List of chess variants

Gliński's hexagonal chess by Władysław Gliński (1936) was popular in Eastern Europe with a reported half-million players.[1] It is one of more than 2,000 published chess variants.

A chess variant (or unorthodox chess) is a game "related to, derived from or inspired by chess".[2] The difference from chess might include one or more of the following:

Regional chess games, some of which are older than Western chess, such as chaturanga, shatranj, xiangqi and shogi, are typically called chess variants in the Western world. They have some similarities to chess and share a common game ancestor.

The number of possible chess variants is virtually unlimited. Confining the number to published variants, D. B. Pritchard, author of The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants, estimates there are well over 2,000.[3][4]

In the context of chess problems, chess variants are called fantasy chess, heterodox chess or fairy chess. Some chess variants are used only in problem composition and not in actual play.

Chess-derived games

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

These chess variants are derived from chess by changing the board, setup, pieces or rules.

Chess with different starting positions

In these variants, the starting position is different, but otherwise the board, pieces and rules are the same. In most such variants the pawns are placed on their usual squares, but the position of other pieces is either randomly determined or selected by the players. The motivation for these variants is to nullify established opening knowledge. The downside of these variants is that the initial position has usually less harmony and balance than the standard chess position.[5]

abcdefgh
8
a8 black bishop
b8 black knight
c8 black rook
d8 black bishop
e8 black knight
f8 black king
g8 black rook
h8 black queen
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white bishop
b1 white knight
c1 white rook
d1 white bishop
e1 white knight
f1 white king
g1 white rook
h1 white queen
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Chess960, one of the 960 possible starting positions
abcdefgh
8
a8 white rook
b8 white knight
c8 white bishop
d8 white queen
e8 white king
f8 white bishop
g8 white knight
h8 white rook
a7 white pawn
b7 white pawn
c7 white pawn
d7 white pawn
e7 white pawn
f7 white pawn
g7 white pawn
h7 white pawn
a2 black pawn
b2 black pawn
c2 black pawn
d2 black pawn
e2 black pawn
f2 black pawn
g2 black pawn
h2 black pawn
a1 black rook
b1 black knight
c1 black bishop
d1 black queen
e1 black king
f1 black bishop
g1 black knight
h1 black rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Upside-down chess starting position (White sits at bottom)

Chess with different forces

Some chess variants use different numbers of pieces for White and Black. All pieces in these games are standard chess pieces, there are no fairy chess pieces.

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a4 white pawn
b4 white pawn
c4 white pawn
d4 white pawn
e4 white pawn
f4 white pawn
g4 white pawn
h4 white pawn
a3 white pawn
b3 white pawn
c3 white pawn
d3 white pawn
e3 white pawn
f3 white pawn
g3 white pawn
h3 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white pawn
b1 white pawn
c1 white pawn
d1 white pawn
e1 white pawn
f1 white pawn
g1 white pawn
h1 white pawn
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Dunsany's chess by Lord Dunsany
abcdefgh
8
a8 black knight
b8 black knight
c8 black knight
d8 black knight
e8 black king
f8 black knight
g8 black knight
h8 black knight
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
b1 white queen
d1 white queen
e1 white king
g1 white queen
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Charge of the Light Brigade
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c4 white pawn
d4 white pawn
e4 white pawn
f4 white pawn
b3 white pawn
c3 white pawn
f3 white pawn
g3 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Legal's Game by Legall de Kermeur
abcdefgh
8
b8 black knight
c8 black knight
e8 black king
f8 black knight
g8 black knight
e7 black pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
e1 white king
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Peasants' Revolt by R. L. Frey
abcdefgh
8
a8 black knight
b8 black knight
c8 black knight
d8 black knight
e8 black king
f8 black knight
g8 black knight
h8 black knight
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c6 black pawn
f6 black pawn
b5 black pawn
c5 black pawn
d5 black pawn
e5 black pawn
f5 black pawn
g5 black pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Weak! by Ralph Betza

Chess with unusual rules

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black king
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black knight
f8 black bishop
g8 black king
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white king
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white knight
f1 white bishop
g1 white king
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Knightmate starting position
abcdefgh
8
a2 black king
b2 black rook
c2 black bishop
d2 black knight
e2 white knight
f2 white bishop
g2 white rook
h2 white king
a1 black queen
b1 black rook
c1 black bishop
d1 black knight
e1 white knight
f1 white bishop
g1 white rook
h1 white queen
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Racing Kings: first king to 8th rank wins.

