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Khalif

Khalif was invented in Zarhalem, but the game spread far beyond its homeland long ago. Today it is played across most of the known world. Boards appear in taverns, markets, docks, barracks, courtyards and public squares. In many cities, it is perfectly ordinary to find two players bent over a board while a crowd gathers around them to watch.

Money often follows the game. Players may wager directly against one another and spectators commonly bet on the outcome. Skilled local players can attract regular audiences, particularly when two known rivals meet. In some cultures, Khalif is called "the refined man's arena", a contest where intelligence, nerve and patience replace blood and steel. A fortunate few possess enough skill, reputation and access to wealthy opponents to make a living from the game.

Khalif crosses class boundaries easily. Wealthy players may own elaborate boards with polished stone squares and pieces made from actual gold and silver. Professional players may carry carefully weighted tournament sets made by master craftsmen. Poorer players use whatever is available, painted wood, carved bone, clay, stone or improvised pieces scratched into shape. The game remains the same.

Its basic rules are easy to learn. Most people can understand how the pieces move after watching only a few games.

Playing well is another matter entirely.

Khalif has enormous depth. Position, timing, sacrifice, mobility and control of the Wadi all matter. A move that appears harmless may shape the game several turns later. A player who advances too quickly can discover that an apparent advantage has trapped his own Khalif and Viziers. A seemingly exposed piece may be bait for a Djinn strike or Guard retaliation.

Even a small difference in skill usually produces a large difference in results. Against an expert, a merely good player may understand exactly why each individual move is legal while still failing to understand why the game was lost until it is already over.

Rules of Khalif

The Board

Khalif is played by two players on a square board containing nine rows and nine columns, for a total of eighty one squares.

The middle row of the board is called the Wadi. It divides the board into two halves and is one of the defining features of the game.

Sides and First Move

The two players are Gold and Silver. This is determined by chance, or sometimes by negotiation. It is also common to let a weaker player play gold.

Gold always moves first.

Object of the Game

The object is to capture the opposing Khalif.

Unlike chess, there is no check or checkmate. A Khalif remains on the board until it is actually captured.

Each player begins with one Khalif and two Viziers. The Viziers are more than powerful pieces. They are also potential successors.

When a Khalif is captured, if that player still has at least one surviving Vizier, the player immediately chooses one surviving Vizier and promotes it to Khalif. The promoted piece remains on its current square.

A player may therefore have as many as three Khalifs during a single game. The original Khalif may be captured and replaced by one Vizier, which may later be captured and replaced by the second Vizier.

If a Khalif is captured and no friendly Vizier remains, that player loses immediately.

The Wadi

The Wadi is the middle row of the board and creates a natural barrier between the two sides.

Except for the Djinn, no piece may cross the Wadi completely in a single move.

A piece may move into the Wadi and stop there. On a later turn, it may move from the Wadi to the opposite side. A piece may also move along the Wadi normally if its movement allows it.

This restriction applies even to pieces capable of moving long distances. A Raider, for example, cannot begin on one side of the Wadi and finish on the other side in a single move, even if every square between them is empty.

The Djinn is the exception. It may cross the Wadi normally as part of its movement.

Because of this restriction, the Wadi usually becomes the first major battlefield of a game. Control of the Wadi determines which pieces can cross safely, where an attack can develop and whether an opponent can establish a strong position on the other side.

Starting Position

Each player's pieces begin in two rows.

The back row, from left to right, is:

Raider, Vizier, Djinn, Guard, Khalif, Guard, Djinn, Vizier, Raider.

The row immediately in front of the back row contains nine Camels.

Both players begin with the same arrangement.

The Pieces

Raider

The Raider moves any number of unobstructed squares horizontally or vertically, in the same manner as a rook in chess.

Its long movement makes it powerful in open positions, but the Wadi restriction still applies. A Raider cannot cross completely from one side of the Wadi to the other in a single move.

Vizier

The Vizier moves one or two squares horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

A Vizier may never stand adjacent to its own Khalif or another friendly Vizier. This restriction includes diagonal adjacency.

This rule makes the Viziers unusually difficult pieces to organize. They are powerful and important, but placing them too closely together can restrict their movement and interfere with the Khalif.

A Vizier also has two important indirect functions. It can become the new Khalif if the current Khalif is captured and it can greatly increase the mobility of nearby Camels.

Djinn

The Djinn moves like a knight in chess.

It is the only piece that may cross the Wadi completely in a single move.

The Djinn also has a special ability when capturing.

If a Djinn captures an opposing piece and survives any mandatory Guard retaliation caused by that capture, it may immediately make one additional knight move if, and only if, that second move also captures an opposing piece.

The second capture is optional.

A Djinn may never make a third capture during the same move.

This ability makes the Djinn exceptionally dangerous. A single attack can remove two pieces before the opponent receives another normal turn. However, Guard retaliation is resolved before the Djinn can make its second capture. If a Guard retaliates and captures the Djinn, the Djinn's move ends immediately and there is no second capture.

Guard

The Guard has two different forms of ordinary movement depending on where it ends its move.

If the Guard's destination is adjacent to a friendly Khalif or Vizier, the Guard moves like a chess queen. It may travel any unobstructed distance horizontally, vertically or diagonally, provided that its destination ends adjacent to that friendly Khalif or Vizier.

If the Guard's destination is not adjacent to a friendly Khalif or Vizier, an ordinary Guard move is limited to one square in any direction.

