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Regulator Chess. Game on a 35 square board with a 7 square track on which a piece moves that determines how Knights and Bishops can move. (6x7, Cells: 42) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Anonymous wrote on Mon, Apr 1, 2002 12:45 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★excellent!
Grid Chess. Always move to a different 2 by 2 square part of the board. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]gnohmon wrote on Tue, Apr 2, 2002 05:49 AM UTC:Poor ★The comment system says 'skip to comments' but there are no comments. This game should not be described without mentioning U-Grid Chess, and also Betza's Pinwheel Chess (and Orbital Rotating Grid and so forth).
Archoniclastic Chess. Pieces are augmented on squares of their color. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]PBA wrote on Tue, Mar 26, 2002 03:00 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★The world obviously needs more Augmented Chess variants! I wonder, though, if moving this to a 10x10 board where Camels/Long Knights (and maybe (3,3) leapers) are not out of place would allow a more natural selection of Augmenters.
<p>PBA
Danadazo. Game played on the 47 edges of a grid with rounded corners, borrowing elements from Tafl. (Cells: 47) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]PBA wrote on Tue, Mar 26, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★I do like the idea of playing on edges as opposed to points or cells. It really does give a different topology.
<p>PBA
Alice Chess. Classic Variant where pieces switch between two boards whenever they move. (2x(8x8), Cells: 128) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Daniel wrote on Fri, Mar 29, 2002 07:30 PM UTC:Good ★★★★Make your pages have a 'printer option!' That way I could take your data home with me and actually use it!! Also, put a 'home' buttin at the bottom of each page, it would make site navigation easier... Thanks, Daniel
Chessgi. Drop the pieces you take from your opponent. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Chad wrote on Tue, Apr 2, 2002 08:33 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★You can play this game at <a href='http://www.goldtoken.com'>GoldToken.com</a>.
Chaturanga 4-84. An Updating of Chaturanga for Four Players with modern pieces and an 84-square board. (10x10, Cells: 84) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Very nice game. It is highly playable. Very enjoyable. The double teams interact in a cooperative way. The board is interesting to play on, especially with the center squares which change your piece types. Although the game harkens back to Chaturanga, even the 4-player version of Chaturanga, and other 4-player games, there is a lot on ingenuity here. The idea of changing piece type in the center adds some of the ancient flavor too. The double team environment in-itself adds a new element in many ways. The rules are simple to grasp. Traditional chess moves are used, along with the ancient moves in the center. The center, of course, alludes to the traditional struggle in chess to capture the center. The game is very nice. By that I mean that it is graceful and evocative. Nice game. Try it!
gnohmon wrote on Wed, Apr 3, 2002 05:53 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★I have no idea whether or not it's really playable, but judging purely by the text, the number of ingredients in the recipes, and the quality and amount of spices, I would have to guess that this is a very fine piece of work. Applause.
Xiangqi: Chinese Chess. Links and rules for Chinese Chess (Xiangqi). (9x10, Cells: 90) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]willem wrote on Wed, Apr 3, 2002 07:07 AM UTC:Good ★★★★ Chatter Chess. Variant based on the idea of line chatter where rider pieces can switch to other friendly pieces' lines of movement. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]You know, I can't see any reason (aside from restraint) why stepping
pieces couldn't take advantage of chatter even if they can't create it
(sort of like a low-power line mixed in with higher-power lines).
Then, if a stepper could move to
a square containing a rider's line, it could ride away on it!
In that case, castling and Pawn-double-step could definitely generate
chatter lines (and we'd have to distinguish between capturing and
non-capturing chatter lines). Of course, chasing down a King supported by a Bishop could
be rather difficult . . .
<p>
The above would probably result in a fairly crazy game, but it would also
come closer to working with different armies.
<p>
And for the list of possibly unplayable games, I'd like to add
<u><a href='../d.betza/chessvar/confu01.html'>Confusion 1b</a> Chatter
Chess</u>.
gnohmon wrote on Sat, Apr 6, 2002 02:24 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★People should know that the excellent diagram that makes it so easy to visualize the chatter moves was added by the editor, not the author. The editor gets an 'excellent' rating for this page.
Omega Chess. Rules for commercial chess variant on board with 104 squares. (12x12, Cells: 104) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I would like to announce that I am going to be running an Omegachess tournament by email on Richard's Play By Email server at http://www.gamerz.net/pbmserv In order to play in the tournament you must have a PBM userid. Check out http://www.gamerz.net/tutorial.html and http://www.gamerz.net/commands.html if you are new and want to sign up for a free userid and password on the server. You do not have to have ever played Omegachess before on the server to compete in this tournament. If you would like to play in the event please email me your PBM userid to DavidNYJfan@hotmail.com I have not yet decided exactly how I am going to structure the Omega tournament. It will probably be a round robin tournament, with between 4 to 8 games in the first round, and a certain number of players advancing to a second and final round. I would also like to announce that I am also going to run a chess tournament on PBM too. This is traditional orthodox chess! This tournament is open to the first 25 players who email me to enter. I will be creating five 5-man sections. Each player will play a total of 4 games, 2 as white and 2 as black, one game against each of the other players in the tournament. The 5 section winners will then advance to a final 5-man section for the championship of the tournament. In the event of a tie for first place in a section the first tiebreaker is head-to-head result. In the event of a draw or a 3-way tie where A beat B, B beat C and C beat A, all tied players advance to the finals and a larger final section will be created. Again, to compete in this tournament you must have a PBM userid. You may enter both tournaments if you like. When emailing me please make sure to specify which tournament you are entering. Thanks again and good luck!!
