Methods and systems for chess-like games

Abstract

Embodiments are directed to methods and systems for a chess-like game in which players begin with an undeployed set of game pieces, and a chessboard free of pieces. The chess-like game is characterized by the onboarding of pieces on the chessboard as a part of game play, allowing players to build directly to a middlegame position.

Description

METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR CHESS-LIKE GAMESTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments are generally related to the fields of games. Embodiments are further related to the game of chess and variants thereof. Embodiments are also related to the field of computer implemented games. Embodiments are also related to the field of computer implemented chess-like games.BACKGROUND

[0002] Chess is well-known, and ubiquitous game worldwide, with an unmatched historical legacy. Standard chess is a head to head competition between two players, who alternatively move standard chess pieces according to a set of rules. One of the players, referred to as the first player, makes a move, then the other player, referred to as the second player, makes a move, then the first player moves again, and so forth.

[0003] A standard chess board has sixty-four alternatively colored squares. The board includes eight horizontal rows commonly referred to as “ranks”. Each rank is identified with a corresponding consecutive number with the “1 ” rank being the bottom rank, and the “8” rank being the top rank, from the perspective of the first player. The board also includes eight vertical columns commonly referred to as “files”. Each file is identified with a corresponding consecutive letter, with the left most file being the “a” file, and the right most file being the “h” file. FIG. 1 A, labeled as “prior art” illustrates the rank and file of a conventional chessboard, again from the perspective of the first player.

[0004] In conventional chess, each player begins the game with sixteen movable game pieces including one King, one Queen, two Rooks, two Bishops, two Knights and eight Pawns. It should be appreciated that these are the names used by English language speakers, and that other names may be used for the pieces in other languages. All these are sometimes referred to as “pieces”, but typically, a piece refers to a Queen, Rook,Bishop, or Knight. The Queen and Rooks are often called major pieces and Bishops and Knights are called minor pieces. Based on centuries of experience, a Pawn is generally considered worth one point, a minor piece is considered worth three points, a Rook is worth five points, and a Queen is regarded as worth nine points. The King is essentially priceless.

[0005] Each player's pieces are initially positioned in preset squares on the chessboard, and in mirrored relation to his or her opponent's pieces, as illustrated in FIG. 1 B. The players alternate turns moving one of their pieces to a different square on the chessboard. A player can capture an opposing player’s piece by moving their piece to a space occupied by the opponent’s piece. Once a piece is captured, it is removed from the chessboard, and is no longer available for the rest of the game. The object of conventional chess is to “checkmate” the opposing player's King. Checkmate occurs when the opposing player’s King is put under threat of capture and there is no move available to eliminate the threat of capture on the following move.

[0006] In standard chess, each of the pieces has a set of limitations governing its movement. The King can move one square in any available direction (e.g. horizontally, vertically, or diagonally), with additional movement options when the player “castles”, a maneuver in which the King and a partner Rook are both moved to occupy predetermined positions under certain conditions. The Queen can move in any direction (e.g. horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) over as many unobstructed squares as are available. The Bishop can move through any number of unobstructed squares along a straight diagonal line. The Knight makes an “L” shaped move which includes a movement in one direction over two squares and then an adjacent step in a perpendicular direction of one square. The Knight is uniquely allowed to jump other game pieces occupying the spaces between its initial and final position, provided that the final position is unoccupied (or a capture is made). The Rook can move over as many unobstructed squares as are available in a straight line, either horizontally or vertically. A Pawn can only move forward one square, but on its initial move, it may move forward either one or two squares. A Pawn can capture an opposing piece by moving one square to an adjacent diagonalsquare in front of the Pawn’s current position.

[0007] In addition, standard chess includes several special movements, permitted only in limited circumstances. These include “castling,” a one-time maneuver per game for each player which involves the simultaneous movement of the King and a Rook from their original starting positions. During a castle, the King is moved two spaces along its rank in the direction of a rook and the rook is placed on the adjacent square on the other side of the King, provided that the squares between the King and Rook are empty before the maneuver, the King is not in check prior to or after castling, and in the process of castling, the King does not cross a square that is covered by an opposing piece.

[0008] Another special movement is known as an “en passant” capture. En passant is a move executed by a Pawn only, in which the Pawn captures an opposing Pawn that advanced two squares from its original square in the preceding move. The capturing Pawn can move diagonally one square into the square passed by the opposing Pawn to capture the Pawn.

[0009] Another special movement in standard chess is “promotion” of a Pawn. A Pawn that advances to its last rank is immediately replaced with a Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight (selected at the player’s discretion).

[0010] From the initial starting position, a game of conventional chess typically has three phases known as the Opening, Middle game, and End game. During the Openings phase, the players “develop” their pieces, i.e., mobilize their pieces to occupy or control key central squares and improve coordination between their own pieces, while attempting to prevent their opponents from doing the same for their pieces. The Middle game begins when most or all the pieces have been developed. During the Middle game the players strive to improve their piece positions with the eventual goal being to attack the opposing player’s King and deliver checkmate. Many conventional chess games end in the Middle game with either a forced checkmate or the player with a lost position resigning the game. If both players survive the Middle game, the game transitions to an End game, typically with much smaller remaining armies and simplified positions on the board. The End gamein conventional chess generally hinges on technique to convert any advantages secured during the Middle game into a win.

[0011] A game of chess can end with a win for one of the players or a draw. A player can win by checkmating the other player’s King. A King is said to be in check if it is attacked by an opposing piece, and when this happens, the player with the King in check must find a move that gets the King out of the check, and if that is not possible, then the King is checkmated, and the game is over. Experienced players typically do not play until they are checkmated; rather, they typically resign the game when the position becomes hopeless, e.g., from being substantially down on material with no chance to fight back, or reaching a known lost position when checkmate is inevitable. A draw can occur by the players agreeing to a draw, or by repeating moves to reach the same position three times, or by a stalemate, a position in which a player has no legal moves possible without his or her King being in check. A “50 move rule” allows a player to claim a draw if the players have made 50 moves with no captures or pawn moves, and a “75 move rule” allows a tournament arbiter to declare a game as drawn after 75 moves with no captures or pawn moves.

[0012] From the standard starting positions in conventional chess, there are some ten to the power of 28 possible ways to make just the first ten moves for each player. However, most of these are nonsensical moves, and the number of strategically valuable moves for each player is far more limited. These moves give each player the best opportunity to achieve a superior Middle game position. Over five hundred years of playing since the conventional chess rules were adopted in the fifteenth century has led to understanding the early moves that best strive for an advantage and the systematic development. From these moves have evolved about twenty principal opening systems that are known by names that are either descriptive or reflect their origin, which could be either a place or a player who first discovered it and put it to practice. Some example openings are King’s Gambit, Ruy Lopez, English Opening, Bird’s Opening, French Defense, Alekhine’s Defense, Sicilian Defense, and so on. Within these opening systems, there are numerous variations, again typically named for the players who eitherintroduced them to practice (e.g., Sicilian Najdorf, Ruy Lopez Marshall attack, etc.) or a place where it was first played (e.g., Queen’s Gambit London System). Practice has shown that playing one of the above standard openings gives a player the best odds of fighting for an opening advantage, while avoiding these openings leads to decidedly inferior positions. A strong player might get away with playing an inferior opening against a much weaker player, but usually, between two players who are somewhat evenly matched, it is a recipe for a disaster. Therefore, for playing conventional chess competitively, it is imperative for the players to select a set of opening systems that suit their own individual playing styles, possess in-depth knowledge in these systems, and be aware of the latest developments and newest sub-variations. It is also important for players to be familiar with what opening systems their opponents favor. At the top levels of competition, players try to discover their own new twists in order to surprise their opponents.

[0013] With dramatic improvements in chess software programs that have hugely surpassed humans over the past two decades, there has been a marked shift in the way competitive conventional chess is played today among both professional and amateur conventional chess players. With the aid of computer simulations, players can essentially prepare brand new variations within an opening system known to be favored by their opponents in order to gain an advantageous position. Thus, where chess matches predating such computer simulations were primarily a match of skills in real time, modern conventional chess competitions extensively rely on home preparation. Home preparation may include an exhaustive review of an opponent’s tendencies in matches they played in the past in order to identify moves intended to surprise the opponent and pose problems that the opponent has to solve in real-time with a clock ticking. In some cases, home preparation allows a player to plan various lines of play to establish an advantageous position. Indeed, preparation for many chess competitors now consists of evaluating the most common or favored opening lines of their opponent, and then using chess software to evaluate (and in some cases memorize) the opening lines determined to best establish an advantageous position.

[0014] Conventional or standard chess will always have its place and is far from being played out, but today, many of the mainstream opening variations have been analyzed to great lengths, in some cases to 25 or more moves. That is a lot of moves, considering the typical length of a completed game is about 40 moves, and finding new lines so close to the End game increasingly becomes an exercise in futility. Going this deep with best moves for both players with the assistance of software also means reaching positions that are sterile and offer few prospects for either player to try for a win, while not playing the best moves along the way as recommended by the software engines risks getting into an inferior position and losing the game.

[0015] Inevitably, the number of opening variations in conventional chess that have been played out to a dead end are slowly but steadily on the rise. Also on the rise are newly played games of conventional chess that turn out to be exact copies of games that were already played previously by some other players. The more these happen, the more the game of conventional chess becomes played out, with fewer surprises remaining. Whenever a novelty is uncorked in an opening variation and a player loses a tournament game because of it, that game becomes instantly available to all other players interested in that opening line, so they can find new antidotes to the novelty with the help of software. Eventually, entire lines of opening variations get played out until sterile positions are reached that can only lead to a draw. At this pace, conventional chess is inevitably headed towards becoming largely played out at a competitive level.

[0016] This problem is being greatly exacerbated by a massive explosion in the number of conventional chess games being played today, catalyzed by growth in the number of strong players worldwide and short time formats that encourage a lot more games to be played in much less time than in the past. The number of conventional chess games played in just one year exceeded a mind-boggling 12.5 billion in 2023 on the leading online chess site chess.com, and it is likely that more competitive conventional chess games have been played in the past 5-10 years than all the conventional chess games ever played in prior history. All competitive games also become a part of a growing knowledge base for future games.

[0017] Increasingly, there is a growing need in the art for new methods and systems for a chess-like game, as disclosed herein.BRIEF SUMMARY

[0018] The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the embodiments disclosed and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the embodiments can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.

[0019] It is one aspect of the disclosed embodiments to provide a chess-like game.

[0020] It is another aspect of the disclosed embodiments to provide a chess-like game wherein players are allowed to onboard pieces to a non-traditional initial position.

[0021] It is another aspect of the disclosed embodiments to provide a computer implemented method for a chess-like game.

[0022] In certain embodiments, a method of playing a chess-like game comprises providing a game board with alternate-colored squares, arranged in adjacent vertical files and horizontal ranks, each of the vertical files comprising alternate-colored squares, each square offset with respect to the similarly colored square of the adjacent vertical file, to form a checkerboard pattern of bilaterally alternating colored squares, the game board having eight horizontal ranks and eight vertical files, providing a plurality of playing pieces, including one set of first-colored pieces for a first player and one set of second-colored pieces for a second player, the set of first-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights, and the set of second-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights, requiring a predetermined initial condition of play, wherein the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of first-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of first-colored pieces and the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of second-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of second-colored pieces, establishing a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed onthe board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces, establishing a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied location thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces, establishing predetermined rules of movement for play wherein each of the onboarded first-colored pieces and each of the onboarded second-colored pieces has the same rules of movement, including capturing, as its corresponding pieces in standard chess, establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces, and establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces.

[0023] In an embodiment, the method further comprises establishing a piece onboarding schema, wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, fourth, and / or fifth horizontal rank of the game board, and wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a fourth, fifth, sixth, and / or seventh horizontal rank of the game board.

