Berolina chess

Berolina chess is a chess variant using a popular fairy chess piece called the Berolina pawn (also known as Berlin pawn, Anti-pawn, or simply Berolina). The Berolina pawn was invented by Edmund Nebermann in 1926[1] and has found frequent use in chess problems.

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Berolina chess starting position. Berolina pawns are represented by inverted pawns.

Berolina chess follows the same rules as standard chess, except that all 16 pawns are replaced by equivalently-colored Berolina pawns.

Berolina pawn
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A Berolina may move two steps forward diagonally on its first move. The diagram shows white Berolina pawn move options (black dots) and capture squares ("×"). If the white f2-pawn advances to d4 in a single move, Black's e4-pawn can capture it en passant by playing to e3.

The Berolina pawn moves, without capturing, one square diagonally forward. It captures one square straight forward. (Thus, it is the converse of a standard chess pawn, which moves straight forward and captures diagonally forward.)

The Berolina has the option to move two squares diagonally forward on its first move. En passant is possible as well: a Berolina pawn may capture a horizontally adjacent enemy Berolina pawn that has just made a two-square move as if the latter had only moved one square. As with the pawn, the Berolina pawn promotes when it reaches the last rank.

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The Berolina Plus pawn
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The Sergeant can move to or capture on white dots.

Two famous pawns also used in problem compositions are the Berolina Plus and the Sergeant.

  • The Berolina Plus can move and capture the same as the Berolina pawn or capture one square horizontally (see diagram).
  • The Sergeant combines the standard chess pawn and the Berolina pawn; that is, it can move to, or capture on, any of the three squares immediately in front.

See also

References
  1. Funkschach, August 1926

Bibliography

  • Pritchard, D. B. (1994). The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Games & Puzzles Publications. pp. 21–22. ISBN 0-9524142-0-1.
  • Pritchard, D. B. (2007). Beasley, John (ed.). The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. John Beasley. pp. 58–59. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1.
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