Talk:Kriegspiel (chess)

Old talk
best chess variant ever

Agreed.--Dch111 03:55, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Pawn tries
The article currently states: "This gives extra information, but saves both players the bother of beginning every turn by trying all possible pawn captures. This is possible at no risk because pawns don't move the same way they capture. Hence, if no capture is possible, then the move is illegal and there is no penalty for attempting illegal moves."

The way I've always played Kriegspiel, this is wrong. There is a risk in beginning every turn by trying all possible pawn captures, namely that if you stumble on one that is legal, you are committed to making that move (which may not be your best). As a consequence, I've never heard of it being automatic that the umpire states whether pawn captures are possible (as the article currently has it) but I believe players can ask the umpire whether they have any pawn captures (and if the umpire says yes, they have to try at least one). However, I don't want to amend the article as perhaps the way I've been introduced to this game isn't the only way to play it. 91.107.155.67 (talk) 01:10, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Two sources from which I have learnt Kriegspiel rules in the past (French chess composition magazine Phénix and Chess Variants site) do not list pawn captures as automatic announcement neither. Instead, the question Are there any (pawn captures possible)? (sometimes even shortened to just 'Any?') has to be asked by player to move and if the answer is 'Yes', player has to try some capture (sometimes this is emphasized by 'Try!' answer by umpire). --Ruziklan (talk) 12:28, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
 * Indeed. I've amended the article. Double sharp (talk) 07:51, 23 September 2021 (UTC)

"Hell no"
"Hell no (or Impossible), when the attempted move is always illegal regardless of the opponent's position. For example, moving a bishop a knight's move."

Is this a joke? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.127.220.42 (talk) 08:07, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

Ok, Ihardlythinkso (talk) 13:15, 25 July 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm guessing not, but I don't know the source. "An optional rule requires the umpire to say 'Impossible' or 'Nonsense' if a player deliberately attempts to deceive his opponent (for example, by asking 'Any?' when he has no pawns left)."


 * In addition to this, I think the ref is supposed to say "You've tried that," if a player repeats an impossible move attempt. The idea is that a player cannot trick the opponent into thinking that he has more moves at his dispsal that he actually does. WHPratt (talk) 12:21, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

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Penalty for illegal moves
The article states: "see below for penalty on attempting an illegal move". But nowhere in the article do I see the penalty described. I went back through the page's history back through part of 2007, in case it was deleted, but I don't see it anywhere since then. | This is the revision in which that specific wording originated. Nabarry (talk) 23:31, 24 March 2020 (UTC)

En passant capture announcements
According to The Chess Variant Pages they are announced as such, but according to the presentation in Variant Chess 15 (p. 110), they are not: An en passant pawn capture is simply announced as 'capture on e3', but if it follows an injunction to try, its nature may be evident. Double sharp (talk) 12:55, 28 September 2023 (UTC)

Threefold repetition
In fact, passing through a threefold may be necessary to win (in order to gather information). I'm actually not sure if threefold is generally understood as the article claims: for one thing, in orthodox chess the game doesn't automatically stop with a threefold (like it would for checkmate or dead position), and you have to claim it. So logically, it should be something the players claim rather than the referees, as discussed on MatPlus. You couldn't be sure when making your claim, but that seems in the spirit of the variant. Double sharp (talk) 17:24, 24 January 2024 (UTC)