Over the Sky | Image Gallery | Artbooks | Last Exile Chronicle | 156
In this world, chess features a wide board known as "euryu," a narrow board known as "stenon," and a mix of the two known as fairy chess. Stenon features the following three points:
- The board surface is the smaller size of 6x7. (the euryu board is 8x8)
- There is no knight piece.
- The king, queen and bishop pieces all possess an hourglass that is activated during a special rule that occurs when they land on the "event line," which is the center horizontal row.
The type of chess played on the Silvana is on the stenon 6x7 board in the fairy chess style. Chess between Dio and Lucciola is also the fairy chess type, as can be seen from the fact that there is a knight piece and it is on the 6x7 sized board.
The basic rules for euryu and stenon are almost the same as modern chess. A characteristic of stenon is something called the "hourglass rule," that occurs where a piece with an hourglass lands on the event line when taking an opponent's piece. All hourglasses flip, and those pieces become pawns. The king also becomes a pawn, and during this time frame it becomes impossible to check. Under these circumstances, the number of pawns on the board could lead to an easy win situation. However the random change in pieces could also make a strategy more difficult. Because this effect lasts for as long as it takes for the hourglasses to finish filling, it is not impossible to evade it due to the time limit. But it's not a strategy that can be used many times, so the key to victory in the stenon type game is utilizing the event line.
Furthermore, in order to play the stenon type of game, using a certain type of board in necessary.
(Top Right Image)
Label: Board Surface
Arrows from top to bottom: Propulsion Controller, Chess Piece Plug Socket, Piece Maneuvering Controller
(Second Right Image)
Label: Socket Up
(Third Right Image)
Arrow: Event Line
(Fourth Right Image)
Label: Dio's Side
Arrow: Steam Motor
(Fifth Right Image)
Labels: Lucciola's Side (left), Dio's Side (right)
Arrow: Main Conductive Gear (Rotates Slowly)
(Left Image)
Arrows from top, clockwise: Chess Piece, Main Body of Chess Console, Main Conductive Gear (Rotates Slowly), Drive Gear Cluster, Steam Motor
(Bottom Row of Images, continuation of Each Piece Comparison)
LUKE (ROOK) Piece:
Left: Can move any number of squares in any direction vertically and horizontally.
Right: No hourglass. (an event does not occur when placed on the event line)
BISHOP Piece:
Top arrow: Hourglass
Bottom arrow: Hourglass flips on the event line.
Bottom: Can move any number of squares in any direction diagonally.
PAWN Piece:
Top: Can only move diagonally when capturing a piece.
No hourglass. (an event does not occur when placed on the event line)
Bottom: Can move one square forward at a time.
If a pawn reaches the other side of the board, it can no longer make any moves.