[0024] In an embodiment, the predetermined initial condition of play further comprises an empty board on which the King of the set of first-colored pieces is onboarded, followed by an onboarding of the King of the set of second-colored pieces, which together constitute the first move of the game by each player. In an embodiment, the specific placements of a King and a qualifying partner Rook enable castling maneuvers that are more varied and numerous than the castling allowed in standard chess.

[0025] In an embodiment, the method further comprises adopting a predeterminedorder of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can only be made by a previously onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces and a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can only be made by a previously onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces. In another embodiment, the method comprises establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of second-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move had captured an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces; and wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of first-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move, had captured an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces.

[0026] In an embodiment the plurality of playing pieces, including the undeployed set of first-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights; and the plurality of playing pieces, including the undeployed set of second-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights. In an embodiment, the method comprises establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be onboarded, and wherein a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be onboarded.

[0027] In another embodiment, a computer implemented method for playing a chesslike game comprises a computer system, the computer system further comprising: at least one processor; a user interface; and a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable medium capable of communicating with the at least one processor, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor and configured for: displaying a game board in the user interface the game board comprising alternate-colored squares, arranged in adjacent vertical files and horizontal ranks, each of the vertical files comprising alternate-colored squares, each square offset with respect to the similarly colored square of the adjacent vertical file, toform a checkerboard pattern of bilaterally alternating colored squares, the game board having eight horizontal ranks and eight vertical files, displaying a plurality of playing pieces, including one set of first-colored pieces for a first player and one set of second- colored pieces for a second player, the set of first-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights, and the set of second-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights, requiring a predetermined initial condition of play, wherein the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of first-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of first-colored pieces, and the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of second-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of second-colored pieces, requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first- colored pieces, requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied location thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces, enforcing predetermined rules of movement for play for the plurality of playing pieces wherein each of the onboarded first-colored pieces and each of the onboarded second- colored pieces have the same rules of movement and capturing as corresponding pieces in standard chess, enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces and enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces.

[0028] In another embodiment, The computer implemented method of playing a chesslike game comprises requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, fourth, and / or fifth horizontal rank of the game board, and wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a fourth, fifth, sixth, and / or seventh horizontal rank of the game board. In an embodiment, the predetermined initial condition of play further comprises an empty board on which the King of the set of first-colored pieces is onboarded, followed by an onboarding of the King of the set of second-colored pieces, which together constitute the first move of the game by each player. In an embodiment, the specific placements of a King and a qualifying partner Rook enable castling maneuvers that are more varied and numerous than the castling allowed in standard chess.

[0029] In another embodiment, the computer implemented method of playing a chesslike game comprises enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces and a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of first- colored pieces. In another embodiment, The computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game comprises enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of second-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move, had captured an onboarded piece of the set of second- colored pieces; and wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of first-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move, had captured an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces.

[0030] In another embodiment of the computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game the plurality of playing pieces, including the set of first-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishopsand four Knights; and the plurality of playing pieces, including the set of second-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights. In an embodiment, the computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game comprises enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be onboarded, and wherein a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be onboarded.

[0031] In another embodiment, a system for playing a chess-like game comprises a computer system, the computer system further comprises at least one processor; a user interface; and a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable medium capable of communicating with the at least one processor, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor and configured for: displaying a game board in the graphical user interface comprising a checkerboard pattern of bilaterally alternating colored squares, the game board having eight horizontal ranks and eight vertical files, displaying a plurality of playing pieces, including one set of first-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights and one set of second-colored pieces for a second player, and a set of second-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights, requiring a predetermined initial condition of play, wherein the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of first-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of first-colored pieces, and the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of second- colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of second-colored pieces, requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied location thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the setof second-colored pieces, and enforcing predetermined rules of movement for play for the plurality of playing pieces wherein each of the onboarded first-colored pieces and each of the onboarded second-colored pieces have the same rules of movement and capturing as corresponding pieces in standard chess.

[0032] In an embodiment, the system for playing a chess-like game is further configured for requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, fourth, and / or fifth horizontal rank of the game board, and wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a fourth, fifth, sixth, and / or seventh horizontal rank of the game board.

[0033] In an embodiment, the system for playing a chess-like game is further configured for enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces and a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of first- colored pieces.

[0034] In another embodiment of the system for playing a chess-like game, the plurality of playing pieces, including the set of first-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights, and wherein the plurality of playing pieces, including the set of second-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights, and enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be onboarded, and wherein a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be onboarded.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0035] The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views and which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, further illustrate the embodiments and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0036] FIG. 1 A depicts a prior art chess board, labeled with standard rank and file identifiers of the squares.

[0037] FIG. 1 B depicts a prior art chess board, with pieces in their initial positions for standard chess;

[0038] FIG. 2A depicts a flow chart of a method for establishing rules of play and playing a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0039] FIG. 2B depicts a flow chart of a method for playing a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0040] FIG. 3A depicts an exemplary setup for playing a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0041] FIG. 3B depicts an exemplary setup for playing a chess-like game in software, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0042] FIG. 3C depicts exemplary onboarding domains for pieces associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0043] FIG. 3D depicts exemplary onboarding domains for Pawns associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0044] FIG. 3E depicts exemplary piece onboarding associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0045] FIG. 3F depicts exemplary game play associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0046] FIG. 3G depicts exemplary game play and piece capture associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0047] FIG. 3H depicts exemplary piece onboarding and capture associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0048] FIG. 31 depicts exemplary piece onboarding limitations associated with a chesslike game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0049] FIG. 3J depicts the target post-castling position requirements, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0050] FIG. 3K depicts exemplary h-side castling for the first player associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0051] FIG. 3L depicts an exemplary a-side castling for the first player associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0052] FIG. 3M depicts an exemplary h-side castling for the second player associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0053] FIG. 3N depicts an exemplary a-side castling for the second player associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0054] FIG. 30 depicts another exemplary castling scenario associated with a chesslike game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0055] FIG. 3P depicts exemplary disallowed castling scenarios associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0056] FIG. 3Q depicts exemplary novel pawn configurations associated with a chesslike game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0057] FIG. 3R depicts exemplary novel minor piece configurations associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0058] FIG. 3S depicts exemplary temporal distortions associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0059] FIG. 3T depicts another exemplary temporal distortion scenario associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0060] FIG. 3U depicts another exemplary temporal distortion scenario associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0061] FIG. 3V depicts a check in the course of exemplary game play associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0062] FIG. 3W depicts a checkmate in the course of exemplary game play associated with a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0063] FIG. 4A depicts a block diagram of a computer system which can be implemented in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0064] FIG. 4B depicts a block diagram of another computer system which can be implemented in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0065] FIG. 5A depicts a graphical representation of a network of data-processing devices in which aspects of the present embodiments may be implemented;

[0066] FIG. 5B depicts a graphical representation of a network of data-processingdevices in which aspects of the present embodiments may be implemented;

[0067] FIG. 6 depicts a computer software system for directing the operation of the data-processing system depicted in FIG. 4, in accordance with an example embodiment;

[0068] FIG. 7A depicts exemplary system architecture associated with a system for playing a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0069] FIG. 7B depicts another exemplary system architecture associated with a system for playing a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

[0070] FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary display on a user device associated with a system for playing a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments; and

[0071] FIG. 9 depicts exemplary architecture of a game module associated with a system for playing a chess-like game, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0072] The particularities of the following descriptions are meant to be exemplary, and are provided to illustrate one or more embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.

[0073] Such exemplary embodiments are more fully described hereinafter, including reference to the accompanying drawings, which show illustrative embodiments. The systems and methods disclosed herein can be embodied in various ways and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Specifications are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the embodiments to those skilled in the art. Like reference numeral may refer to like elements throughout.

[0074] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms such as "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include plural forms as well, unless context clearly indicates otherwise. Likewise, the terms “comprise,” "comprises" and / or "comprising," as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0075] Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings suggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning. Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in another embodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matter include combinations of example embodiments in whole or in part.

[0076] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms)used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0077] It is contemplated that any embodiment discussed in this specification can be implemented with respect to any method, kit, reagent, or composition of the invention, and vice versa. Furthermore, compositions of the invention can be used to achieve methods of the invention.

[0078] It will be understood that particular embodiments described herein are shown by way of illustration and not as limitations of the invention. The principal features can be employed in various embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specific procedures described herein. Such equivalents are considered to be within the scope of this invention and are covered by the claims.

[0079] The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and / or the specification may mean “one,” but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and / or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and / or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for the device, the method being employed to determine the value, or the variation that exists among the study subjects.

[0080] As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “includes” and“include”) or “containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

[0081] The term “or combinations thereof” as used herein refers to all permutations and combinations of the listed items preceding the term. For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAG, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations that contain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, AB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan will understand that typically there is no limit on the number of items or terms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context.

[0082] All of the compositions and / or methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and / or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit, and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0083] As used herein the term “piece” may refer generally to any piece disclosed herein, including a King, Queen, Rook, Knight, Bishop, or Pawn. For clarity, a “major piece” may refer to a Queen or Rook, and a “minor piece” may refer to a Knight or Bishop.

[0084] Likewise, the disclosure provided herein may refer to sets of chess pieces as the first-colored pieces or second-colored pieces. In other cases, the first-colored pieces may be referred to as “white” pieces or “light-colored” pieces, and the second-colored pieces may be referred to as “black” pieces or “dark-colored” pieces. These labels areexemplary, and it should be understood that, generally, the requirement is only that the respective pieces for each player are different colors.

[0085] It should further be appreciated, that in some instances the location of pieces on the chess board may be identified using “algebraic” notation, where a given square on the chess board is identified by a letter indicative of a column and a number indicative of a row (as illustrated in FIG. 1 A). Such positions, and the associated notation, are included only for exemplary purposes, and are not meant to limit the scope of the disclosure.

[0086] The disclosed embodiments are directed to a new chess-like game, sharing certain rules and aspects of standard or conventional chess, while adding new rules and aspects to substantially expand the number of potential chess games, and in particular, expanding the set of initial positions and by allowing a player to more directly build a middle game position as a part of the opening of the game, and by allowing the players to create positions that are simply impossible to arrive at in standard chess.

[0087] It should be understood that reference may be made to aspects of “standard chess” or “conventional chess”. These references should be understood to refer to aspects of conventional chess including a standard chess board as illustrated in FIG. 1 A, as well as the set rules and movements of the respective pieces on the chess board. The disclosed embodiments include a selection of modifications to these rules, including but not limited to, the initial positions of the pieces on the chess board, the onboarding of pieces on the board, the number and choice of minor pieces, the recapture of pieces, and castling.

[0088] Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to methods and associated systems for a new chess-like game. In relevant part, the disclosed embodiments, are directed to a chess-like game where some or all of the pieces are not required to be placed in standard initial positions before the game starts. Instead, the game can begin without any pieces onboarded on the chessboard, or alternatively, with a limited onboarding of fewer than all the pieces. The players are then allowed to alternatively onboard their pieces on the board according to the disclosed rules of onboarding associated with the chess-likegame detailed herein. This allows the players to build unique positions which are difficult or impossible for the opposing player to anticipate, effectively increasing the number of possible games, and reducing the usefulness of computer-assisted home preparations and memorizing opening variations based on the initial positions of the pieces in a standard chess game.

[0089] FIG. 2A illustrates a method 200 for playing a chess-like game in accordance with the disclosed embodiments, the method 200, begins at step 202. It should be understood that some of the steps in the method 200 are optional. It should also be understood that the order of steps in the method 200 is meant to be exemplary. In certain embodiments, some steps involving establishing the order of play can be completed in different orders, or can be completed concurrently.

