2022 begins with the most horrific event in Eastern Europe - Russia's war against Ukraine. We cannot stay aside, so we express our support for the Ukrainian people and wish them a speedy victory. We hope that peace will soon return to the fraternal for the Belarusians country!
On the other hand, this war prompted some necessary changes in the rules, which we updated.
First, coronation rules. Previously, in case of assassination of the Kniaź, the player made a mandatory coronation as his move. In practice, this meant that the player after the actual loss of the Kniažyč (who turned into Kniaź) lost one more move. In case of a competitive play, such a move almost always leads to rapid defeat. The previous calculations for a strategic advantage in the location of the Kniaź did not come true, because this option is possible only in endgames, where each piece is valuable, especially so important as the Kniažyč.
Therefore, in the new version of the rules there is no omission of move. The player who lost the Kniaź, replaces his Kniažyč with a Kniaź and makes his move, as usual.
Second, changes in the Gift set. Testing of this version of Belarusian and Litvin chess by our customers and players confirmed the necessity of changes in the design of the pieces icons. In particular, Vieršnik, Hietman and Harmata for most were not very well marked, which led to possible game losses, reducing the fun of the game.
Therefore, in the new edition of the game design provides better difference between the pieces from each other, further grouping them by types.
Third, we added the Ukrainian language. Now our friends from Ukraine can play Belarusian chess in their native language, remembering the glorious times of the common history of Belarusians and Ukrainians - Litvins and Ruthenians!