Chess. The rules of chess. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Jere wrote on Sat, Apr 6, 2002 12:13 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★I had not played chess in 40 years. It was a great refresher; covered all
the rules in a straight-forward manner. Nice job.
Space Chess. Three dimensional commercial chess variant. (3x(8x8), Cells: 192) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Isaac wrote on Sun, Apr 7, 2002 02:32 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★thank you for the rules for space chess. I too lost the directions to my
set years ago. My set was purchased at a game store in 1994as well, looks
extactly like the one you have placed on the web, but the box it came in
says 1981 Pacific Game Company,INC. no. 1420
Chain of Fools. Game with a Chess set where the goal is form chains of defended pieces. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]gnohmon wrote on Mon, Apr 8, 2002 01:55 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★This appears to be an excellent game, with a lot of thought and effort. Is it a chess variant? Not really, even though it uses chess pieces. It's a mathematical (topology) abstract game, and you might find many fans for it in rec.games.abstract -- give it a try! Many abstract mathematical games become popular and widely played, but the market for them is not 'chess variant' people. I haven't tried Chain of Fools, but if it's as good as it looks you'd be doing yourself a big favor by taking the game over to rec.games.abstract, where you can find folks who will really appreciate it.
Wildebeest Chess. Variant on an 10 by 11 board with extra jumping pieces. (11x10, Cells: 110) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I recently sent in a nomination to make this game--a well-established,
widely-disseminated, thoroughly-played design--a 'recognized' variant. If
you agree, send the editors an email. :)
Overprotection Chess. If an attacked piece is more often defended than it is attacked, it gains extra powers. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This looks like fun! I particularly like that once you overprotect a Pawn
by two (easy enough -- just take an unattacked Pawn and give it two
supporters), suddenly it captures forward and to the side.
<p>
I find myself wondering if overprotection is calculated recursively. That
is, when determining overprotection, is overprotection taken into account?
<p>
Consider the following:
<blockquote>
White Pawns at <b>a3</b>, <b>b4</b> and <b>c3</b>;
<p>
Black Pawns at <b>a6</b>, <b>b5</b> and <b>c6</b>.
</blockquote>
Assume white's move. Can the white Pawn on <b>b4</b> capture the black
Pawn on <b>b5</b>? If you apply white's Wazir capture first, then it
can (since it is overprotected by two, black not having a Wazir capture
as it is only overprotected by one), if you apply black's Wazir capture
first, it can not (since then the white Pawn will only be overprotected by
one). Curious, no?
gnohmon wrote on Tue, Apr 9, 2002 01:55 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★A Pawn or piece must be attacked in order to be overprotected. I said that, right? 'and dynamic' ... 'where checkmating the opponent could also checkmate you!' means that the enemy K is defended several times (but of course not attacked) so that when you attack the enemy K it becomes overprotected and gives check to your nearby King. I could have made that clearer, right? But you're correct, even the closest reading of this doesn't really say whether it's recursive. Yes, why not recursive, gosh darn it and gosh darn it again? If you could overprotect an unattacked piece, this would 'merely' be a new (and perhaps an excellent) form of Relay Chess. So, should add a line that the powers gained by an overprotected piece can be used to overprotect another piece. Should add a line 'therefore you can destroy your opponent's overprotection by moving your attacker away'. And should add the explanation of how giving check[mate] can check[mate] yourself. Better now?
Tron Chess. Every square passed by the queen creates a wall that hinders movement. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]gnohmon wrote on Tue, Apr 9, 2002 02:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★When Nemoroth finally appears, you will be amazed by the piece called the Wounded Fiend, and the distant resemblance to the Tron Queen. There must be something in the air that makes people come up with similar ideas at nearly the same time.
The Game of Nemoroth. For the sake of your sanity, do not read this variant! (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
David Howe wrote on Tue, Apr 9, 2002 03:45 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★I've heard vague rumours that this game, or a game very much like it, is still played at Miskatonic University... The excellent rating applies to presentation and originality. I have not playtested this game (yet). Truth be told, I'm not sure I *want* to! :)
Slanted Escalator Chess. Chess on an asymmetric board with interesting connectivity. (8x8, Cells: 60) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This is something new in a way, or at least something not often done. It
is a game where the two sides, while having the same movement, have
different board topologies to deal with in the opening and midgame, and I
think it an interesting idea. Now, if there was just some way to determine
if it was balanced . . .
The Game of Nemoroth. For the sake of your sanity, do not read this variant! (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Absolutely great, in coherence of theme and originality!
