets in back of the adversary's King.

The animation shown above is from an actual game played between two skilled Trice's Chess enthusiasts. Black had more time on the clock than white, and he came to a strategic realization before his Pawn-gobbling opponent did while under time pressure.

Black determined he was in no position to win the game with white having two connected passed Pawns on the far side of the board away from his own Chancellor.

Instead of trying for the impossible, Black surmised that Alternating Anterior Checks with the Chancellor (checking from the front AND back) could force a draw.

This is a rare instance where strategic planning outweighed tactical calculation to such a degree that black allows white to capture additional Pawns even though there won't be time to do the same on the other side of the board.

Count how many times that the black Chancellor is on h6 checking the white King on j7. The 3rd occurence of this same position is an automatic Draw By Repetition.

The lesson to be learned: It is difficult, or sometimes impossible, to escape from the checking power of a Chancellor if it gets behind your King.

Beware of Stalemate Pawns Knights Bishops Rooks Archbishops Queens Kings

Just as the Archbishop had a checkmate for which there is no counterpart in 8x8 chess, so too the Chancellor has a "feature" with no similar theme on the older 8x8 chessboard.

It is possible to Stalemate a King even if it is NOT in the corner of the board.

The animation shown above demonstrates the final position where, if it is black to move, the Chancellor has given stalemate. Black has no legal moves, but he in not in check.

That is the very definition of stalemate.

The side with the Chancellor must make sure the Knight component of the piece is not exhausting the final square available for the enemy King if he is not already in check.