Description

Renaissance Chess (also known as Rennchess) is a large board (10 ranks x 12 files) chess variant with each player fielding an army of 34 pieces. The 16 pieces found in an orthodox chess set are present along with some very powerful new pieces such as the Prince (combines the movement of a Queen and Knight), the Nobleman (combines the movement of the Rook and Knight), the Archbishop (combines the movement of the Bishop and Knight), the Cavalier (a side-stepping Rook type), the Duke (a side-stepping Bishop type), the Page (combines the movement of a King and Knight), and the Squire (moves or leaps 1 or 2 squares in a straight line).

The castling rules of orthodox chess are abandoned, but pawns are still able to utilize en-passant capture and retain their two-step first move capability. Pawns which reach the opponent's back rank must promote to a previously captured piece. Foxes which reach the opponent's back rank may optionally promote to a Guard.

According to Eric Greenwood, the game's author (in an article on ChessVariants.org), the correct spelling of the game should be "Renniassance" (the first "n" doubled and the "ai" reversed).