Through the ages, regular chess has been played. Then in 1996, there was a defining moment in the history of chess. Jao Pedro neto along with Claude Chaunier invented the magnetic modification of chess. The magnetic chess has somewhat different set of laws from the regular one. The checking of king, stalemates and checkmates do not apply to the magnetic chess. It follows the FIDE rules though. Also the en-passant rule in inapplicable. Castling does apply thereby making it possible for any white pawn in 7th or 8th rank to move 2 squares forward. Same is the case with the one in the 1st or 2nd place.
You have to actually capture the king as it is done in so many other games. You have won the game once that is done. You should not be surprised to learn that the pieces are positively or negatively charged, considering this is a magnetic chess. The pieces bearing positive charge are placed on the white side and those bearing negative charge on the black. The charge that these pieces carry does allow them to produce their own magnetic field. The king however is neutrally charged, which implies that it neither repels nor attracts any other piece. It also does not get repelled or attracted by any piece.
If a piece is moved to already occupied space, it will repel closest chess pieces, provided they are of the same rank. The pieces placed diagonally will not be affected. The closest piece on the side will be attracted, provided it is of the different color. No piece attracts or repels the king as it is neutral and hence forms a shield against the magnetic field. This makes way for a lot of new strategies which do not apply to the normal game, making it more interesting.
Aspects of physics are incorporated in the game along with chess strategy and mathematics as well. It forces a person to think and plan on a different plane altogether. This is thus, a mentally stimulating game. The magnetic chess also has variation namely the anti- magnetic chess. In this kind of chess, rules are same as the magnetic chess except that repetition in the position is not allowed and friends as well as enemy pieces are repelled. Thus magnetic chess has ushered in a whole new phase for chess playing.