Multimove variants

In these variants one or both players can move more than once per turn. The board and the pieces in these variants are the same as in standard chess.

Chess with incomplete information or elements of chance

In these variants, luck or randomness sometimes plays a role. Still, like in poker or backgammon, good luck and bad luck even out over the long-term with clever strategy and consideration of probabilities being decisively important.

Play It By Trust by Yoko Ono

Chess with different boards

In these variants the same pieces and rules as in chess are used, but the board is different: It can be smaller or larger, non-square overall,[40] or based on hexagonal or triangular cells (instead of square cells) or even modular regarding shape or number of cells; it can even be extra-dimensional. The movement of pieces in some variants is modified in concurrence with the geometry of the gameboard.

Double Chess by Julian Hayward
Masonic Chess by George Dekle Sr.
Rhombic Chess by Tony Paletta

Chess with different boards and unusual rules

Chad by Christian Freeling
Jesön Mor starting position

Chess with unusual (fairy) pieces

Most of the pieces in these variants are borrowed from chess. The game goal and rules are also very similar to those in chess; however, these variants include one or more fairy pieces which move differently from chess pieces.

abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
d6 white upside-down king
d3 black upside-down king
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Anti-king chess. The anti-king is shown as an inverted king.

Chess with empress and/or princess pieces

There are a number of variants which use empress (rook+knight) and princess (bishop+knight) compound pieces. Several other different names have been given to them. The empress (R+N) is also named marshall, chancellor, etc.[57] The princess (B+N) is also called cardinal, archbishop, janus, paladin, Prime Minister, etc.[58] To adapt the two new pieces, the orthogonal board is usually extended to 10×8 or 10×10 with two additional pawns added. Another less common compound piece is the amazon (queen+knight).

Grand Chess by Christian Freeling

Chess hybrids

The pieces in these variants are borrowed from both chess and another game. The game goal and rules are either the same or very similar to those in chess. However, these variants include one or more fairy pieces which move differently from chess pieces.

Chess with unusual (fairy) pieces and different boards

Ea5 black rookEb5 black knightEc5 black kingEd5 black knightEe5 black rook
Ea4 black pawnEb4 black pawnEc4 black pawnEd4 black pawnEe4 black pawn
Ea3Eb3Ec3Ed3Ee3
Ea2Eb2Ec2Ed2Ee2
Ea1Eb1Ec1Ed1Ee1
E
Da5 N dDb5 black bishopDc5 black queenDd5 N dDe5 black bishop
Da4 black pawnDb4 black pawnDc4 black pawnDd4 black pawnDe4 black pawn
Da3Db3Dc3Dd3De3
Da2Db2Dc2Dd2De2
Da1Db1Dc1Dd1De1
D
Ca5Cb5Cc5Cd5Ce5
Ca4Cb4Cc4Cd4Ce4
Ca3Cb3Cc3Cd3Ce3
Ca2Cb2Cc2Cd2Ce2
Ca1Cb1Cc1Cd1Ce1
C
Ba5Bb5Bc5Bd5Be5
Ba4Bb4Bc4Bd4Be4
Ba3Bb3Bc3Bd3Be3
Ba2 white pawnBb2 white pawnBc2 white pawnBd2 white pawnBe2 white pawn
Ba1 white bishopBb1 N lBc1 white queenBd1 white bishopBe1 N l
B
Aa5Ab5Ac5Ad5Ae5
Aa4Ab4Ac4Ad4Ae4
Aa3Ab3Ac3Ad3Ae3
Aa2 white pawnAb2 white pawnAc2 white pawnAd2 white pawnAe2 white pawn
Aa1 white rookAb1 white knightAc1 white kingAd1 white knightAe1 white rook
A
Raumschach initial position; inverted knights represent unicorns
abcdefghij
10a10 black upside-down rookb10c10d10e10f10g10h10i10j10 black upside-down rook10
9a9 black upside-down bishopb9 black rookc9 black knightd9 black bishope9 black queenf9 black kingg9 black bishoph9 black knighti9 black rookj9 black upside-down bishop9
8a8 black pawnb8 black pawnc8 black pawnd8 black pawne8 black pawnf8 black pawng8 black pawnh8 black pawni8 black pawnj8 black pawn8
7a7b7c7d7e7f7g7h7i7j77
6a6b6c6d6e6f6g6h6i6j66
5a5b5c5d5e5f5g5h5i5j55
4a4b4c4d4e4f4g4h4i4j44
3a3 white pawnb3 white pawnc3 white pawnd3 white pawne3 white pawnf3 white pawng3 white pawnh3 white pawni3 white pawnj3 white pawn3
2a2 white upside-down bishopb2 white rookc2 white knightd2 white bishope2 white queenf2 white kingg2 white bishoph2 white knighti2 white rookj2 white upside-down bishop2
1a1 white upside-down rookb1c1d1e1f1g1h1i1j1 white upside-down rook1
abcdefghij
Shako starting setup. Cannons (shown as inverted rooks) are on a1, j1, a10, and j10; elephants (shown as inverted bishops) are on a2, j2, a9, and j9.

