Atomic Chess

Overview

Atomic Chess is a variant of chess with unique rules involving explosions. The game is played on a standard chessboard with the same pieces as regular chess but with a twist: capturing a piece causes an explosion that affects nearby squares. The primary objective remains the same—capture the opponent's king—but with additional strategic elements due to the explosion mechanic.

Project Structure

The project consists of a single Python file, which contains the implementation of the Atomic Chess game. The main class, ChessVar, is responsible for managing the game state, processing moves, and enforcing the game's rules.

Features

• Initialization: Starts a new game with pieces in their standard chess positions.
• Move Handling: Allows players to make moves using algebraic notation (e.g., 'e2', 'e4').
• Explosion Mechanic: Capturing a piece causes an explosion affecting the surrounding squares, removing affected pieces except for pawns.
• Game State: Tracks the game state and determines if the game is unfinished or if a player has won.
• Turn Management: Alternates turns between white and black.
• Game Ending: Ends the game when a king is captured or exploded.

Usage

Initializing a Game

To start a new game of Atomic Chess, create an instance of the ChessVar class:

from ChessVar import ChessVar

game = ChessVar()

Making Moves

To make a move, use the make_move method with the starting and ending positions in algebraic notation:

result = game.make_move('e2', 'e4')

The method returns True if the move is successful and False if the move is invalid or if the game has already been decided.

Checking the Game State

To get the current state of the game, use the get_game_state method:

state = game.get_game_state()
print(state)  # Output can be 'UNFINISHED', 'WHITE_WON', or 'BLACK_WON'

Printing the Board

To print the current state of the board, use the print_board method:

game.print_board()

This method will output the board's current configuration to the console.

Rules and Constraints

• Capturing Pieces: When a piece is captured, it and all pieces in the surrounding 8 squares (except pawns) are removed from the board due to an explosion.

• King Captures: Kings cannot capture pieces and capturing a king ends the game.

• No Castling, En Passant, or Pawn Promotion: These standard chess rules are not applicable in Atomic Chess.

• Pawn Moves: Pawns can move two squares forward on their first move only.

Example

Here’s an example demonstrating how to use the ChessVar class:

game = ChessVar()

print(game.make_move('e2', 'e4'))  # Output: True
print(game.make_move('e7', 'e5'))  # Output: True
print(game.make_move('f1', 'c4'))  # Output: True

game.print_board()

print(game.get_game_state())  # Output: UNFINISHED

Installation

To use the ChessVar class, ensure you have Python installed on your system. Simply place the ChessVar.py file in your working directory and import it as needed.