The Board

The board Diplomat Chess is played on has the shape of a disk. Its cells are organised in 14 radii and 4 circular crowns. Each radius contains 3 cells, and each crown contains 14 cells, with the exception of the 4th crown, which is only formed by one cell, called the centre. This cell represents the central hole of a disk (think of a CD, hehe) and has special properties.

The image above shows the names of the cells. For further information, go to the Notation section of this web.

Above you can see the initial setup of the pieces.
(Note: the graphics on this page use piece symbols from the Alfaerie graphics set by David Howe, using the Falcon symbol for the diplomat.)

One of the peculiarities of this board is the fact that there are two ways of advancing: radially and circularly. Radial movements are orthogonal movements within the same radius, circular movements are made within the same crown. These two types of approaching the enemy determine two ways of playing, depending on how you want to imagine the board (since pawns can advance in both orthogonal ways):

Radially, you can imagine the board as a frontal battle between the black and white armies. To approach your enemy radially, all your pieces have to pass through the centre of the board.

But you can also imagine the board circularly; in this case there will be two fronts between the wings of the armies, and the pieces will advance towards the enemy avoiding the centre and surrounding it.

During the game, it is not advisable to concentrate in only one of these two forms of playing, although the moves tend to be radial rather than circular, because the control of the central cell (which is important in most chess-like games) in Diplomat Chess is essential due to the special properties that the central cell has.

All pieces vary their movement when they begin or end in the centre, always applying the logic that defines the movement of the piece and the fact that the centre is considered to be both radially and diagonally adjacent to all the cells in the 3rd crown. For more information about this special cell, look up the word centre at the Dictionary section of this web.

 

Previous: Introduction | Next: The Pieces