Wonderlandian Chess Side

A Wonderlandian Chess Side is a competitive formation known for its adaptability. Each side is comprised of 16 players who have trained since adolescence for a chance at glory on the Board, and each player is a versatile asset to their team—typically able to switch between 2–3 positions with ease.

Composition

The 16 players of each side can be broken down by their position on the board:

• 1 king, which may move in any direction but only one square at a time—and only so long as the move would not open the king to attack
• 1 queen, which may move in any direction
• 2 rooks, which may move in a straight line either forward, backward, or side-to-side
• 2 bishops, which may move diagonally in any direction
• 2 knights, which may move in an L-shape—and even leap over other pieces if necessary
• 8 pawns, which move forward one unoccupied square at a time—or an optional two squares on their first move

If a pawn is able to advance to its final rank, it may be promoted to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight.

Command Structure

Though the side’s coach can advise from an elevated position adjacent to the board, play-calling is ultimately left up to the queen. Communication between the players on the field is allowed, either via hand signals or enchantments placed upon their head gear, and most queens rely heavily on the observations of their front lines before determining the side’s move for that turn.

Gear

Every player wears a standardized uniform of tunic, pants, and boots, along with a custom tabard and head covering. The tabard is emblazoned with the team logo on the front, and with the player’s surname and number on the back. The head covering is either a crown (for the king and queen), a mitre (for the bishops), or one of three different styles of helmets (for the rooks, bishops, and pawns).

Spares of each type of headgear are held in reserve, only to be used if a pawn receives a promotion.

Tactics

The tactics employed by a given side are highly variable. While a side’s overall strategy can loosely be broken down into two styles—positional or tactical—there are still a great deal of nuance that goes into each individual side’s gameplan.