This makes the Guard primarily a defensive piece. Around a Khalif or Vizier it can suddenly cover great distances. Away from them, its mobility becomes much more limited.

The Guard also has a mandatory retaliation ability.

If an opposing piece captures a piece on a square adjacent to the Khalif or either Vizier and a Guard can legally move to the captured piece's square, the Guard immediately moves there and captures the attacking piece. This retaliation is mandatory. It does not use the defender's normal turn. It is an extra move which happens immediately as part of resolving the opponent's capture.

If both Guards can legally retaliate, the defending player chooses which Guard performs the retaliation.

A Guard retaliation does not itself trigger another Guard retaliation.

Khalif

The Khalif moves one square horizontally, vertically or diagonally, like a king in chess.

There is no rule preventing a Khalif from moving into danger. There is no check and no requirement to announce that a Khalif is threatened.

The Khalif is defeated only when it is actually captured and there is no surviving Vizier available to replace it.

Camel

The Camel normally moves one square diagonally forward without capturing.

Its normal captures are different from its movement. A Camel captures an opposing piece one square directly forward or one square sideways.

A Camel can never move backwards.

While a Camel is adjacent to a friendly Vizier, it gains a special long movement. Instead of its normal move, it may move any unobstructed distance diagonally forward. This long diagonal move cannot capture.

The Vizier therefore allows a line of Camels to advance much more rapidly and reposition across the board, but the effect depends on keeping the Vizier close enough to support them.

Unlike pawns in chess, Camels are never promoted when they reach the opposite side of the board.

A Camel that reaches the far end remains a Camel and can never move backwards. Its movement options there are therefore severely restricted.

Capture Resolution

Some Khalif moves can trigger several effects in sequence. These effects must be resolved in the correct order.

Ending the Game

If it is your turn and you have no legal move, you lose the game.

This is not a draw. Khalif has no equivalent of chess stalemate.

Resignation

A player may resign at any time while the game is active.

The opponent wins immediately.

Draw by Agreement

A player may offer a draw at any time during an active game.

The opponent may accept or decline.

A draw only occurs if both players agree.

There is no automatic draw simply because the position appears equal or repetitive.

No Check or Checkmate

Khalif has no chess style check or checkmate rule.

Players are not required to announce that a Khalif is under attack. A player may leave a Khalif exposed. The opposing player must notice the opportunity and actually capture it.

General Strategy

Win the Wadi

Expect the first serious struggle to happen around the Wadi.

The Wadi slows most pieces and creates a natural dividing line between the two armies. Advancing through it carelessly can leave pieces isolated on the opponent's side without enough support.

Do not rush simply because you can reach the Wadi first.

Establish control, force the opponent into awkward positions and create safe routes across. Win the Wadi first, then advance.

Respect the Djinn

The Djinn is probably the most powerful individual piece in Khalif.

Its ability to cross the Wadi freely makes it unusually mobile and its potential second capture can destroy a position very quickly.

The threat is not merely that a Djinn can take one valuable piece. It may be able to use that first capture to reach another target immediately.

A normal piece cannot truly protect another piece from the first Djinn capture simply by threatening to recapture on the next turn. The Djinn may already have made its second strike before that turn arrives.

Guards are the exception because their retaliation happens immediately.

Whenever an enemy Djinn has a possible capture, look beyond the first victim. Ask where the Djinn could go afterward.

Use the Viziers With the Camels

Camels are much more mobile when supported by a Vizier.

A Vizier advancing behind a group of Camels can allow them to make long diagonal moves, rapidly changing the shape of the position and helping them reach useful parts of the board without spending many turns moving one square at a time.

Used well, the Vizier and Camels can advance together as a flexible formation.

Protect Your Viziers

A Vizier is not merely a strong piece.

It is also a possible future Khalif.

Losing both Viziers changes the entire game because the current Khalif becomes the player's final Khalif. Once both Viziers are gone, capturing the Khalif ends the game immediately.

Protecting at least one Vizier can therefore be more important than preserving pieces which appear stronger in the current position.

Do Not Crowd the Khalif and Viziers

The Khalif and Viziers are powerful when they have room to move.

They can also interfere badly with one another.

A Vizier may never stand adjacent to the Khalif or another friendly Vizier. Poor positioning can therefore trap important pieces behind their own army or remove squares they desperately need.

Do not bunch them together without considering where each one will be able to move afterward.

A position containing several powerful pieces can still be weak if those pieces have nowhere legal to go.

Understand the Guards

Guards are extremely strong defensive pieces when properly positioned.

Their long movement depends on ending adjacent to a friendly Khalif or Vizier, which means their strength changes dramatically depending on the position of those pieces.

Their mandatory retaliation also makes attacking protected positions dangerous. An apparently successful capture can simply result in the attacking piece being immediately removed.

Always look at the enemy Guards before making an important capture near a Khalif or Vizier.

Also remember your own Guards. Their strength is not automatic. They must have a legal route to the square where retaliation would occur.

Do Not Rush the Camels Too Far

Camels may initially look like natural attacking pieces because they always move forward.

That does not mean they should be rushed toward the far side of the board.

A Camel cannot move backwards and is not promoted when it reaches the last row. A Camel pushed all the way forward may therefore lose much of its usefulness.

Their strength lies primarily in the middle game, where their unusual captures, diagonal movement and increased mobility around a Vizier give them many possible roles.

Advance them with purpose, not simply because forward movement is available.

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