Single-player variants

a4 white knightb4c4 black bishopd4 white rook
a3 white kingb3 black kingc3 white rookd3 black rook
a2 black knightb2 black knightc2 white queend2 white bishop
a1 black rookb1 white knightc1 black bishopd1 white bishop
Queen's Quadrille. All pieces are placed randomly.
a4 white kingb4 white queenc4 black bishopd4 white rook
a3 black rookb3 black kingc3d3 black rook
a2 white bishopb2 black bishopc2 black queend2 white bishop
a1 white knightb1 white knightc1 black knightd1 black knight
Hippodrome. All pieces are placed randomly, except the knights.

Similar to card solitaires, there are a few chess variants for a single player. In difference to chess puzzles, these variants have a random starting position. Some of these variants are similar to permutation chess problems, for example the game Queen's Quadrille, which was invented by Karen Robinson in 1998.[67] All chess pieces (except pawns) are randomly placed on a 4×4 board. Then one of the queens is removed and the game is started. Pieces move as usual, however capturing is not allowed. A player can move white and black pieces in any order, without regard for colour. The goal is to move the queen to one of the corners, or visit all squares on the board only once. The same idea is found in the game Hippodrome, which was invented by Andy Lewicki in 2003.[68] The initial position is obtained by placing four knights on the first row and all other pieces from a chess set (except pawns) on the remaining fields. Then one of the pieces (except knights) is removed and the game is started. The goal is to move all knights to the opposite rank.

In 1998 Karen Robinson also invented a game which Hans Bodlaender named Chess Contradance, as the setup is like a contradance with the two lines facing each other. Set the pieces up as in regular chess, but without the pawns. The first and eighth ranks are safe havens, i.e., no piece can be captured on these ranks. The object of the puzzle is to move the pieces such that all pieces move to the opposite back row without ever putting any piece in danger of being captured. Black and white alternate moves. Robinson now prefers the name Grand March for this game.[69]

Multiplayer variants

These variants arose out of the desire to play chess with more than just one other person.

Bughouse chess, the game in progress

Games inspired by chess

These variants are very different from chess and may be classified as abstract strategy board games instead of chess variants (by restrictive, proper definition).

Chess-related historical and regional games

Some of these games have developed independently while others are ancestors or relatives of modern chess.[74] The popularity of these variants may be limited to their respective places of origin (as is largely the case for shogi), or worldwide (as is the case for xiangqi). The games have their own institutions and traditions.

Historical

Shatranj set, 12th century
a b c d e f g h
8 a8 sy b8 py e8 black king f8 black upside-down bishop g8 black knight h8 black upside-down knight 8
7 a7 ny b7 py e7 black pawn f7 black pawn g7 black pawn h7 black pawn 7
6 a6 ey b6 py 6
5 a5 ky b5 py 5
4 g4 pr h4 kr 4
3 g3 pr h3 er 3
2 a2 pg b2 pg c2 pg d2 pg g2 pr h2 nr 2
1 a1 sg b1 ng c1 eg d1 kg g1 pr h1 sr 1
a b c d e f g h

