Halloween Special: Chess of the Undead!
By Mark Hutchinson, Social Chess Officer
Monday 23 October, 2023
Read on… if you dare…
For one night only, Hendon Chess Club proudly presents an evening of Chess of
the Undead! All Hendon Members are invited to attend this free, fun event.
This Thursday we will be playing Bughouse Chess – where the pieces never die.
The rules of Bughouse are below – but they will also be explained on the night.
We shall gather at 7:30 for a little practice and, if there are enough players,
I shall attempt to run a mini competition.
Bughouse is played in teams of two and we shall, most likely, change partners
throughout. Come along and challenge your chess skills in the sanctuary of a
friendly environment – just for fun. No previous experience necessary.
Bughouse rules
Bughouse is played in teams of two, with two games taking place simultaneously.
On each team one player plays White and the other plays Black on an adjacent
board. Each individual game has its own clock. The two games start together.
Normal rules of chess apply except:
- When a player takes a piece they pass it to their partner.
- On any turn, a player can either make a move on the board or place one of
the pieces previously captured by their partner on any vacant square on the
board (with the exception that pawns cannot be placed on the first or eighth
rank).
- The first game to finish is decisive: that is, one team wins the match when
either player wins on their board.
- A pawn which has promoted to a piece reverts to a pawn when that piece is
captured: that is, a pawn is passed to a partner not the piece to which it was
promoted.
- A player is not checkmated if they can wait for their partner to capture a
piece which could, for example, block what would otherwise be a back rank
mate. In general, stalling on one board is a legitimate tactic – so time
management is important!
- Teams can, and should, talk to each other during a match – for example,
requesting a particular piece be captured!