[0090] At step 204, the method 200 can optionally include providing a game board with alternate-colored squares, arranged in adjacent vertical files and horizontal ranks. Each of the vertical files includes alternate-colored squares and each square is offset with respect to the similarly colored square of the adjacent vertical file. This forms a checkerboard pattern of bilaterally alternating colored squares. The game board can have eight horizontal ranks and eight vertical files. Step 204 is optional because, in certain embodiments, a standard chess board or checkerboard may be used in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.

[0091] The method 200 further includes optionally providing a plurality of playing pieces as illustrated at step 206. The playing pieces include a set of first-colored pieces for a first player and a set of second-colored pieces for a second player. In many cases the set of first-colored pieces can be white, and the set of second-colored piece can be black, but other colors can be used in accordance with the disclosed method.

[0092] The set of first-colored pieces can comprise eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops (including up to four Bishops in certain embodiments), and at least two Knights (including up to four Knights in certain embodiments). Likewise, in certain embodiments, the set of second-colored pieces includes eight Pawns, one King,one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops (including up to four Bishops in certain embodiments), and at least two Knights (including up to four Knights in certain embodiments). This step is optional because in certain embodiments, a standard set of chess pieces (e.g., including two bishops and two knights of the first-colored pieces, and two bishops and two knights of the second-colored pieces) can be used in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.

[0093] At step 208, a predetermined initial condition of play is established as a part of the rules of the chess-like game, wherein the King, eight Pawns, Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of first-colored pieces are defined as an undeployed set of first-colored pieces. The undeployed set of first-colored pieces refers to the first player’s pieces that have not been placed on the chessboard. The disclosed chess-like game includes, as a part of the game, onboarding of the pieces by the first player. Onboarding of the pieces as used herein refers to the placement of pieces on the chess board. As such, the undeployed set of first-colored pieces will initially include all (or most) of the first-colored pieces, and will change as the first player onboards the pieces on the game board as a part of the chess-like game.

[0094] At step 210, another predetermined initial condition of play is required as a part of the rules of the chess-like game, wherein the King, eight Pawns, Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of second-colored pieces are defined as an undeployed set of second-colored pieces. The undeployed set of second- colored pieces refers to the second player’s pieces that have not been placed on the chessboard. The disclosed chess-like game includes, as a part of the game, onboarding of the pieces by the second player. Onboarding of the pieces as used herein refers to the placement of pieces on the chess board. As such, the undeployed set of second-colored pieces will initially include all (or most) of the second-colored pieces, and will change as the second player onboards the pieces on the game board. It should be appreciated that steps 208 and 210 can be completed concurrently.

[0095] Next, at step 212 a piece onboarding schema is established. The piece onboarding schema defines the manner in which the respective players may place any ofthe pieces from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces and second-colored pieces on the board at any unoccupied square (or on a square occupied by an opponent’s piece in certain embodiments). In certain embodiments, some of the undeployed pieces may be onboarded in a predetermined domain as further detailed herein. Once a piece is placed on the chessboard, the piece is no longer part of the undeployed set of pieces and becomes an onboarded piece. If the piece is one of the first-colored pieces, it will become one of the onboarded set of first-colored pieces. If the piece is one of the second colored pieces, it will become one of onboarded set of second-colored pieces.

[0096] The method 200 then proceeds, as illustrated at step 214, where rules of movement for play are established. It should be understood that this step can be completed concurrently with other steps in the method 200. Each of the onboarded first- colored pieces and each of the onboarded second-colored pieces is subject to the same rules of movement, including capturing, as its corresponding piece in standard chess.

[0097] At step 216, a predetermined order of play is established where the first player is allowed to either onboard a new piece or move one of the already onboarded pieces. Likewise, at step 218, a predetermined order of play is established where the second player is allowed to either onboard a new piece or move one of the already onboarded pieces.

[0098] At step 220 time controls can be established if the game is to be a timed game. At step 222 the first player to move can be established. The method can include game play at step 224, and the method ends at step 226. It is clear that steps 220 and 222 can also be established earlier, at any time prior to step 224.

[0099] FIG. 2B illustrates steps associated with game play illustrated at step 224 in the method 200 provided in FIG. 2A.

[0100] During game play, at step 250, during the first player’s first turn, the player onboards a piece. At step 252, during the second player’s first turn, the second player onboards a piece. In certain embodiments, the first piece to be onboarded by each playercan be their respective King. However, in other embodiments, other piece onboarding may be selected where pieces can be onboarded in other orders.

[0101] Subsequently, at step 254, the first player may move any onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play (i.e., according to the standard rules of movement for the piece in conventional chess), or onboard any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces by placing it on the board at any unoccupied square (or within the first player’s domain as further detailed herein), thereby making it an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces. In certain embodiments, the undeployed piece can also be placed on the board at a space occupied by an onboarded second-colored piece to capture that piece, as further detailed herein.

[0102] Likewise, at step 256, during the second player’s turn, any onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play (i.e., according to the standard rules of movement for the piece in conventional chess), or onboard any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces by placing it on the board at any unoccupied square (or within the second player’s domain as further detailed herein), thereby making it an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces. In certain embodiments, the undeployed piece can also be placed on the board at a space occupied by an onboarded first-colored piece to capture that piece, as further detailed herein.

[0103] The players proceed, taking turns alternatively as illustrated by step 258, either onboarding a new piece or moving an onboarded piece according to the rules of standard chess, with the addition of new methods for castling, as described herein. The steps are repeated, as illustrated at 260, until some or all the pieces have been onboarded by both players. The game proceeds at step 262 in accordance with the standard rules of chess, and established time controls if time controls were established.

[0104] At step 264, the game proceeds accordingly to its conclusion.

[0105] Additional rules and variants on piece placement during onboarding can beestablished in other embodiments. For example, in certain embodiments of the method 200, the piece onboarding schema can further limit the location in which Pawns or additional pieces, may be onboarded. In such embodiments, the Pawns in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, fourth and / or fifth horizontal rank of the game board, and the Pawns in the undeployed set of second- colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a seventh, sixth, fifth and / or fourth horizontal rank of the game board. In other embodiments, the Pawns in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, and / or fourth horizontal rank of the game board, and the Pawns in the undeployed set of second- colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of the seventh, sixth and / or fifth horizontal rank of the game board.

[0106] In certain embodiments, the predetermined initial condition of play further comprises initial pre-onboarding of the King of the set of first-colored pieces, and initial pre-onboarding of the King of the set of second-colored pieces, before regular game play begins at step 224. In certain embodiments, the King of the set of first-colored pieces can be onboarded anywhere on the chessboard, and the King of the set of second-colored pieces can be onboarded anywhere on the chessboard. In another embodiment, the King of the set of first-colored pieces is initially onboarded on the first horizontal rank, and the King of the set of second-colored pieces is initially onboarded on the eighth horizontal rank. In another embodiment, the King of the set of first-colored pieces is pre-onboarded on the first horizontal rank and the fifth vertical file, and the King of the set of second- colored pieces is pre-onboarded on the eighth horizontal rank and fifth vertical file.

[0107] In another embodiment, the method 200 of playing the chess-like game further comprises a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of second- colored pieces, and a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces.

[0108] In an another embodiment, capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first- colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of second-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move, had captured an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces, and wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of first-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move, had captured an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces.

[0109] In certain embodiments, other variants of the method 200 include the onboarding of more than two Bishops from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces, and can include the onboarding of more than two Bishops from the undeployed set of second- colored pieces. Likewise, the method 200, can include the onboarding of more than two Knights from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces, and can include the onboarding of more than two Knights from the undeployed set of second-colored pieces.

[0110] For example, in an embodiment, the set of undeployed first-colored pieces can comprise eight minor pieces, or four Bishops and four Knights, and the set of undeployed second-colored pieces can comprise eight minor pieces, or four Bishops and four Knights. In such an embodiment, a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be onboarded. Thus, the first player can onboard: four Bishops and no Knights, three Bishops and one Knight, two Bishops and two Knights, one Bishop and three Knights, or no Bishops and four Knights. Likewise, a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be onboarded. Thus, the second player can onboard: four Bishops and no Knights, three Bishops and one Knight, two Bishops and two Knights, one Bishop and three Knights, or no Bishops and four Knights.

[0111] FIG. 3A-3V provides a series of diagrams illustrating exemplary aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein. These diagrams illustrate exemplary applications of the method 200. It should be appreciated that these illustrations are meant to be exemplary and do not illustrate every possible move available, or more broadly every set of moves defining a completed game of the disclosed chess-like game. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosed chess-like game, and associated rules, give rise to many hundreds of billions of possible moves and outcomes, all of which are too voluminous toillustrate independently.

[0112] FIG. 3A illustrates a chessboard 320, with an associated set of 8 horizontal ranks 322 (conventionally labeled with numbers 1 -8 as illustrated in FIG. 1A), and 8 vertical files 324 (conventionally labeled with letters a-h as illustrated in FIG. 1 A).

[0113] The embodiments include a collection of undeployed first-colored pieces 308, which may be referred to as the “box,” of first-colored pieces, and a collection of undeployed second-colored pieces 318, which may be referred to as the “box” of second- colored pieces. The first-colored pieces include a King 301 , a Queen 302, two Rooks 303, up to four Bishops 304, up to four Knights 305, and eight Pawns 306. Likewise, the second-colored pieces include a King 31 1 , a Queen 312, two Rooks 313, up to four Bishops 314, up to four Knights 315, and eight Pawns 316.

[0114] All the pieces are bound by the rules of movement in standard chess once they are onboarded, with the exception of additional novel ways for castling as introduced herein. A key aspect of the disclosed chess-like game is that the players start with an empty (or nearly empty, i.e. only the respective kings pre-onboarded) chessboard 320 as illustrated in FIG. 3A.

[0115] FIG. 3B illustrates in an exemplary embodiment, wherein a software program running the chess-like game on a computer can present a Box 308 of first-colored pieces that includes a sub-field 309 showing just one Bishop 304, one Knight 305 and a numerical counter that shows how many minor pieces remain available to the first player, and a Box 318 of second-colored pieces that includes a sub-field 319 showing just one Bishop 314, one Knight 315 and a numerical counter that shows how many minor pieces remain available to the second player. Aspects of the computer related embodiments are further detailed herein.

[0116] FIG. 3C illustrates aspects of the disclosed embodiments. In certain embodiments, the first five ranks (rows 1 :5) are defined as the first-colored pieces’ domain 336, and the last five ranks (rows 4:8) are defined as the second-colored pieces’ domain 338. Ranks 4 and 5 are overlapping and are common to both sets of pieces. In suchembodiments, pieces can only be onboarded in their respective domain. In other words, pieces from the box 308 may only be onboarded into the domain 336, and pieces from the box 318 may only be onboarded into the domain 338.

[0117] FIG. 3D illustrates aspects of the disclosed embodiments. In certain embodiments, ranks (rows) 2:4 are defined as the first-colored Pawns’ domain 337, and ranks (rows) 5:8 are defined as the second-colored Pawns’ domain 339. In one embodiment, first-colored Pawns 306 can only be onboarded in domain 337, and second- colored pawns 316 can only be onboarded in domain 339.

[0118] In an embodiment, the players start the game by first onboarding their Kings 311 and 301 respectively. In another embodiment, the players may start the game by onboarding other pieces, but no onboarded piece may be moved until the Kings 31 1 and 301 are onboarded. In another embodiment, where the King 311 and the King 301 are onboarded first, they may be onboarded in a specific predesignated space (as detailed herein). In other embodiments, the respective Kings can be onboarded on any space selected by the player, or in a certain domain, such as domain 336 / domain 338. In another embodiment, the game starts with the King 301 and King 311 pre-onboarded on the board, with the King 301 on the square on first rank at the fifth column and King 31 1 on the square on the eighth rank and the fifth column, which are the natural starting positions for kings in standard chess.

