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Keres Game Rules

Abstract combinatorial game on a 9×9 board with stackable pieces

Objective

Victory: The game ends immediately when a player captures the opponent's King.

Basic Principles

  • The board is a 9×9 checkerboard
  • On each turn, a player moves a single piece or stack
  • A piece captures an enemy piece by moving onto its square
  • Capturing a stack removes the entire stack
  • Pieces cannot pass through other pieces (except the Knight)

Stacking Rules

Pieces can be stacked to merge their movement abilities. A stack moves by combining all possible movements of the pieces that compose it.

Stacking conditions:

  • The target piece must be reachable according to the moving piece's movement
  • The target piece must not already be stacked
  • The King can never be stacked
Separation: A stack can be separated by moving only the top piece according to its own movement.

🎲 Starting Position

Start position

♟️ Pieces and Their Movements

Ballista (B)
Ballista moves

Unlimited forward only
Promotes to Rook

Rook (R)
Rook moves

Unlimited orthogonally

Bishop (B)
Bishop moves

Unlimited diagonally

King (K)
King moves

1 square in all directions
Cannot be stacked

Soldier (S)
Soldier moves

1 square diagonally forward
Promotes to Paladin

Paladin (P)
Paladin moves

1 or 2 squares orthogonally

Guard (G)
Guard moves

1 or 2 squares diagonally

Knight (N)
Knight moves

L-shaped movement
Can jump over pieces

⭐ Promotions

When a piece reaches the opposite last rank, a mandatory promotion takes effect:

  • Soldier (S) → Paladin (P)
  • Ballista (B) → Rook (R)