Sonja

unicorn

Sonja is shy.

She is afraid of making mistakes, so she makes small moves and keeps her pieces close.

She wants every move to be right. A mistake feels worse to her than losing. So she picks the move that seems safest.

Sonja likes to move her pieces one or two squares, out toward the edge, far from your king. But she does not guard her own king as well. Later in the game, she sometimes makes a move that lets you checkmate her in one move. If you miss it, she fixes it on her next move.

Do what Sonja doesn't dare. Put your pieces in the middle of the board and send them toward her king. When two or more of your pieces are close to her king, look for checkmate after every move she makes.

Karl Anker

troll

Karl Anker is greedy.

He captures everything he can reach, whether it's clever or downright silly.

He is small and stubborn, and he believes with all his heart that whoever takes the most pieces wins. It is not true, but nobody has told him. So he counts the pieces he has taken, and nothing else.

If he can capture a piece, he captures it, every single time, because he simply cannot help himself. If he can capture two, he takes the bigger one. He will happily give away his queen to take a little pawn. And even when his king is in danger, he captures first.

Offer a protected piece as bait. Karl Anker takes it. Of course he does. Capture back on your next move. Check that the piece you win is worth more than the one you lose.

Thyra

fairy

Thyra is scatterbrained.

She sends her queen out first, hunting for one brilliant move.

She is quick, and she loves her queen above everything on the board. Thyra thinks it is a superstar that can win the game almost on its own, while the other pieces wait.

First of all she sends her queen out, hunting for the one move that decides it all. If she loses her queen, Thyra panics. Then she runs a pawn to make a new queen, and forgets everything else.

Attack her queen with a new piece each time. She saves it almost every time, and while she moves it, you get another piece out. After three moves like that, you have three pieces out against one queen on the run.

Lars

zombie

Lars is hungry.

He shuffles around the board, looking for something to bite into.

He thinks about one thing at a time. Not plans. Not his king. Food.

If Lars sees a piece he wants, he heads straight for it. He never forgets what tempted him and often comes back to the same piece. When nothing is in reach right now, he shuffles one step closer to the next bite.

Move your pieces away when Lars comes near. And while he hunts for food, take his pieces that stand alone, and go for his king.

Morten

elf

Morten is sly.

He builds a wall of pawns and shoots at your pieces from a safe distance.

He is smart, and he loves inventing all kinds of ingenious strategies with his pawns. Don't be fooled: he also shoots far and true when it counts.

Morten builds labyrinths out of pawns, and he is a little too proud of them: fine walls, dead ends and riddles. It is not always as clever as he thinks, because pawns never move back, right?

Look all the way across before you move: is someone aiming at your square? And while he polishes the perfect plan, you find the door he forgot in the labyrinth, where your pieces can get through.

Heksa

witch

Heksa is a copycat.

She copies your moves and teases you while she plays.

She is absolutely certain she is the smartest one in the room, but we know better. She has no plan of her own. She copies yours. That is why she always plays Black.

Heksa copies every move you make. As long as you play ordinary moves, she is right behind you. But when the mirror breaks, she has no idea what to do.

Play a move she can't copy: a check, a fork, or a threat with no mirror image. Then watch her plan fall apart.

She always plays Black.

Felix

vampire

Felix is worn out.

He gets stronger with every piece he captures, and the bigger the piece, the stronger he gets.

Old and tired, Felix knows how to get his strength back: by capturing your pieces. He wants them, one by one, until he is mighty again.

At the very start he is at his weakest. That is why he tries to trade, queens and rooks most of all, and what he has gained, he never loses again.

You cannot avoid trading pieces forever. What you can do is hurry: checkmate Felix long before he becomes almost immortal.

Erling

minotaur

Erling is unstoppable.

He knows only one direction: straight ahead.

He can do only one thing, but he does it really well: attack! He is the most direct opponent you will meet, and if you beat Erling, you have a friend for life.

When Erling moves, the board rumbles. His pieces run straight into your half as fast as they can. Castling? He rarely has time for that. His king is left standing home alone, because everything Erling owns gets sent forward.

Don't race a minotaur! Castle your king and sit tight. Let him storm too far. If Erling sacrifices something to break through, say yes please! Trade pieces when you can. Then Erling has fewer to attack with. When the storm is over, you are the one with the most left.

Gardar

goblin

Gardar is grumpy.

He trades and trades until the board is empty. If it ends in a draw, he has won.

He can't stand cheering. When someone wins and is happy, he gets grumpy. So he only plays one way: you get White and the first move. He takes Black, and then a draw counts as a win for him. Chess players call it Armageddon. Gardar doesn't need to win. It's enough that you don't. His quill is always ready to sign a draw.

Gardar says yes to every trade, until the board is almost empty. There he defends well. And when he is ahead, he never checkmates you. He stalemates you instead. Stalemate is a draw, and a draw is a win for Gardar. Then nobody cheers, and that is how he likes it best.

You have White, so you have to win. A draw is not enough. Say no to his trades, keep your pieces on the board, and attack before everything is gone. If you are ahead, take care not to stalemate him. And if you win, cheer out loud.

He always plays Black.

Simen

mummy

Simen is clumsy.

He wrecks good positions all by himself. Pieces, though, he does not give away.

Good chess is about putting your pieces on good squares. That is called playing positionally. Simen does the opposite. His arms and legs each go their own way, and so do his pieces: they do not work together. A good position soon turns messy with him, and he thinks that is great fun. But don't be fooled. He looks after his pieces well.

Simen wrecks his pawn structure and puts his pieces on poor squares. His trades make things worse. These are positional mistakes. He makes them in every game, but rarely gives away a piece.

Don't wait for a free piece. Win positionally instead. Put your pieces on the good squares he gives up. Then find what is weak in his position, and attack it with several pieces.

Misha

ghost

Misha is an escape artist.

He sees simple threats long before they come.

You can see right through him. Bad news: he sees right through you, too. Misha has all the time in the world, and he spends it on two things: playing blitz and learning endgames. He has seen it all before, and he is a little bored.

All those blitz games have taught him to see simple threats at once, and his pieces slip away to safe squares, as if they knew all along. And in the endgame, when there are few pieces left on the board, he knows every trick. But he can't be bothered to think many moves ahead.

Show him something new: a combination. Plan several moves that work together. Catch him before the board is empty.

Dragulf

dragon

Dragulf is headless.

The Boss holds firm, the Daredevil comes straight at you, and the Idiot steps in every time the heads switch.

Three heads share one body, and they argue about who gets to play. So they take turns, one head at a time.

Nothing rattles the Boss. He plays it safe: castles early, keeps his pieces together and builds a fortress around his king. Then he waits, completely calm, for you to make a mistake. The Daredevil has music in his ears and listens to no one. He comes straight for your king, with pieces hanging on both sides. The Idiot steps in when Dragulf is winning or when he gets bored. After the Idiot, the other head always takes over.

Against the Boss: take space on the board, get all your pieces out, and attack where he isn't looking. Against the Daredevil: keep your king safe and your pieces protected, and don't fall for simple traps. Against the Idiot: stay alert. He gives you chance after chance.