Here, the pawn can capture northward
Here, the pawn can capture northward
The only difference between Sentry Chess and regular chess is that the pawn has an extra capture capability forwards (northward), provided (1) that the friendly king is directly behind it (i.e. to the south) and (2) that the pawn is positioned on the other half of the board (that is, if it has reached the 5th rank or beyond). This means that all non-trivial K + P versus K endgames are won. Such a pawn, reinforced by the king, is called Sentry. There is a similar rule in Chinese Chess (Xiangqi), where the pawn gets additional capture capabilities as soon as it has passed the middle of the board.
Note! In an alternative variant, the pawn can only acquire this forward capture capability if it has reached the seventh rank.
Unlike in regular chess, this position is won regardless who moves.
Kf6-e6# 1-0
See also Stalemate Chess, Chess-B, Revised Chess, Dynamic Chess, Valiant Chess, Improved Chess, and Reformed Chess.
☛ You can download my free Sentry Chess program here, but you must own the software Zillions of Games to be able to run it. (I recommend the download version.)
☛ Don't miss my other chess variants.
© Mats Winther (March 2017).