[0119] According to aspects of the embodiments, one of the players is selected to play first (generally the player controlling the first-colored pieces), and the players take turns to onboard their pieces, one piece at a time, to an empty square (in some cases within their respective domain 336 or domain 338) to directly build a game position.

[0120] FIG. 3E illustrates an exemplary series of piece onboardings, including the onboarding of pieces from the box 308, and the box 318 onto the chessboard 320. In this example, a first colored Queen 302 is onboarded to the c2 position as shown by arrow 348. Next, a second-colored Rook 313 is onboarded to the e7 position as illustrated by arrow 350. By onboarding the pieces in this manner, each player is able to build directlyto a middlegame position, rather than beginning the game with all their pieces already set on the board, parked in a fixed starting position.

[0121] FIG. 3F illustrates further aspects of the chess-like game. During their respective turn, a player may either move one of their onboarded pieces already on the chessboard, including capturing an enemy piece (i.e. a piece of the opposing color), according to the standard rules of chess, or to onboard a new piece from the box. In one embodiment, onboarding of all of a player’s pieces from their respective box is not required - the player may elect to move already onboarded pieces even if all the pieces from their respective box have not been onboarded. In another embodiment, each player can be required to onboard some or all the pieces from their box before any of the onboarded pieces can be moved.

[0122] In FIG. 3F, numerous first-colored pieces and second-colored pieces have been onboarded, and some of both sets of onboarded pieces have been captured (and are therefore no longer on the board 320). In addition, the first colored-box 308 includes a selection of undeployed pieces, and the second-colored box 318 includes a selection of undeployed pieces.

[0123] In certain embodiments, a capture can only be made by a piece that has already been onboarded on the chessboard. In FIG. 3G the Queen of the first color 302 is shown capturing the Rook of the second color 313 as illustrated by arrow 340. In this embodiment, onboarding a piece from the Box to a square occupied by an enemy piece may not be used as a method of capturing.

[0124] In an alternative embodiment, as previously described, a capture of an onboarded piece can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece from its box if the captured piece, on the immediately preceding move had captured an onboarded piece. For example, in FIG. 3G, the Queen 302 previously captured the Rook 313.

[0125] In FIG. 3H, the second-colored Knight 315 can, on the next move be onboarded to the space occupied by the first-colored Queen 302 as illustrated by arrow 342, andcapture the Queen 302.

[0126] In certain embodiments, the player of the first color must onboard their last Pawn 306 from the box 308 before onboarding their last piece, which could be the Queen 302, a Rook 303, a Bishop 304, or a Knight 305. Likewise, the player of the second color must onboard their last Pawn 316 from the box 318 before onboarding their last piece, which could be the Queen 31 , a Rook 313, a Bishop 314, or a Knight 315.

[0127] FIG. 3I illustrates an example of this Pawn onboarding scheme. In this example, both players have onboarded almost all of their allowed pieces. The player of the first- color has two remaining pieces left to onboard, a Rook 303 and a Pawn 306. Before onboarding the Pawn 306, the player of the first-color must onboard the Pawn 306. Similarly, the player of the second-color also has two remaining pieces to onboard, a Pawn316 and a minor piece, either a Knight 315 or a Bishop 314 (but not both). Before onboarding this final minor piece, the player of the second-color must onboard the final Pawn 316.

[0128] This rule is intended to discourage players from playing the chess-like game with one or more fewer Pawns most of the way, and then creating an unstoppable passed Pawn late in the game. If a player chooses to do so, the player risks playing much of the game with at least one fewer piece, and potentially not being able to onboard the undeployed piece(s) in time to defend a threat.

[0129] In the disclosed embodiments, for the pieces that have been onboarded, some or all standard chess piece movements are preserved, including Pawn promotion, en passant captures, and castling. As in standard chess, castling is not allowed if the King is in check, if the spaces between the King and the castling Rook are occupied, or if the King either passes through or ends on a square that is covered by an enemy piece that would result in a check.

[0130] In the disclosed embodiments, castling is allowed as long as the subject King and the partner Rook were both onboarded on the back rank (i.e. , row 1 for the first playerand row 8 for the second player), and were not moved since their onboarding. In certain embodiments, each player may castle h-side or towards the h-square, or castle a-side or towards the a-square, provided that the partner Rook with which castling is achieved is in the direction of the castle. Both the King and the Rook may move in the same direction, but following the castling, the King and the partner rook must switch sides. Meaning, if the castling Rook was to the left of the King prior to castling, then post-castling, that Rook should be to the right of the King, and likewise, if the castling Rook was to the right of the King prior to castling, then post-castling, that Rook should be to the left of the King. If this switching of sides is not possible, then castling is not allowed.

[0131] In the disclosed embodiments, post-castling, the King, and the Rook must reach their normal castled positions as in standard chess that correspond to castling King-side or Queen-side respectively, as illustrated in FIG. 3J. This means an h-side castle for the first player that ends in position 398 in which King 301 is on g1 and Rook 303 is on f1 ; an a-side castle for the first player that ends in position 346 in which King 301 is on c1 and Rook 303 is on d1 ; an h-side castle for the second player that ends in position 394 in which King 311 is on g8 and Rook 313 is on f 8 ; and an a-side castle for the second player that ends in position 354 in which King 31 1 is on c8 and Rook 313 is on d8. If this end position is not reachable, then castling is not allowed.

[0132] In the disclosed embodiments, the castling maneuver may involve the movement of both the King and the partner Rook, or just the King if the partner Rook is already on its post-castling target square, or just the Rook if the King is already on its post-castling target square. When a King movement is involved, the castling maneuver must always begin with a move of the King, and not the Rook.

[0133] FIG. 3K illustrates an example of an h-side castle for the player with the first colored pieces in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. In this example, the King 301 could have been onboarded on any of the squares shown by the dotted line 397, and the partner Rook would have to be to the right of the King, or towards the h-square. That means the Rook would have had to have been onboarded on any of the squares shown by the dotted line 341 . This allows an h-side castle, resulting in position 398, a movedocumented as 0-0.

[0134] FIG. 3L illustrates an example of an a-side castle for the player with the first colored pieces in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. In this example, the King 301 could have been onboarded on any of the squares shown by the dotted line 344, and the partner Rook would have to be to the left of the King, or towards the a-square. That means the Rook would have had to have been onboarded on any of the squares shown by the dotted line 345. This allows an h-side castle resulting in position 346, a move documented as O-O-O.

[0135] FIG. 3M illustrates an example of h-side castle for the player with the second colored pieces in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. In this example, the King 311 could have been onboarded on any of the squares shown by the dotted line 395, and the partner Rook would have to be to the side of the King towards the h-square. That means the Rook would have had to have been onboarded on any of the squares shown by the dotted line 349. This allows an h-side castle resulting in position 394, a move documented as 0-0.

[0136] FIG. 3N illustrates an example of a-side castle for the player with the second colored pieces in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. In this example, the King 311 could have been onboarded on any of the squares shown by the dotted line 352 and the partner Rook would have to be to the side of the King towards the a-square. That means the Rook would have had to have been onboarded on any of the squares shown by the dotted line 353. This allows an h-side castle resulting in position 354, a move documented as 0-0-0.

[0137] In the disclosed embodiments, if both Rooks are onboarded to the same side as a King, castling towards that side is still permitted between the King and the nearest Rook, provided that the post-castled position can be achieved. For example, FIG. 30 provides an exemplary illustration of an h-side castle for the player with the first colored pieces. The King could be on any of the squares highlighted by line 356 and castle with the Rook 303 on g1 as shown in position (a), and this allows an h-side castling with theend position as shown in position (b). Similarly, position (c) shows a starting position in which the King 301 and Rook 303 could be anywhere on the line 357 as long as the Rook is closer to the a-square than the King, or in this case, to the left of the King. Position (d) shows the end position following the castling. The same principles apply for the player with the second-colored pieces as well.

[0138] FIG. 3P illustrates a few exemplary positions in which castling is not permissible in accordance with the embodiments disclosed. In position (a), an a-side castle is not possible since there are no Rooks to that side, and an h-side castle with the Rook 303 closer to the King is not possible, since the g1 , the target square for the King 301 is occupied. In position (b), there is a similar problem. There is no h-side castle possible since there is no Rook on that side, and there is no a-side castle possible between the King 301 and the Rook on e1 since the target square c1 for the King is occupied. Positions (c) and (d) show similar positions for the player with the second color from which castling is not possible.

[0139] In certain embodiments, en passant is allowed, as in standard chess. If a Pawn moves two squares from the Pawn’s “natural position”, (i.e., on the 2nd rank for the first- colored pieces or the 7th rank for second-colored pieces, to a square adjacent to a square occupied by an enemy Pawn, the Pawn may be captured by an opposing Pawn occupying the vacant space directly behind the Pawn. Onboarding a Pawn next to an enemy Pawn will not enable a capture by en passant.

[0140] The notion of onboarding a Pawn to any square within the permissible domain enables entirely new pawn structures that are impossible to achieve in standard chess. FIG. 3Q illustrates two such examples. The cluster 360 of Pawns of the second color or the cluster 362 of Pawns of the first color simply cannot occur in the course of playing a standard chess game. There are dozens of such new Pawn formations possible, each leading to entirely new games that have never been seen before in standard chess, and can never be played in standard chess. This again has a multiplicative effect on the number of possible games by orders of magnitude, compared to standard chess.

[0141] FIG. 3R illustrates a position 366 showing three Knights and one Bishop for the first player and position 364 showing four Knights for the second player. The ability to onboard different combinations of minor pieces by each player again has a multiplicative effect on the number of possible games by orders of magnitude, compared to standard chess.

[0142] FIG. 3S illustrates how the onboarding methodology in the disclosed chess-like game alters the temporal equation as compared to standard chess. At the top is shown the onboarding 370 of a Knight 305 by moving it from the Box 308 on to square e3. In standard chess, the game starts with two Knights for the first player on their original squares of b1 and g1 . In order for the player to bring a Knight to the e3 square, it takes three moves or tempi, as it is called in standard chess, from b1 , and four tempi from g1 , via several alternative paths, two of which are shown by 372 and 374. Onboarding the Knight directly on e3 from the Box takes only one tempi. This is a complex temporal dynamic that is hard if not impossible to quantify, and moves like this lead to entirely new games that are impossible to arrive in standard chess.

[0143] FIG. 3T illustrates another such temporal distortion in the chess-like game. Step (a) shows a position 380 in which Pawn 316, Knight 315 and Bishop 304 have been onboarded, with the first player to move. By definition, a Bishop can only move on squares of one color, and in this illustration, this Bishop is a dark squared Bishop. Step (b) shows a capture of the Knight 315 by the Bishop 304. Step (c) shows the Pawn 316 recapturing the Bishop 304. Step (d) shows a new onboarding of a dark-squared Bishop 304 from the Box. Physically, this is not the same Bishop as was previously captured and is now out of the game, but functionally, it is a reincarnation of the same Bishop. Such a paradigm is unique to the current embodiments. This again leads to many new possible positions and games that are not reachable in standard chess.

[0144] As a final illustration of complex temporal distortions in the chess-like game, FIG. 3U shows a similar position 380 as in FIG. 3T, and a capture of the Knight 315 by the Bishop 304. In this case, the recapture of the Bishop by the second player is made via a new onboarding of a Knight 315 from the Box 318 as shown in step (c). Now, if thefirst player onboards another dark-squared Bishop 304 from the Box 308, then as step (d) shows, we have reached an identical position 380 as in step (a). There is no such equivalent in standard chess whereby the exact same position can be reached after two pieces have been traded.

