Smackdown Chess is based upon the theory that there is not enough violence in chess. Although the King's minions fare poorly in a typical chess game, the method of capture is sterile, and the King himself is never actually taken. Smackdown Chess seeks to remedy this situation by introducing a new method of capture, the "body slam." At the conclusion of a move, all adjacent enemy pieces are frozen for one round. This is called the "chokehold". Then, on the next turn, the attacking piece can body slam any held piece by moving to the square it occupies. The slammed piece swaps places with the attacking piece and becomes an inert fixture on the board. The player can remove the slammed piece on any subsequent turn by capturing it in the normal fashion. Or it can be left on the board as an impenetrable block to the opponent. A piece performing a body slam can choke additional enemy pieces as part of the same move. An attacking piece itself can be choked. Normal capture by replacement does not exist except with regard to slammed pieces. The King is not royal in this game, and a player wins by slamming the opponent's entire side. In the illustration below, White has won because all of Black's pieces are slammed. In the "Cage Match" variant, any piece can slam an adjacent enemy piece whether or not it attacked on the previous round. The chokehold rule remains in place. Smackdown Chess is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America. |