Semedo (chess)
Semedo (Latin: Semedo) — a variant of chess, presumably invented by Álvaro Semedo.
Description
Some chess historians dispute the existence of such chess in general. Supposedly invented by a Jesuit missionary in China, Álvaro Semedo. Subsequently, other Catholic missionaries in China reported a special Chinese chess called "semedo". A description of this game in latin is given in a book published in 1694 in England.[1][2]
Board
Initial semedo alignment (♔ ♚ — kings, ♕ ♛ — scientists, ♘ ♞ — knights, ♙ ♟ — pawns, ◬ ⟁ — rockets):
| 8 | ♞ | ♛ | ♚ | ♛ | ♞ |
| 7 | ⟁ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | ⟁ |
| 6 | ♟ | ♟ | |||
| 5 | |||||
| 4 | |||||
| 3 | ♙ | ♙ | |||
| 2 | ◬ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ◬ |
| 1 | ♘ | ♕ | ♔ | ♕ | ♘ |
| a | b | c | d | e |
References
- Hyde T. Mandragorias: seu Historia Shahiludii. Oxford, 1694.
- http://books.google.com/books?id=JHdUAAAAcAAJ
External links
- Rules Semedo (chess)
- The Meeting of Shen Fuzong and Thomas Hyde in 1687. A Lecture for the Oxford Bibliographical Society, 1 March 2010.
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