[0145] In the disclosed embodiments, standard rules associated with a King coming under check are applied. In addition, if after onboarding a piece, the enemy King comes under check, the player controlling the King under check must take steps on their immediately following move to get the King out of check. A piece may be onboarded from the set of undeployed pieces to relieve the check, an onboarded piece may be moved to relieve the check, the King can be moved to relieve the check, or the checking enemy piece can be captured to relieve the check. If none of these works, then it’s a checkmate.

[0146] If no move or piece onboarding can relieve the check, it is checkmate at which point the game ends. FIG. 3V illustrates an exemplary circumstance. The player with the second color has just onboarded the Bishop 314 on square h7 which places the first colored King 301 on square b1 in check as illustrated by line 358. On the very next move, the player with the first color must respond to the check and take steps to relieve the King of check. Numerous possibilities exist. For example, the first colored King 301 can be moved away to a square that is no longer under check, for example, square a2, as illustrated by line 399. Alternatively, an already onboarded piece, such as Bishop 304 can be moved on square b3 to block the check, as illustrated by line 392. Likewise, a piece from the box 308 can be onboarded to a square from which it can block the check, such as pawn 306 onboarded as illustrated by line 391 . Another option is to capture the piece issuing the check with a piece already onboarded on the board, such as with Rook 303 on square hi as illustrated by line 356.

[0147] FIG. 3W illustrates a circumstance where none of the options for relieving the check is possible, resulting in checkmate. In this variation of the position shown in FIG. 3V, when the player with the second-colored pieces moves the Bishop 314 already onboarded on the board at h5 to g6, as illustrated by arrow 389, or onboards the queen 312 from the Box 318 to any of the squares d3, e4, f5, g6 or h7 along the diagonal 387that issues a check to the King 301 on b1 , as shown by arrow 388, the player with the first-colored pieces has no method of relieving the check on King 301 on b1 which therefore leads to a checkmate. The player with the second-colored pieces wins the game.

[0148] In further embodiments, a system for providing a computer implemented chesslike game is disclosed. The system can be configured to implement the chess-like game as illustrated in FIGs. 2-3 and described in the associated description above.

[0149] FIGS. 4A-6 are provided as exemplary diagrams of data-processing environments in which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. It should be appreciated that FIGS. 4A-6 are only exemplary and are not intended to assert or imply any limitation with regard to the environments in which aspects or embodiments of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments.

[0150] A block diagram of a computer system 400 that executes programming for implementing parts of the methods and systems disclosed herein is shown in FIG. 4. A computing device in the form of a computer 410 configured to interface with sensors, peripheral devices, and other elements disclosed herein may include one or more processing units 402, memory 404, removable storage 412, and non-removable storage 414. Memory 404 may include volatile memory 406 and non-volatile memory 408. Computer 410 may include or have access to a computing environment that includes a variety of transitory and non-transitory computer-readable media such as volatile memory 406 and non-volatile memory 408, removable storage 412 and non-removable storage 414. Computer storage includes, for example, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) and electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technologies, compact disc read-only memory (CD ROM), Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of storing computer-readable instructions as well as data including image data.

[0151] Computer 410 may include or have access to a computing environment that includes input 416, output 418, and a communication connection 420. The computer may operate in a networked environment using a communication connection 420 to connect to one or more remote computers, remote sensors, detection devices, hand-held devices, multi-function devices (MFDs), mobile devices, tablet devices, mobile phones, Smartphones, or other such devices. The remote computer may also include a personal computer (PC), server, router, network PC, RFID enabled device, a peer device or other common network node, or the like. The communication connection may include a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), Bluetooth connection, or other networks. This functionality is described more fully in the description associated with FIG. 5 below.

[0152] Output 418 is most commonly provided as a computer monitor, but may include any output device. Output 418 and / or input 416 may include a data collection apparatus associated with computer system 400. In addition, input 416, which commonly includes a computer keyboard and / or pointing device such as a computer mouse, computer track pad, or the like, or voice input, allows a user to select and instruct computer system 400. A user interface can be provided using output 418 and input 416. Output 418 may function as a display for displaying data and information for a user, and for interactively displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) 430, or voice output.

[0153] Note that the term “GUI” generally refers to a type of environment that represents programs, files, options, and so forth by means of graphically displayed icons, menus, and dialog boxes on a computer monitor screen. A user can interact with the GUI to select and activate such options by directly touching the screen and / or pointing and clicking with a user input device 416 such as, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse and / or with a keyboard. A particular item can function in the same manner to the user in all applications because the GUI provides standard software routines (e.g., module 425) to handle these elements and report the user’s actions. The GUI can furtherbe used to display the status of the chess-like game as further detailed herein.

[0154] Computer-readable instructions, for example, program module or node 425, which can be representative of other modules or nodes described herein, are stored on a computer-readable medium and are executable by the processing unit 402 of computer 410. Program module or node 425 may include a computer application. A hard drive, CD- ROM, RAM, Flash Memory, and a USB drive are just some examples of articles including a computer-readable medium. A program could also be implemented in hardware as an application-specific processor chip or module within a SoC (System on a Chip).

[0155] FIG. 4B illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a data-processing environment in which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. Functionally equivalent elements in FIGs. 4A and 4B are referenced with matching reference numerals.

[0156] As illustrated in FIG. 4B a computer system 400 can comprise a smart phone or tablet device. In this embodiment, the computer system 400 can include a processing unit 402, in operable communication with volatile memory 406 and non-volatile memory 408. Software applications or programs 425 can be operated with the computer system 400. The computer system can include removable storage 412 and / or non-removable storage 414.

[0157] The computer system 400 can include a wireless connection 420, which is configured to connect to a wireless network and / or cellular data network, or peer-to-peer with another computer system via Bluetooth.

[0158] The system can include a graphical user interface 430 which can include an output display as well as a touch-sensitive input 416, operably with user gestures as illustrated by finger 435.

[0159] FIG. 5A depicts a graphical representation of a network of data-processing systems 500 in which aspects of the present invention may be implemented. Networkdata-processing system 500 is a network of computers or other such devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, tablet computers, and the like in which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. Note that the system 500 can be implemented in the context of a software module such as program module 425. The system 500 includes a network 502 in communication with one or more clients 510, 512, 514, and 516, and external device 504. The external device 504 can comprise sensors / actuators, such as a digital chess set. The digital chess set 504 can include physical pieces capable of robotic I machine-controlled movements.

[0160] Network 502 may also be in communication with one or more external devices 504, servers 506, and storage 508. Network 502 is a medium that can be used to provide communications links between various devices and computers connected together within a networked data processing system such as computer system 400. Network 502 may include connections such as wired communication links, wireless communication links of various types, fiber optic cables, etc. Network 502 can communicate with one or more servers 506, one or more external devices, and a memory storage unit such as, for example, memory or database 508. It should be understood that the external device may be embodied as a computer, mobile device, cell phone, tablet device, monitoring device, detector device, sensor, microcontroller, controller, receiver, transceiver, or other such device.

[0161] In the depicted example, server 506, and clients 510, 512, 514, and 516 connect to network 502 along with storage unit 508. Clients 510, 512, 514, and 516 may be, for example, personal computers or network computers, handheld devices, mobile devices, tablet devices, smartphones, personal digital assistants, microcontrollers, recording devices, MFDs, etc. Computer system 400 depicted in FIG. 4 can be, for example, a client such as client 510 and / or 512.

[0162] Computer system 400 can also be implemented as a server such as server 506, depending upon design considerations. In the depicted example, server 506 provides data such as boot files, operating system images, applications, and application updatesto clients 510, 512, 514, and / or 516. Clients 510, 512, 514, and 516, external device 504, are clients to server 506 in this example. Network data-processing system 500 may include additional servers, clients, and other devices not shown. Specifically, clients may connect to any member of a network of servers, which provide equivalent content.

[0163] In the depicted example, network data-processing system 500 is the Internet with network 502 representing a worldwide collection of networks and gateways that use the Transmission Control Protocol / lnternet Protocol (TCP / IP) suite of protocols to communicate with one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone of high-speed data communication lines between major nodes or host computers consisting of thousands of commercial, government, educational, and other computer systems that route data and messages. Of course, network data-processing system 500 may also be implemented as a number of different types of networks such as, for example, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN). FIGS. 4 and 5 are intended as examples and not as architectural limitations for different embodiments of the present invention.

[0164] FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary implementation of a network 502 in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. In this example, the network 502 allows data communication between a first client device 510, and a second client device 51 1 . In such an embodiment, the first client device 510 and second client device 511 are used for playing a chess-like game between a player using the first client device 510 and a second player using the second client device 511 .

[0165] FIG. 6 illustrates a software system 600, which may be employed for directing the operation of the data-processing systems such as computer system 400 depicted in FIG. 4. Software application 605, may be stored in memory 404, on removable storage 412, or on non-removable storage 414 shown in FIG. 4, and generally includes and / or is associated with a kernel or operating system 610 and a shell or interface 615. One or more application programs, such as module(s) or node(s) 425, may be "loaded" (i.e., transferred from removable storage 412 into the memory 404) for execution by the data-processing system 400. The data-processing system 400 can receive user commands and data through user interface 615, which can include input 416 and output 418, accessible by a user 620. These inputs may then be acted upon by the computer system 400 in accordance with instructions from operating system 610 and / or software application 605 and any software module(s) 425 thereof.

[0166] Generally, program modules (e.g., module 425) can include, but are not limited to, routines, subroutines, software applications, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types and instructions. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that elements of the disclosed methods and systems may be practiced with other computer system configurations such as, for example, hand-held devices, mobile phones, smart phones, tablet devices, multi-processor systems, game platforms, multi-function devices, data networks, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, networked personal computers, minicomputers, mainframe computers, servers, medical equipment, medical devices, and the like.

[0167] Note that the term “module” or “node” as utilized herein may refer to a collection of routines and data structures that perform a particular task or implements a particular abstract data type. Modules may be composed of two parts: an interface, which lists the constants, data types, variables, and routines that can be accessed by other modules or routines; and an implementation, which is typically private (accessible only to that module), and which includes source code that actually implements the routines in the module. The term module may also simply refer to an application such as a computer program designed to assist in the performance of a specific task, or a hardware component designed to equivalently assist in the performance of a task.

[0168] The interface 615 (e.g., a graphical user interface 430) can serve to display a chess-like game progress, a chess-like game status, or other results, whereupon a user 620 may supply additional inputs or terminate a particular session. In some embodiments, operating system 610 and GUI 430 can be implemented in the context of a “windows”system. It can be appreciated, of course, that other types of systems are possible. For example, rather than a traditional “windows” system, other operation systems such as, for example, a real time operating system (RTOS) more commonly employed in wireless systems may also be employed with respect to operating system 610 and interface 615. The software application 605 can include, for example, module(s) 425, which can include instructions for carrying out steps or logical operations such as those shown and described herein.

[0169] The following description is presented with respect to embodiments of the present invention, which can be embodied in the context of, or require the use of, a data- processing system such as computer system 400, in conjunction with program module 425, and data-processing system 500 and network 502 depicted in FIGS. 4-3. The present invention, however, is not limited to any particular application or any particular environment. Instead, those skilled in the art will find that the systems and methods of the present invention may be advantageously applied to a variety of system and application software. Moreover, the present invention may be embodied on a variety of different platforms including Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, LINUX, Android, Arduino, and the like. Therefore, the descriptions of the exemplary embodiments, which follow, are for purposes of illustration and not considered a limitation.

[0170] The computer supported methods disclosed herein are for the provision of a chess-like game played either simply between two players, a group of players, or even an entire tournament or match. This can be realized with a choice of selectable menus provided via a user interface 430, typically in software 425. Once the specific set of included or excluded functions is decided, the chess-like game can be played according to the selected rule set until the rule set is changed, and the software in the device will enforce the selected rules by allowing only permissible moves, and disallowing moves not permitted or providing a warning or message when the rules are violated.