Regional

Sittuyin, players elect their own starting setups behind the pawns

Chess variants software

See also

References

  1. Pritchard (1994), p. 139
  2. Pritchard (1994), p. vii
  3. Pritchard (2000), p. 8
  4. "Most published ones (but none described here), are, in truth, forgettable." D. B. Pritchard (2000). Popular Chess Variants, p. 8
  5. Pritchard (2000), p. 18
  6. Pritchard (2007), p. 77
  7. Upside-down chess by Hans Bodlaender
  8. Muller, H.G. (2015-02-27). "Charge of the Light Brigade". The Chess Variant Pages. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  9. Pritchard (2007), §9.1
  10. "Unbalanced Games" by John Beasley, Variant Chess, Vol 5, Issue 37, ISSN 0958-8248.
  11. Whelan, George (2003-03-10). "Peasant Revolt". The Chess Variant Pages. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  12. Pritchard (2007), p. 76
  13. Weak! by Hans Bodlaender
  14. "Benedict chess".
  15. https://jmar306.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/chess-variant-checked-chess/
  16. Pritchard (2007), p. 51
  17. Einstein chess
  18. "Genesis chess".
  19. "Guard chess".
  20. Pritchard (2007), p. 48
  21. Jedi Knight chess.
  22. Pritchard (2007), p. 44
  23. Knightmate by Hans Bodlaender
  24. "Pocket Knight" The Chess Variant Pages
  25. Pritchard (2007), p. 52
  26. Pritchard (2000), p. 14
  27. Pritchard (2007), p. 61
  28. "Replacement chess".
  29. "Rifle chess".
  30. "Doublemove chess".
  31. Double-Take Chess by Joel Marler
  32. ChessHeads chessmate.com
  33. ChessHeads BoardGameGeek
  34. Fantasy Chess
  35. "No Stress Chess".
  36. "Play It By Trust / White Chess Set". flickr. 2008-09-27. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  37. "Schrödinger's chess".
  38. Pritchard (2007), p. 100
  39. Viennese Chess
  40. Jelliss, G. P. (Autumn 1997). "Reshaping the Chessboard". Variant Chess (British Chess Variants Society) 3 (25): 92–93. ISSN 0958-8248.
  41. Pritchard (2007), p. 114
  42. "Doublewide chess". The Chess Variant Pages
  43. "Infinite chess".
  44. László Polgár (1997). Reform-Chess. Könemann Verlags GmbH. ISBN 3-89508-226-0.
  45. Variant Chess, Vol 8, Issue 61
  46. Polgar Superstar Chess Patent
  47. michaeljzachary.blogspot.com
  48. Pritchard (2007), p. 223
  49. Pritchard (1994), pp. 285–86
  50. Dan Brumleve, Joel David Hamkins, Philipp Schlicht, The Mate-in-n Problem of Infinite Chess Is Decidable, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Volume 7318, 2012, pp. 78-88, Springer , available at arXiv.
  51. "Diplomat Chess". The Chess Variant Pages
  52. Bates, Mark (25 March 2013). "Sovereign Chess". The Chess Variant Pages. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  53. "Zonal Chess" by Larry Smith, The Chess Variant Pages
  54. Anti-King chess by Peter Aronson.
  55. Two setups were suggested by the inventor initially, but only the second one (Anti-King II), which is very close to standard chess gained popularity.
  56. by Steven Streetman.
  57. The Piececlopedia: The Rook-Knight Compound by Fergus Duniho and David Howe.
  58. The Piececlopedia: Bishop-Knight Compound by Fergus Duniho and David Howe.
  59. Chessers
  60. "Playing card games on a chess board"
  61. Pritchard (2007), p. 304
  62. Bomberman chess
  63. "Chess on a Really Big Board". The Chess Variant Pages
  64. Das chess in the Russian language.
  65. Das chess in the Esperanto language.
  66. Shako by Hans Bodlaender
  67. Queen's Quadrille
  68. Hippodrome
  69. Chess Contradance
  70. "Chess4".
  71. "ChessWar".
  72. "Flick Chess by Sama Sama Studios".
  73. "ForTheCrown".
  74. Murray, H. J. R. (1913). A History of Chess. Benjamin Press (originally published by Oxford University Press). ISBN 0-936317-01-9.
  75. "Online Interactive Chessboard at Apronus.com".
  76. "Maker Chess".
  77. "List of chess variant engines".
  78. "Fairy-Max configurable chess-variant engine".
  79. "Nebiyu general game-playing engine".
  80. "Sjaak II configurable chess-variant engine".
  81. "Chess Variants supported by WyeSoft Chess".

Bibliography

Further reading

Shogi

Xiangqi

Others

External links

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