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Rules
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1 Movement options
2 Piece movement
3 Phalanx movement
4 Phalanx capture 1
5 Phalanx capture 2
7 Piece capture 2
8 Three-fold
9 Notation


6. Piece Capture 1

Where a phalanx-capture keeps a particular line, a piece-capture may not. A piece may capture both forward and backward and may change direction as often as is required under the condition of maximum capture.

The first condition for making a piece-capture is the absence of a phalanx-capture. A man that is the head of a phalanx in a particular direction can therefore never capture as a piece in that direction. Of course the man may be the head of a phalanx in one direction, but not so in the perpendicular direction. The man is then called isolated in the latter direction.

  • A man can only start a capture in a direction in which it is isolated. Once the capture starts, the man remains isolated by definition for the rest of the turn.
  • If a man is isolated on a particular line, and next to it on that line is a vacant square followed by a square occupied by an opponent's piece, then the man captures the piece by making a one step approach onto the vacant square. Note that a piece captures only a piece, not an entire phalanx.
    If the man, now isolated by definition, can proceed in a similar matter in another direction, including a 180o turn, it must do so, taking care beforehand to establish the route that brings the maximum number of captured pieces. A king counts as one piece.
    If there's more than one way to meet this criterion, the player is free to choose.
  • Being no part of a phalanx, a king is isolated by definition. It looks along open lines. If it sees, at any distance, an opponent's piece, then the king captures this piece by approaching onto the last vacant square before it. If it can proceed in a similar matter in another direction, including a 180o turn, it must do so, taking care beforehand to establish the route that brings maximum number of captured pieces. A king counts as one piece.
    If there's more than one way to meet this criterion, the player is free to choose.
  • After - and only after - a multiple capture has taken its complete course, the captured pieces are removed from play.
  • In the course of a multiple capture a piece may visit the same square more than once, but it may not capture the same piece more than once.
  • The game may end in a draw by 3-fold or mutual agreement.

    In game 5 of the match between Christian Freeling and Anneke Treep, you can view the combination below within its context. Here it is used to illustrate various points regarding capture.

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    Diagram 6

    15. ... e64 Black opens two phalanx captures, e1x3 and gxe6. The former wins two men and thus precedes.
    16. e1x3
    d5e4x
    Here the same with regard to piece capture: there are two captures open, d5e4x and de6x. The former wins two men and thus precedes.
    The move opens a phalanx capture and a piece capture for white: gxe6 and e23x (see notation for the placement of the 'x'). Since phalanx capure always precedes over piece capture, there's no choice.
    17. gxe6e4f3x This move wins two men, e45x only one, so black's intentions and the rules point the same way.
    18. hg7Why this move? Why not the exchange

    18. f45 - f34x
    19. f65x

    The answer is that this loses the game after

    19. ... - ef7
    20. ixg7 - e8f6x

    dxf7Again the precedence of phalanx capture.
    19. f45f34x
    20. f6xIn a capture a piece may make a 180o turn.

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