[0171] The chess-like game disclosed herein can also be played by a software engine to serve as an opponent to human players, or to play with other software engines for machine-to-machine playing and game simulations.

[0172] It should be appreciated that a computer can comprise a variety of electronic devices, including and not limited to a desktop computer, notebook I laptop computer, smartphone, digital watch, or a digital chess set with electronic board and pieces, including robotic chess pieces capable of mobility on the board. Likewise, software, as disclosed herein, can comprise purpose written software configured to run on processors, firmware developed to run on custom processors, and application-specific processors or electronic subsystems that implement the rules in hardware. Software can also run on a local device a player is using to play the game or on a server on a network or in the cloud, with the local device only displaying the moves. Software can also be implemented in hardware as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field- Programmable Gate Array), or a neural network of multiple processors.

[0173] FIG. 7A illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system 700 for playing a chess-like game in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. The system 700 generally comprises a user device 705 that provides a user portal 710 and a server 725 providing a game module 730.

[0174] The user portal 710 can serve as the interface through which the player (or user) interacts with the system 700. As illustrated in FIG. 7A, the user device 705 can be any device that can accept input and provide output as the chess-like game progresses. In certain embodiments, the user device 705 can comprise a mobile device, or smart phone, a tablet device, a computer, a smart watch, or other such device.

[0175] The user device 705 can be equipped with a user portal 710. In certain cases, the user portal 710 can comprise a standalone software module (e.g. an app). In other embodiments, the user portal 710 can be a web portal. The user portal 710 serves as the interface through which the user interacts with chess-like game system 700. The interface can comprise a specially designed graphical user interface that allows the user to view the location of pieces on a chessboard, and to move or onboard pieces on the board according to the methods disclosed in FIGs. 2-3. In other embodiments, other user interfaces are possible (e.g. voice interfaces, digital interfaces, physical interfaces, etc.).

[0176] The chess-like game is generally played between two players. In certain embodiments, both players can interact with the game module 730 (which administers the game) via a single user device (e.g. user device 705). In other embodiments, one of the players can interact with the game module 730 via a separate user device. An exemplary second user device 706 is illustrated. This second user device 706 can operate a game portal 710.

[0177] The user device 705, and optionally user device 706, can interact with other aspects of the system 700 through a wired or wireless connection via the world wide web. In certain embodiments, this can be achieved using a cloud computing architecture 750. In certain embodiments, a server 725 can provide data 735 storage and can provide the chess-like game module 730, aspects of which are further detailed herein. It should be appreciated that, in certain embodiments, the game module 730 can also be loaded locally, for example, on a user device 705.

[0178] The system 700 can further include an admin device 740. The admin device 740 can comprise a mobile device, or smart phone, a tablet device, a computer, a smart watch, or other such device. The admin device 740 can be equipped with an admin portal 745. The admin portal 445 serves as the interface through which an administrator or a tournament director interacts with the chess-like game system 700. An interface associated with the admin portal 745 can comprise a specially designed graphical user interface that allows the administrator to set and receive alerts relating to the game module 730, monitor user compliance, monitor, and address system errors, monitor game instance issues, send messages to a user, allow or deny access to the game module for individual users, monitor metrics, or perform other such administrative tasks. It should be understood that the admin device 740 can comprise multiple devices accessible by multiple administrators.

[0179] The game module 730 can thus provide a variety of house-keeping functions such as keeping track of results between players, documenting games, archiving,replaying, and sharing games, managing tournaments and matches, and assigning and calculating a separate set of Elo ratings for players who play the new chess-like game.

[0180] For example, calculating an Elo rating can be a backend function that can be completed on the server 725 side. Elo ratings require results from the other players and their game results. Likewise, the Elo ratings should preferably be calculated remotely to deter fraud.

[0181] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary game portal 710, associated with a user device 705. In this example, the user device 705 is a computer and the game portal 710 is software running on the computer. The game portal 710 can provide a representation of a chessboard 802, along with representations of chess pieces 804 including first-colored pieces and second-colored pieces, on the chessboard 802. The game portal can be operably connected to the game module 730, or in some embodiments, the game module can be provided as a part of the game portal 710.

[0182] The game portal 710 includes a box 806 displaying the undeployed set of first- colored pieces, and a box 808 displaying the undeployed set of second-colored pieces. The game portal 710 provides a method for the players to make their moves, such as a cursor 810 to allow the player to either select an undeployed piece from the box and to move it to the board 802 or move an already onboarded piece to a new position. The game portal 710 may further optionally provide a number of functions and features that facilitate playing the chess-like game, including and not limited to: still image or video windows 812 that allow the players to visually see each other; individual play clocks 814 that allow the players to keep track of their game times; display of the players’ names 816; a light 818 or other indicator to signal whose turn it is to move; a counter 819 to show how many more minor pieces may be onboarded from the box 808; a counter 821 to show how many more minor pieces may be onboarded from the box 806; a display 820 that identifies a competitive event; a utility window 822 that may display a move list, game analysis, or tournament status; a third-party commentator window 828; and a menu selector 824 that provides the players a variety of housekeeping functions, such as login, authentication, selecting a specific rule set and clock times for a game to be played,upload their own images or enable / disable their cameras, download or archive played games, configure their chess board for colors or choice of chess pieces, customize their screen layout, and so forth. The game portal 710 may also provide a set of fast action buttons 826 for a player to actuate during a game, such as offer a draw, resign the game, or reach an arbiter for help. The game portal 710 could also receive specific ground rules and clock times for a game from a remote match or tournament administrator.

[0183] The rules governing the actions the players can take using the game portal 710 are provided in FIGs. 2-3 and the associated description thereof, and are administered by the game module 730.

[0184] The game module 730 can comprise the root application (or software) that is used to control the system 700. The server 725 can serve data to, and accept data from, the user device 705, user device 706 and admin device 740. In other embodiments, cloud storage 750 can be used to store some or all of the relevant data and / or software associated with the system 700.

[0185] The game module 730 is configured to provide and / or control the game play associated with the system 700. FIG. 9 provides a block diagram illustrating aspects of the game module 730. The game module 730 generally includes a credentials module 905. The credentials module 905 is tasked with admitting players to the system 700 and organizing a new instance of the chess-like game for the players to join.

[0186] For example, in certain embodiments, the credentials module 905 can verify two or more players are logged into the system 700 and wish to engage in an instance of the chess-like game. In some embodiments, both players can request to play one another, in which case, the credentials module 905 can advance the players to the game instance module 910.

[0187] In other embodiments, the credentials module 905 can check a pool of waiting players and randomly assign them to a new instance of the chess-like game. In other embodiments, the credentials module 905 can review playing history (stored as data indata structure 735), and assign two relatively evenly matched players to a new instance of the chess-like game.

[0188] It should be appreciated that, the initiation of a new game instance may be completed in various ways. For example, if two players are playing casually, then either selects the options (e.g., start the game with a blank board or Kings on e1 and e8), time controls, etc. In a tournament setting, these options will be set remotely and sent to the individual players.

[0189] Once two players have been assigned to a new instance of the chess-like game, the game instance module 910 handles the implementation of the chess-like game served to the respective players. The game instance module 910 includes an input 915, output 920, and state module 925. The input 915 allows the players to take actions on the user device 705 (and / or 706), which are input to the game instance module. Upon a user action, the game instance module 910 verifies the action is allowed and then the state module 925 updates the location of pieces 804 on the chessboard 802, the set of undeployed pieces in box 808, captured pieces, and optionally the time each player has remaining. The output 920 then serves this information to game portal 710 on user device 705, and game portal 710 on user device 706.

[0190] The state module 925 and output module 920 are thus configured to initially provide a game board in the user interface comprising alternate-colored squares, arranged in adjacent vertical files and horizontal ranks, each of the vertical files comprising alternate-colored squares, each square offset with respect to the similarly colored square of the adjacent vertical file, to form a checkerboard pattern of bilaterally alternating colored squares, the game board having eight horizontal ranks and eight vertical files via the game portal 710.

[0191] The state module 925 and output module 920 are further configure to display a the playing pieces, including one set of first-colored pieces for a first player and one set of second-colored pieces for a second player, the set of first-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least twoKnights, and the set of second-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights.

[0192] The rules module 930 is configured to limit piece onboarding and piece movement in accordance with the methods and rules disclosed herein. For example, the rules module 930 enforces a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces and similarly enforcing a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied location thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces. The rules module 930 will not allow a player to onboard a piece using the game portal 710, in a way that would violate the piece onboarding schema.

[0193] The rules module 930 further limits the movement according to predetermined rules of movement for play such that each of the onboarded first-colored pieces and each of the onboarded second-colored pieces have the same rules of movement and capturing as corresponding pieces in standard chess. The rules module 930 will not allow a player to move a piece using the game portal 710, in a way that would violate the predetermined rules of movement.

[0194] In addition, the rules module 930 enforces a predetermined order of play, such that any onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces. Likewise, the rules module 930, enforces a predetermined order of play, allowing any onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces to be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces.

[0195] The rules module 930 can further enforce additional rules of movement. For example, in an embodiment, the rule module 930 can require a piece onboarding schema, wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, fourth, or fifth horizontal rank of the game board, and wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh horizontal rank of the game board.

[0196] In a related embodiment, the rules module 930 can further require a piece onboarding schema, wherein pieces may only be onboarded in their respective domain. In certain embodiments, the first five ranks (rows 1 :5) are defined as the first-colored pieces’ domain, and the last five ranks (rows 4:8) are defined as the second-colored pieces’ domain. Ranks 4 and 5 are overlapping and are common to both sets of pieces. In such embodiments, pieces can only be onboarded in their respective domain. Thus, pieces from the box 808 may only be onboarded into their respective domain, and pieces from the box 806 may only be onboarded into their respective domain.

[0197] In another exemplary embodiment, the state module can be configured with an initial condition of play where the King of the set of first-colored pieces, and the King of the set of second-colored pieces are both initially onboarded on the game board. In some embodiments, the King of the set of first-colored pieces can be initially onboarded on the first horizontal rank and the fifth vertical file, and the King of the set of second-colored pieces can initially onboarded on the eighth horizontal rank and fifth vertical file. In other embodiments, the King of the set of first-colored pieces can be initially onboarded at any position, and the King of the set of second-colored pieces can be initially onboarded at any other position.

[0198] In another embodiment, the rules module 930 can be configured to enforce a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first- colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces and a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces.

[0199] In another embodiment, the rules module 930 can enforce a predetermined order of play, where a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of second-colored pieces if the captured piece, on the immediately preceding move, captured an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces. Likewise, a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of first-colored pieces if the captured piece, on the immediately preceding move, captured an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces.

[0200] In another exemplary embodiment, the set of undeployed first-colored pieces can comprise four Bishops and four Knights, and the set of undeployed second-colored pieces can comprise four Bishops and four Knights. In such an embodiment a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be onboarded. Thus, the rules module 930 can be configured to allow the first player to onboard: four Bishops and no Knights, three Bishops and one Knight, two Bishops and two Knights, one Bishop and three Knights, or no Bishops and four Knights. Likewise, the rules module 930 can allow the second player to onboard a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be onboarded. Thus, the second player can onboard: four Bishops and no Knights, three Bishops and one Knight, two Bishops and two Knights, one Bishop and three Knights, or no Bishops and four Knights.

[0201] The rules module 930 is further configured to enforce most standard chess piece movements, including Pawn promotion, en passant captures, and castling. Castling may be allowed as long as the subject King and the partner Rook have not been moved since their initial onboarding, or according to other embodiments detailed herein. For example, the first-colored King may castle to the King side with a partner Rook on space hi , g1 or f1 , or can castle to the Queen side with a partner Rook on space a1 , b1 , c1 or d1 . Similarly, the second-colored King may castle to the King side with a partner Rook on space h8, g8 or f8, or can cast to the Queen side with a partner Rook on space a8, b8, c8 or d8. In such embodiments, the King and Rook must reach their normal castled positions as in standard chess. It is permissible for both Rooks to be on the same side ofthe King. As in standard chess, castling is not allowed if the King is in check, if the spaces between the King and the castling Rook are occupied, or if the spaces between the King and Rook are occupied by an enemy piece.

