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The Pieces ...

The pieces used for "Keeps & Moats Chess" consist of the usual set of pieces used in traditional Chess, with one minor adjustment: One Pawn will be given a mark to distinguish it as the "Castle Pawn", which will have slightly different movement rules.

The pieces have the following movement rules:

Pawns  

Opening Move: One or two unoccupied squares directly away from its own Keep (Pawn's cannot jump or capture other pieces with this type of opening move) Opening Capture -- moving one diagonal square (onto the Battlefield - away from its Keep) that is occupied by an enemy piece (For chess regulars, there is no capture en passant.)
Movement on the Battlefield: One unoccupied square in any of the four orthogonal (horizontal or vertical) directions A Pawn cannot return to the Moat of its own Kingdom, or that of an ally A Pawn can move onto an enemy's Moat (see below)
Capturing: A Pawn captures by moving one square in any of the four diagonal directions that is occupied by an enemy piece A move to capture cannot return a Pawn to the Moat of its own Kingdom, or that of an ally A move to capture can move a Pawn onto and enemy's Moat (see below)

Movement Within an Enemy's Moat: If a Pawn reaches an enemy's Moat, the only available moves are those that will put the Pawn inside the enemy's Keep (either a standard orthogonal movement, or a diagonal capture) — that Pawn cannot return to the Battlefield.

Once Inside an Enemy's Keep: If a Pawn reaches an enemy's Keep, it must immediately be removed from the board in trade for one of the following, as chosen by the player that moved the Pawn:

• Release of Prisoner - The Pawn is traded for any major (non-Pawn) piece that had been captured by the Kingdom whose Keep the Pawn just entered. The "released prisoner" is placed upon the square previously occupied by the Pawn.
• Assassination - The moving player chooses to remove any Major enemy piece (except the King) from within the Keep the Pawn just entered.

Castle Pawn  

Treated the Same as a Pawn, Except: The Castle Pawn is allowed to move freely within the Keep and Moat of its own Kingdom, and that of an ally. The Castle Pawn can also enter the Battlefield and return to the Moat/Keep later. Otherwise, all rules for standard Pawns apply.

Castling: As a special two-piece move (Castling), the Castle Pawn and King can swap squares in a single turn, provided neither piece had previously been moved. Players are allowed to Castle in order to remove the King from an existing threat.

Rooks, Bishops, & Queen  

The "sliding pieces" – Rooks, Bishops, and Queen – follow the same movement and capturing rules as in traditional Chess, with a single exception — Special "Moats Rule": A sliding piece can only enter an enemy's Keep if it starts the turn on that enemy's Moat. The Moat puts no movement restriction on entering friendly Keeps, or when exiting any Keep.

Rooks: Move and capture in any of the four orthogonal directions Can continue moving in a single direction until ... they make a capture their movement is blocked by a "friendly" piece they reach an enemy's Moat or, they reach the edge of the board
Bishops: Move and capture in any of the four diagonal directions Can continue moving in a single direction until ... they make a capture their movement is blocked by a "friendly" piece they reach an enemy's Moat or, they reach the edge of the board
Queen: Combines the powers of the Rook and Bishop... Moves and captures in any of the eight directions Can continue moving in a single direction until ... it makes a capture its movement is blocked by a "friendly" piece it reaches an enemy's Moat or, it reaches the edge of the board

Knight  

Knights follow the same movement and capturing rules as in traditional Chess. Knights are able to jump over Moats - they are not constrained by the special "Moats Rule" as the sliding pieces are.

Knights: Move and capture in a combination of one square orthogonal, and one square diagonal Jump over intermediate pieces Capture any enemy piece they land on Cannot land on a square occupied by a "friendly" piece Cannot land off the board

King  

The King follows the same movement and capturing rules as in traditional Chess, except that castling is handled differently.

Move and Capture: To any of the surrounding eight squares that are not occupied by a "friendly" piece.
Castling: As a special two-piece move (Castling), the Castle Pawn and King can swap squares in a single turn, provided neither piece had previously been moved. Players are allowed to Castle in order to remove the King from an existing threat.

Start-of-Game Setup

At the start of the game, each Kingdom's pieces are arranged within their own Keep & Moat as follows:

• The 7 Pawns are placed within the Moat.
• The King is placed upon the Throne (square marked with the Kingdom's color), with ...
  • the Queen before him ...
  • and the Castle Pawn behind him.
• One Knight sits at the King's right hand ...
• ... with the other at the Queen's left.
• One Bishop sits at the Queen's right hand ...
• ... with the other at the King's left.
• Finally, the Queen's row has a Rook at each end.