Welcome to Seirawan Chess
Seirawan Chess is a chess variant invented by
Yasser
Seirawan and Bruce Harper. It is played on a regular 8x8 chess board, and
introduces two new pieces: the elephant
and the hawk
. Just as a queen combines the moves of a
rook and bishop, the two new pieces also combine the moves of
other existing chess pieces.
The Rules
The rules are the same as those of
chess,
with a few new rules regarding the elephant and hawk:
- The elephant can move as a rook or a knight.
- The hawk can move as a bishop or a knight.
- When a player moves a piece from the first rank for the
first time, an elephant or hawk may be placed on the square
just vacated by that piece.
- Each player can introduce only one elephant and one
hawk in this way.
- Castling allows the introduction of an elephant or hawk
in two squares: the one the king vacated and the one the rook
vacated (but not both on the same move).
- When a pawn reaches the 8th rank, it may be promoted to
an elephant or a hawk (in addition to the standard chess
promotions: queen, rook, bishop, or knight).
- A player may not introduce an elephant or hawk to block
check.
Play a game
Click play in the menu above to play a game. Drag and drop pieces
to move them.
It's possible to play a game against an opponent by email. One
player can export the moves made so far in a game and send them
to another player to import.