[0202] Likewise, the rules module 930 can allow, en passant capture, as in standard chess. If a Pawn moves two squares from the Pawn’s “natural position”, (i.e., on the 2nd rank for the first-colored pieces or the 7th rank for second-colored pieces, to a square adjacent to a square occupied by an enemy Pawn, the Pawn may be captured by an opposing Pawn occupying the vacant space directly behind the Pawn. Onboarding a Pawn next to an enemy Pawn will not enable a capture by en passant.

[0203] In the disclosed embodiments, standard rules associated with a King coming under check are enforced by the rules module 930. In addition, if in onboarding a piece, the enemy King comes under check, the player controlling the King under check must take steps on their immediately following move to get the King out of check. A piece may be onboarded from the set of undeployed pieces to relieve the check, or an onboarded piece may be moved to relieve the check. If no move or piece onboarding can relieve the check, it is checkmate at which point the game ends.

[0204] The game instance module 910 thus interfaces with the game portal 710 served on user device 705 and / or user device 706 to administer an instance of the game. It should be appreciated that the method of play implemented with the system 700 can include some or all of the aspects illustrated in FIGs. 2-3, and the associated description.

[0205] FIG. 7B illustrates another exemplary architecture, with associated modules (e.g. software modules), in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. Aspects of other embodiments including methods disclosed herein may be equally applicable or implementable with the architecture illustrated in FIG. 7B. In this embodiment, an environment 752 comprises two players, Player A 754, and Player B 756, with associated point of play devices 758. The point of play devices 758 can be connected peer-to-peer locally via Bluetooth I NFC / WiFi, or remotely via broadband, cellular or other such private / public network.

[0206] The point of play device 758 can generally be understood to be hardware such as a smart phone, table notebook computer, desktop computer, digital chess set with electronic board and pieces, including robotic chess pieces capable of mobility on the board, and the like. The point of play device 758 can further be configured to register player moves which can be input by a finger with a touch screen or track pad, mouse, voice input, or the like. The associated output can be a digital display, although it could also be voice output for players who may want to play the game blindfolded or are actually blind. In embodiments making use of an electronic chess set, outputs can comprise automated piece movements.

[0207] The system 780 can further include a point of play software application or game module 760. The game module 760 is configured to present the blank (or almost blank chess board), Box for each player, clocks, and time controls as detailed herein. This module enforces the rules provided in the rules module 762, in accordance with the disclosure provided, for example, in FIGs. 2-3.

[0208] The game module 760 includes provides numerous functions to the player. The game module 760 provides a login screen to let a user login to the Back-office module 764 and be authenticated. . The game module 760 provides a player finder capability to allow a user to search for a specific opponent online and connect, or be provided opponent information and automatically connects the two players.

[0209] The game module 760 can provide a list of game options that can be set to configure an individual game. Typically, this option would be used if two players are playing casually. In other cases, the game module 760 is configured to accept a set of game options provided from a remote Admin module, such options overriding any locally selectable options as well as time controls for the game. Typically, this option would be used in a tournament mode that involves multiple players all playing in a tournament using the exact same rules.

[0210] The game module 760 includes a digital clock that can be reset at the start of a game, set for a specific time control, either by the players or set by an Admin moduleremotely in the tournament mode. The clock shows the game time and moves, understands and enforces the time controls, including declaring a player as a loser for overstepping the allotted time limit.

[0211] The game module 760 further display a chess board. Initially, the board is blank (or is illustrated with Kings onboarded). The game module 760, further shows the board with pieces as the game is played. The game module 760 displays the Box for both players, so each player is aware of the status of the as-yet undeployed pieces for both players.

[0212] The game module 760 allows the respective players to make a move, including onboarding an undeployed piece to the board and moving already onboarded pieces on the board, and to stop their clock after a move is made.

[0213] The game module 760 can further enforce the rules of game (in accordance with the rules described herein). If, for example, a player attempts a move that is legitimate, the game module 760 will accept the move, update the board, and transmit the move to the opponent. Likewise, when an opponent makes a move, the game module 760 will display the move, update the board accordingly, and start the other player’s clock.

[0214] The game module 760 can be configured to allow either player to resign, offer a draw, or accept a draw offer.

[0215] Upon completion of a game, the game module 760 can report to the admin module the result of the game and a game summary. The game module 760 can also report to the Archival module the moves, clock times, and result of the game upon conclusion of the game.

[0216] The system can further include an admin module 764. In certain embodiments, the admin module 764 can be a software module running on an admin device 766, which can comprise a smart phone, table notebook computer, desktop computer, etc., and / or on a user device 758.

[0217] The admin module 764 allows an administrator (e.g., a tournament director) to set up a number of players to play a tournament, schedule play times, monitors progress of individual games, monitor the games for glitches, identify when games are over, and collects end results (signed off by both players) and games (actual moves). The admin module 764 allows an administrator to step in to resolve any issues (e.g., one player says he made his move on time, but was still ruled as lost on time). The admin module 764 tells all the devices that are being used in the tournament what rule set is being used for the tournament, what the time controls are, and when the games are scheduled to start.

[0218] The admin module 764 can be configured to select a specific set of rules that will be used for a tournament, broadcast the rules to the players, identify the pairs of players for each round and connecting them, schedule the games, monitoring fame progress, and check that moves are being made, collecting game results, and archive game results for record keeping.

[0219] It should be further appreciated that the admin module 764 can be configured to interface with an external tournament management app 790. The external tournament management app can comprise a software application for creating and managing chess tournaments such as creating a list of players, defining the tournament format (e.g., double round robin), defining the tie-breaking methodology to be used, establishing time controls, scheduling each round of play, collecting game results, handling issues, etc.). The external tournament management app 790 can further broadcast a chess match and allow expert commentators to talk about specific games to explain the moves to an audience, or can link to external video services (e.g., Youtube ®, Twitch ®, etc.) for this purpose.

[0220] The system 780 can further include a back-office module 768 which can run on a computer device, or in the cloud, or on a server, such as server 770 as illustrated in FIG. 7B. The back-office module 768 provides membership management (e.g. types of membership, privileges, etc.) and user authentication.

[0221] The back-office module 768 is further configured to maintain a complete archiveof played games, including the rule set and time format used, and all the game moves. The archive is configured to be searchable and can include search and sort functions.

[0222] The back-office module 768 can be further configured to generate a separate an Elo rating system for the disclosed chess-like game. The back-office module 768 can further store images (e.g., player pictures, event photos) and can provide an upload function to upload chess-like games played with physical chess pieces.

[0223] The system 780 can be further configured with various additional features. For example, the system 780 can provide encrypted communication between user devices 758, Admin module 764, server 770 etc. In certain embodiments an API for interfacing with back-office module 768 is provided.

[0224] The chess-like game disclosed herein can further include a chess-like game notation (or algebraic notation) to conveniently document moves. In certain embodiments, a character like “%” can be used to designate that a piece has been onboarded. For example, “3. %g3” means onboard a pawn on g3 from the Box, whereas “3. g3” means the onboarded pawn on g2 moves up to g3. As another example, “1 1 ... %Nxd5” means capture of a White piece on d5 with a Black Knight from the Box, as opposed to “11 ... Nxd5”, which can indicate a standard capture of one onboarded piece by another onboarded piece.

[0225] In certain embodiments, the system 780 can further include an engine module 772. The engine module 772 can comprise a standalone software module operated on a user device 758, admin device 766, or the like. The engine module 772 can comprise an artificial intelligence configured to play against a human opponent (or other engine module 772), and / or to strategically evaluate the chess-like game as a training tool for players.

[0226] Based on the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a number of embodiments, preferred and alternative, are disclosed herein. In an embodiment, a method of playing a chess-like game comprises providing a game board with alternate-colored squares,arranged in adjacent vertical files and horizontal ranks, each of the vertical files comprising alternate-colored squares, each square offset with respect to the similarly colored square of an adjacent vertical file, to form a checkerboard pattern of bilaterally alternating colored squares, the game board having eight horizontal ranks and eight vertical files, providing a plurality of playing pieces, including one set of first-colored pieces for a first player and one set of second-colored pieces for a second player, the set of first-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights, and the set of second-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights, requiring a predetermined initial condition of play, wherein the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of first-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of first-colored pieces and the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of second-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of second-colored pieces, establishing a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces, establishing a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied location thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces, establishing predetermined rules of movement for play wherein each of the onboarded first-colored pieces and each of the onboarded second-colored pieces has rules of movement, including capturing, as corresponding pieces in standard chess, establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces, and establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupiedsquare, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces. In an embodiment of the method, the predetermined initial condition of play further comprises requiring a first onboarding to be onboarding the King of the set of first-colored pieces, and requiring a second onboarding to be onboarding the King of the set of second-colored pieces. In an embodiment, the method of playing a chess-like game further comprises establishing a piece onboarding schema, wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of first- colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, or fourth horizontal rank of the game board, and wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a fifth, sixth, or seventh horizontal rank of the game board. In an embodiment, the method of playing a chess-like game further comprises establishing a predetermined order of play wherein the first-colored King can castle with one of the first-colored Rooks if the first-colored King and one of the two first-colored Rooks were both initially onboarded on the first rank and establishing a predetermined order of play wherein the second-colored king can castle with one of the two second- colored Rooks if the second-colored King and one of the two second-colored Rooks were both initially onboarded on the eighth rank. In an embodiment, the method of playing a chess-like game further comprises establishing a predetermined order of play wherein the first-colored King can castle with one of the two first-colored Rooks if both of the two first-colored Rooks are to one side of the first-colored King and establishing a predetermined order of play wherein the second-colored King can castle with one of the two second-colored Rooks if both of the two second-colored Rooks are to one side of the second-colored King. In an embodiment, the method of playing a chess-like game further comprises establishing a piece onboarding schema, wherein all eight pawns in the set of first-colored pieces must be onboarded before the last of the one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights in the set of first-colored pieces is onboarded; and wherein all eight pawns in the set of second-colored pieces must be onboarded before the last of the one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights in the set of second-colored pieces is onboarded. In an embodiment, the method of playing a chess-like game further comprises establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces and a capture of anonboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces. In an embodiment, the method of playing a chesslike game further comprises establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of second-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move had captured an onboarded piece of the set of second- colored pieces; and wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of first-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move, had captured an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces. In an embodiment of the method, the plurality of playing pieces, including the undeployed set of first-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights; and wherein the plurality of playing pieces, including the undeployed set of second-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights.

