Cycle Chess

Cycle

Cycle is not too different from ordinary chess, except that the identities of the pieces mutate in a systematic way. The opening setup is identical to that in ordinary chess, and the king and pawns behave exactly as you'd expect. The queen and the minor pieces behave a bit differently.

Each time a knight is moved, it turns into a bishop. Each time a bishop is moved, it turns into a rook. Each time a rook is moved, it turns into a knight. The three types of pieces cycle in a regular rotation. A piece changes its nature on the destination square of a move -- the square on which it arrives -- not during or prior to the move. There is no way to prevent this change from taking place. One consequence of the cycling is that there is no difference in the power of the minor pieces; they all have equal value.

The queen undergoes a similar cyclic change. When the queen is moved, it turns into a marshall (a piece that moves like either a rook or a knight). When the marshall is moved, it turns into a cardinal (a combination knight/bishop). When the cardinal is moved, it turns back into a queen. In essence, the two components of the queen (bishop and rook) are cycling in exactly the same way as the minor pieces. The bishop component becomes a rook, and at the same time the rook component becomes a knight. And so on.

When the king castles, the rook turns into a knight on its destination square.

The cycling of the pieces has a major effect on game-play, as this example opening shows:

1. e4        e5
2. Bb5(R)    Nf6(B)
3. Nc3(B)    Nc6(B)
 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
|r|_|b|q|k|b|_|r|8
|o|o|o|o|_|o|o|o|7
|_|_|b|_|_|b|_|_|6
|_|R|_|_|o|_|_|_|5
|_|_|_|_|P|_|_|_|4
|_|_|B|_|_|_|_|_|3
|P|P|P|P|_|P|P|P|2
|R|_|B|Q|K|_|N|R|1
 a b c d e f g h

This position doesn't look good for black, as the e5 pawn is doubly threatened. If white takes the pawn with the rook, however, the exchange is unfavorable for white:

4. Rxe5(N)  Bxe4(R)+
5. Kf1      Bc5(R)
 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
|r|_|b|q|k|_|_|r|8
|o|o|o|o|_|o|o|o|7
|_|_|_|_|_|b|_|_|6
|_|_|r|_|N|_|_|_|5
|_|_|_|_|r|_|_|_|4
|_|_|B|_|_|_|_|_|3
|P|P|P|P|_|P|P|P|2
|R|_|B|Q|_|K|N|R|1
 a b c d e f g h

White might be better advised to capture with the bishop, but that doesn't work well either:

4. Bxe5(R)+  Bxe5(R)
5. Rxe5(N)   Bxe4(R)+
6. Kf1       Rxe5(N)
 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
|r|_|b|q|k|b|_|r|8
|o|o|o|o|_|o|o|o|7
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|6
|_|_|_|_|n|_|_|_|5
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|4
|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|3
|P|P|P|P|_|P|P|P|2
|R|_|B|Q|_|K|N|R|1
 a b c d e f g h

To play Cycle on a board, you'll need three chess sets, preferably identical. You'll also need some way to indicate whether the queen is currently a queen, marshall, or cardinal. Placing the piece on a black or white checker, or on an Othello disc, will work.