Book 6: Chapter 49:1: Rules of Magic Chess, Part 1
Kayneth’s Servant, Diarmuid, stood at D2, and upon hearing his Master’s command, he moved forward two squares.
It’s worth mentioning that this game’s playing field was quite spacious. Unlike the usual small chessboard where pieces were crammed together, its entire area was as large as a soccer field. While not vast for Servants, it allowed them freedom of movement within each square.
After the white player’s turn (the red side), it was the black side’s move. On the surface, the black side appeared calm, but the online chat was buzzing.
Blank Never Loses: I feel like Root is targeting me.
Self-Centered Elder Sister Shiki [Root]: Why do you say that?
Blank Never Loses: Look, you plagiarized the Ten Pledges and ideas from our No Game No Life. This is so much easier than I thought. I was nervous for nothing. Had they mentioned it was these rules from the start, I wouldn’t have been so worked up.
Self-Centered Elder Sister Shiki [Root]: Can the matters of a world consciousness be considered plagiarism? It’s simply taking reference, something completely different.
Blank Never Loses: Yes, yes, yes. Are you sure they are not exactly the same? All you did was change a few words, right?
Self-Centered Elder Sister Shiki [Root]: The black players have already made their move. It should be your turn now.
Herrscher of Pufferfish: Yeah, yeah, I know nothing about chess.
Blank Never Loses: There are two ways to win this. One is a regular chess match where I team up with Shiro. No one can beat us in chess.
Herrscher of Pufferfish: What’s the second option?
Blank Never Loses: Just charge in head-on.
Herrscher of Pufferfish: Huh? Aren’t there supposed to be rules in chess? What do you mean by “charge in head-on”?
Blank Never Loses: Although I’m not there in person, I bet the Holy Grail didn’t announce any rules, did it?
Herrscher of Pufferfish: Besides calling it Magic Chess, it didn’t say much.
Blank Never Loses: Exactly. Jeanne d’Arc, the referee, only mentioned that Magic Chess had some different rules from regular chess. However, she didn’t say we had to follow the standard chess rules for this match.
Self-Centered Elder Sister Shiki [Root]: Well, this Magic Chess still has some limitations. You can’t just do anything you want; otherwise, we might as well have a free-for-all.
Blank Never Loses: Alright, the organizer is here. Let her explain the rules.
Self-Centered Elder Sister Shiki [Root]: First, this is Magic Chess. It’s one move per person; you can’t perform multiple actions consecutively. Second, there are restrictions on how the pieces can move, just like in regular chess. For example, a rook can’t move diagonally. It’s the same as in regular chess.
Self-Centered Elder Sister Shiki [Root]: By the way, if one side tries to capture the other’s piece, or vice versa, the two pieces need to enter a virtual battle space to resolve it. The outcome depends on the strength of the opponents.
Blank Never Loses: Erm…so, if our king is strong enough and they can’t kill our king, we can’t lose, right?
Self-Centered Elder Sister Shiki [Root]: Bingo.
Blank Never Loses: Can we negotiate a surrender?
Self-Centered Elder Sister Shiki [Root]: Sorry, that’s not possible. Don’t use the same tricks you used in No Game No Life. Both sides are ready to fight to the death; none of us want to hand victory to someone else. Well, except for that Gilles de Rais, who has an obsession with Jeanne d’Arc.
Blank Never Loses: Can we use a powerful attack to take out two of their pieces at once? Like using a Noble Phantasm to kill both their king and the pawn in front?
Self-Centered Elder Sister Shiki [Root]: Sorry, that’s not allowed. That would defeat the purpose of the game.
Blank Never Loses: Alright, I get it now. It seems you guys don’t need to involve me in this. Just send your ace and go all out. They can’t kill you anyway.
Blank Never Loses: By the way, Sirin, as the king, do you think you’re strong enough?
Herrscher of Pufferfish: Strong enough? In simple terms, I’m not afraid of anyone except that King of Heroes. Fortunately, he is the king and can only move one square each time, right?
Self-Centered Elder Sister Shiki [Root]: That’s correct.
Time Witch: Then let me handle that King of Heroes.
Herrscher of Pufferfish: So, what’s the next move?
Blank Never Loses: E7, move forward two squares.
“E7, move forward two squares.” Sirin obediently parroted Blank’s suggestion because she had only brushed up on her basic chess knowledge. She knew the fundamentals of chess rules and moves but was unfamiliar with more advanced strategies.
E7 represented Luo Li, and whether by coincidence or design, Luo Li volunteered for the pawn’s position. It was a suitable move, given the current situation. If Diarmuid tried to capture her and failed, she could directly target the king.
Considering that Luo Li might also possess precognitive abilities, Chen Heng, a non-player, wasn’t surprised by this choice.
After all, Luo Li was an all-around time ability user. She could use any ability related to time, which seemed almost like cheating.
After Luo Li’s move, the distance between Luo Li and Diarmuid was just one square diagonally. According to standard chess rules, Diarmuid could now take out Luo Li in his next move.
Here’s a brief introduction to the rules of chess. In international chess, pawns can move one to two squares in their first move and one square thereafter.
Pawns only capture diagonally. Of course, that referred to ordinary chess. In this particular game, Kayneth could command Diarmuid to capture Luo Li diagonally in the next move.
Putting aside the black side’s reaction, the red side’s Kayneth was practically bursting with laughter.
“Indeed! How can we expect anything from a mere child? On the very first move, they allowed the pawn in front of the king to make a move and even handed it over to Diarmuid.” Kayneth ridiculed Sirin, the opposing king.
“The red side has summoned several highly skilled Servants, but their Masters seem to be a mixed bag. To think they let a child take on the vital role of the king and entrusted the crucial duty of issuing commands to someone who knows nothing about chess.” Tohsaka Tokiomi agreed with Kayneth, holding his staff embedded with a massive ruby.
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