[0227] In an embodiment, a computer implemented method for playing a chess-like game comprising: a computer system, the computer system further comprising: at least one processor, a user interface, and a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable medium capable of communicating with the at least one processor, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor and configured for: displaying a game board in the user interface the game board comprising alternate-colored squares, arranged in adjacent vertical files and horizontal ranks, each of the vertical files comprising alternate-colored squares, each square offset with respect to the similarly colored square of an adjacent vertical file, to form a checkerboard pattern of bilaterally alternating colored squares, the game board having eight horizontal ranks and eight vertical files; displaying a plurality of playing pieces, including one set of first-colored pieces for a first player and one set of second- colored pieces for a second player, the set of first-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights, and the set of second-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks,at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights; requiring a predetermined initial condition of play, wherein the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of first-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of first-colored pieces, and the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of second-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of second-colored pieces; requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first- colored pieces; requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied location thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces; enforcing predetermined rules of movement for play for the plurality of playing pieces wherein each of the onboarded first-colored pieces and each of the onboarded second- colored pieces has rules of movement and capturing as corresponding pieces in standard chess; enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces; and enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces. In an embodiment of the computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game the predetermined initial condition of play further comprises requiring a first onboarding to be onboarding the King of the set of first-colored pieces, and requiring a second onboarding to be onboarding the King of the set of second-colored pieces. In an embodiment, the computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game further comprises requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, fourth, or fifth horizontal rank of the game board, and wherein Pawns in the undeployedset of second-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh horizontal rank of the game board. In an embodiment, the computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game further comprises establishing a predetermined order of play wherein a first-colored King can castle with a first-colored Rook if the first- colored King and the first-colored Rook were initially onboarded on the first rank and establishing a predetermined order of play wherein a second-colored King can castle with a second-colored Rook if the second-colored King and Rook were initially onboarded on the eighth rank. In an embodiment, the computer implemented method of playing a chesslike game further comprises establishing a predetermined order of play wherein the first- colored King can castle with one of the two first-colored Rooks if both of the two first- colored Rooks are to one side of the first-colored King and establishing a predetermined order of play wherein the second-colored King can castle with one of the two second- colored Rooks if both of the two second-colored Rooks are to one side of the second- colored King. In an embodiment, the computer implemented method of playing a chesslike game further comprises enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces and a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of first- colored pieces. In an embodiment, the computer implemented method of playing a chesslike game further comprises enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of second-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move, captured an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces; and wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of first-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move, captured an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces. In an embodiment of the computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game the plurality of playing pieces, including the set of first-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights, and the plurality of playing pieces, including the set of second- colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights furthercomprises four Bishops and four Knights. In an embodiment, the computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game further comprises displaying a first counter showing how many more of the total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be onboarded and displaying a second counter showing how many more of the total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be onboarded.

[0228] In an embodiment, a system for playing a chess-like game comprises a computer system, the computer system further comprising: at least one processor, a user interface, and a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable medium capable of communicating with the at least one processor, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor and configured for: displaying a game board in the graphical user interface comprising a checkerboard pattern of bilaterally alternating colored squares, the game board having eight horizontal ranks and eight vertical files; displaying a plurality of playing pieces, including one set of first-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights and one set of second-colored pieces for a second player, and a set of second-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights; requiring a predetermined initial condition of play, wherein the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of first-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of first-colored pieces, and the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of second- colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of second-colored pieces; requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces; requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied location thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces; and enforcing predetermined rules of movement for play for the plurality of playing pieces wherein each of the onboarded first-colored pieces andeach of the onboarded second-colored pieces have the same rules of movement and capturing as corresponding pieces in standard chess. In an embodiment, the system for playing a chess-like game further comprises requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, fourth, or fifth horizontal rank of the game board, and wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh horizontal rank of the game board. In an embodiment, the system for playing a chess-like game further comprises enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces and a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces. In an embodiment of the system for playing a chess-like gamethe plurality of playing pieces, including the set of first-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights, and the plurality of playing pieces, including the set of second- colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights, and includes enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be onboarded, and wherein a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be onboarded.

[0229] In summary, the chess-like game disclosed herein comprises combinatorial, spatial, and temporal innovations that collectively make it extremely hard in the early stages of a game to predict the next move for the opponent or what course a game will take until the position is in the later stages of the opening phase or early into the middle game phase. These innovations make it hard for players to rely on computer-aided home preparation. They also have a multiplicative effect on the total number of games possible that are thousands if not millions of times more than the number of games possible with standard chess.TABLE 1

[0230] Table 1 illustrates how after just the first two, three and four moves, the number of possible positions that can arise expand relative to standard chess. By ten moves, the expansion factor is estimated at approaching two hundred trillions. As such, there is an expansion by many orders of magnitude in the number of logical positions and sensible new games that can arise from the chess-like game described herein. It will be many decades if not centuries before the chess-like game disclosed herein is likely to be exhausted.

[0231] It should be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. It should be understood that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:1 . A method of playing a chess-like game, the method comprising: providing a game board with alternate-colored squares, arranged in adjacent vertical files and horizontal ranks, each of the vertical files comprising alternate-colored squares, each square offset with respect to the similarly colored square of an adjacent vertical file, to form a checkerboard pattern of bilaterally alternating colored squares, the game board having eight horizontal ranks and eight vertical files; providing a plurality of playing pieces, including one set of first-colored pieces for a first player and one set of second-colored pieces for a second player, the set of first- colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights, and the set of second-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights; requiring a predetermined initial condition of play, wherein the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of first-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of first-colored pieces and the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of second-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of second-colored pieces; establishing a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces; establishing a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied location thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces; establishing predetermined rules of movement for play wherein each of the onboarded first-colored pieces and each of the onboarded second-colored pieces has rules of movement, including capturing, as corresponding pieces in standard chess;establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces; and establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces.

2. The method of playing a chess-like game of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined initial condition of play further comprises: requiring a first onboarding to be onboarding the King of the set of first-colored pieces, and requiring a second onboarding to be onboarding the King of the set of second- colored pieces.

3. The method of playing a chess-like game of claim 1 , further comprising: establishing a piece onboarding schema, wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, or fourth horizontal rank of the game board, and wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a fifth, sixth, or seventh horizontal rank of the game board.

4. The method of playing a chess-like game of claim 1 further comprising: establishing a predetermined order of play wherein the first-colored King can castle with one of the first-colored Rooks if the first-colored King and one of the two first-colored Rooks were both initially onboarded on the first rank; andestablishing a predetermined order of play wherein the second-colored king can castle with one of the two second-colored Rooks if the second-colored King and one of the two second-colored Rooks were both initially onboarded on the eighth rank.

5. The method of playing a chess-like game of claim 4 further comprising: establishing a predetermined order of play wherein the first-colored King can castle with one of the two first-colored Rooks if both of the two first-colored Rooks are to one side of the first-colored King; and establishing a predetermined order of play wherein the second-colored King can castle with one of the two second-colored Rooks if both of the two second-colored Rooks are to one side of the second-colored King.

6. The method of playing a chess-like game of claim 1 , further comprising: establishing a piece onboarding schema, wherein all eight pawns in the set of first- colored pieces must be onboarded before the last of the one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights in the set of first-colored pieces is onboarded; and wherein all eight pawns in the set of second-colored pieces must be onboarded before the last of the one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights in the set of second-colored pieces is onboarded.

7. The method of playing a chess-like game of claim 1 , further comprising: establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces and a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second- colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces.

8. The method of playing a chess-like game of claim 1 further comprising: establishing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of second-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move had captured an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces; and whereina capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of first-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move, had captured an onboarded piece of the set of first- colored pieces.

9. The method of playing a chess-like game of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of playing pieces, including the undeployed set of first-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights; and wherein the plurality of playing pieces, including the undeployed set of second-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights.

10. A computer implemented method for playing a chess-like game comprising: a computer system, the computer system further comprising: at least one processor; a user interface; and a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable medium capable of communicating with the at least one processor, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor and configured for: displaying a game board in the user interface the game board comprising alternate-colored squares, arranged in adjacent vertical files and horizontal ranks, each of the vertical files comprising alternate-colored squares, each square offset with respect to the similarly colored square of an adjacent vertical file, to form a checkerboard pattern of bilaterally alternating colored squares, the game board having eight horizontal ranks and eight vertical files; displaying a plurality of playing pieces, including one set of first-colored pieces for a first player and one set of second-colored pieces for a second player, the set of first- colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights, and the set of second-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights;requiring a predetermined initial condition of play, wherein the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of first-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of first-colored pieces, and the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of second-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of second-colored pieces; requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces; requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied location thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces; enforcing predetermined rules of movement for play for the plurality of playing pieces wherein each of the onboarded first-colored pieces and each of the onboarded second-colored pieces has rules of movement and capturing as corresponding pieces in standard chess; enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces; and enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein any onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be moved on the board according to the predetermined rules of movement for play, or any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces.1 1 . The computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game of claim 10, wherein the predetermined initial condition of play further comprises: requiring a first onboarding to be onboarding the King of the set of first-colored pieces, andrequiring a second onboarding to be onboarding the King of the set of second- colored pieces.

12. The computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game of claim 10, further comprising: requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, fourth, or fifth horizontal rank of the game board, and wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of second- colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh horizontal rank of the game board.

13. The computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game of claim 10 further comprising: establishing a predetermined order of play wherein a first-colored King can castle with a first-colored Rook if the first-colored King and the first-colored Rook were initially onboarded on the first rank; and establishing a predetermined order of play wherein a second-colored King can castle with a second-colored Rook if the second-colored King and Rook were initially onboarded on the eighth rank.

14. The computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game of claim 13 further comprising: establishing a predetermined order of play wherein the first-colored King can castle with one of the two first-colored Rooks if both of the two first-colored Rooks are to one side of the first-colored King; and establishing a predetermined order of play wherein the second-colored King can castle with one of the two second-colored Rooks if both of the two second-colored Rooks are to one side of the second-colored King.

15. The computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game of claim 10, further comprising:enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces and a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces.

16. The computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game of claim 10 further comprising: enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of second-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move, captured an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces; and wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can be made by onboarding of an undeployed piece of the set of first-colored pieces if the captured piece, on an immediately preceding move, captured an onboarded piece of the set of first- colored pieces.

17. The computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of playing pieces, including the set of first-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights; and wherein the plurality of playing pieces, including the set of second-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights.

18. The computer implemented method of playing a chess-like game of claim 18 further comprising: displaying a first counter showing how many more of the total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be onboarded; anddisplaying a second counter showing how many more of the total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be onboarded.

19. A system for playing a chess-like game comprising: a computer system, the computer system further comprising: at least one processor; a user interface; and a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable medium capable of communicating with the at least one processor, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the at least one processor and configured for: displaying a game board in the graphical user interface comprising a checkerboard pattern of bilaterally alternating colored squares, the game board having eight horizontal ranks and eight vertical files; displaying a plurality of playing pieces, including one set of first-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights and one set of second-colored pieces for a second player, and a set of second-colored pieces comprising eight Pawns, one King, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights; requiring a predetermined initial condition of play, wherein the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of first-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of first-colored pieces, and the one King, eight Pawns, one Queen, two Rooks, at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights of the set of second-colored pieces comprise an undeployed set of second-colored pieces; requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied square, thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces;requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein any of the pieces in the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be placed on the board at any unoccupied location thereby becoming an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces; and enforcing predetermined rules of movement for play for the plurality of playing pieces wherein each of the onboarded first-colored pieces and each of the onboarded second-colored pieces have the same rules of movement and capturing as corresponding pieces in standard chess.

20. The system for playing a chess-like game of claim 19, further comprising: requiring a piece onboarding schema, wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a second, third, fourth, or fifth horizontal rank of the game board, and wherein Pawns in the undeployed set of second- colored pieces can only be onboarded in one of a fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh horizontal rank of the game board.21 . The system for playing a chess-like game of claim 19, further comprising: enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces and a capture of an onboarded piece of the set of second-colored pieces can only be made by an onboarded piece of the set of first-colored pieces.

22. The system for playing a chess-like game of claim 19, wherein the plurality of playing pieces, including the set of first-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights; and wherein the plurality of playing pieces, including the set of second-colored pieces comprising at least two Bishops, and at least two Knights further comprises four Bishops and four Knights; and enforcing a predetermined order of play, wherein a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of first-colored pieces can be onboarded, and wherein a total of four of any of the four Bishops and the four Knights from the undeployed set of second-colored pieces can be onboarded.

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