Janus chess

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8a8 black rookb8 black princessc8 black knightd8 black bishope8 black kingf8 black queeng8 black bishoph8 black knighti8 black princessj8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawni7 black pawnj7 black pawn7
6a6b6c6d6e6f6g6h6i6j66
5a5b5c5d5e5f5g5h5i5j55
4a4b4c4d4e4f4g4h4i4j44
3a3b3c3d3e3f3g3h3i3j33
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawni2 white pawnj2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white princessc1 white knightd1 white bishope1 white kingf1 white queeng1 white bishoph1 white knighti1 white princessj1 white rook1
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Janus Chess. The janus (knight + bishop compound) is placed on the b-file and i-file, beside the rooks.

Janus Chess is a chess variant played on a 10×8 board. It features a new piece, the janus (also known as archbishop, cardinal, or princess), with the combined moves of a bishop and a knight. This piece is named after the Roman god Janus because this god was usually depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. Janus Chess was invented in 1978 by Werner Schöndorf from Bildstock, Germany.

The usual set of chess pieces is extended with two pawns and two januses per player. Each janus is placed between a rook and a knight. The relative position of the king and queen is reversed compared to chess. After castling the king is placed on either the b-file or i-file and a rook is placed on either the c-file or h-file, depending upon which side to castle is chosen.

Note that the janus is the only piece in this game which is able to checkmate the opponent's king without the assistance of any other piece, if the king is in a corner and the janus is two squares away on a diagonal, but this checkmate cannot be forced.

This chess variant is quite popular in Europe. Several chess grandmasters play this game including Viktor Korchnoi, Péter Lékó and Artur Yusupov.

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