Mann (chess)

A Mann (also known as a Guard, Sage, Commoner, Prince) is a fairy chess piece that can move like a King, but has no royal power.

• Courier chess as Mann.
• Roman chess as archer or chariot.
• Two Kings Each as the non-royal king playable at Internet Chess Club under variant wild 9.

Movements

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Possible movements of the unhindered Mann piece. (Usually shown as an inverted King)

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Starting position of the variant Two Kings Each, The king closest to the a-file is the one you must checkmate to win.

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j
10											10
9											9
8											8
7											7
6											6
5											5
4											4
3											3
2											2
1											1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j

Roman Chess starting setup. Archers are on c1, h1, c10 and h10 for black.

Value

A Mann is approximately equal in strength and value to a knight, generally speaking. Often it take few moves to get the Mann properly developed in the opening. It is very effective is close proximity with large striking power, although it is rather slow, the Mann is extremely good at both attacking and defending nearby pieces and pawns, like the King for instance (Ward 1996:13). The Mann reach it's peak value during the endgame, in which the fighting strength is slightly enhanced above knights value, despite slightly below an knight in the starting phase of the game.

See also

• King
• King and pawn versus king endgame
• Opposition (chess) - technique of king facing king

References

• Wild 9 guide on Internet Chess Club
• Roman Chess brief overview
• Ward, Chris (1996), Endgame Play, Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-7920-5