Chess. The rules of chess. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]meee wrote on Tue, Apr 9, 2002 11:14 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★I thought this page was good becuase it gave you all the rules. They wer eeasy to understand and showed diagrams for furthur clarification
The Game of Nemoroth. For the sake of your sanity, do not read this variant! (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Wow!! Who said theme doesn't count in abstract games? I want to play this, but I think I'm going to be disapointed when the pieces remain silent. I want to see a ZRF, but not too soon. Whoever does it needs to do a good job on the graphics, not to mention audio, to do the game justice. 'What eldritch noise did I hear?' Perhaps the screech of the El.
Overprotection Chess. If an attacked piece is more often defended than it is attacked, it gains extra powers. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]gnohmon wrote on Wed, Apr 10, 2002 04:01 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★You have trapped me and won the game of game-making! You suggested recursive, and I said 'sure, okay', and then you hoisteded me with me own petard by pointing out a most ingenious paradox, more ingenious than Doctors Einstein and Schweitzer. I am bereft, like an apprentice to Pilate. Where can I find an mp3 of busy editorial beavers whistling the 'Happy Editor' song as they undo a previous change?
Slanted Escalator Chess. Chess on an asymmetric board with interesting connectivity. (8x8, Cells: 60) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]gnohmon wrote on Wed, Apr 10, 2002 04:55 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Very interesting. 1. At first sight, the board seems unbalanced because a Black R at b6 attacks both b2 and c2, but a WR b3 does not get its power doubled. I would suggest that in the long run this advantage is much greater than W's advantage of first move. 2. The Bf1 can't go to c4, right? Perhaps Bishops should be replaced by something else. (Not zFF, that would increase Black's advantage.) 3. A Knightrider on a6 attacks both f2 and e2, right? And a Rose on h6 attacks both d3 and e3, and therefore... interesting.
gnohmon, you're wrong about a few things. first of all, while black rooks can control double files if they are on the a,b,g, or h files, a white rook on the b-file would control both the a-file and b-file, and likewise a white rook on the g-file controls both the g-file and h-file. Download the ZRF and you'll see. Bishops may seem weak but they may yet have a purpose in the game. It may be true that their ability to penetrate the other side of the board and attack is more difficult, but they'll still be pretty good as stay-at-home defenders. Note however that white bishops at a3 or h3 control very long diagonals (bishop at a3 attacks e8, bishop at h3 attacks d8) and while black may be able to control the outside files with his rooks faster, white should be able to occupy the escalator squares more quickly. In order that white does not get an overwhelming advantage in the game, I gave black the first move. Time will tell if the game is balanced sufficiently or not. Incidentally, if anyone who has ZILLIONS OF GAMES would like to play either SLANTED ESCALATOR CHESS, or SPINAL TAP CHESS http://www.chessvariants.com/large.dir/spinal-tap-chess.html or both, with me by email, drop me a line at DavidNYJfan@hotmail.com We can email each other the notation and record and save our games with ZILLIONS. What I really like about SLANTED ESCALATOR CHESS is that not only is there interesting connectivity around the board, but that it's going to be a bit challenging for each side to try to navigate the board to get to the other side and get a good attack going. Should make things very interesting!
Monochromatic Chess. Pieces remain on squares of the same color. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Here's an amusing possible solution to the problems with this variant:
combine it with <a href='../other.dir/alice.html'>Alice Chess</a>.
<p>
Here's how it might go. You add a second board, like in Alice Chess,
except the 2nd board has reversed checkering: a1 is white, not black.
When a piece's move would otherwise cause it to move to a square of a
different color, it instead lands on the equivalent square of the
other board. Thus Knights always switch boards when they move, and
Bishops never switch boards.
<p>
There are a number of ways to handle switching boards:
<p>
<ul>
<li>Alice Chess-style. The move on the board on which the piece
starts must be legal as in orthochess, and the square on the other
board must be empty.</li>
<p>
<li>The Plunge. A piece moving to another color may only to move to
a square that is empty on their current board, then they plunge through
the board to the equivalent square on the other board, capturing any
opposing pieces they land on, except for Pawns who may not plunge to
occupied squares.</li>
<p>
<li>The Switch-a-roo. A piece makes a normal orthochess move on the board
on which it starts, and then, if the destination square is of a different
color than the piece's starting square, it moves to an equivalent
position on the other board. If the space on the other board is occupied,
then the piece occupying that space is moved to the space just landed on on
the board that the moving piece started on. This version actually allows
Bishops on the 2nd board.</li>
<p>
<li>The Last Square. The piece's move is as normal, except that if the
piece would land on a color of square different from which it started, the
last square of its move is the equivalent space on the other board, and the
move does not pass through what would be the final square of its move in
orthochess. The last square on the board on which the board-changing piece
moved from may be occupied by a friendly or opposing piece -- it doesn't
matter as the moving piece does not pass through it.
</ul>
<p>
I don't know which would be best.
The Game of Nemoroth. For the sake of your sanity, do not read this variant! (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]ben wrote on Thu, Apr 11, 2002 07:15 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Question: can a wounded friend move over (but obviously not stop on) a square occupied by a mummy? i am not sure. if anybody wants to try this game with me by email, send to good7972@hotmail.com
Feeble Chess to Weakest Chess. Some Chess variants with weaker pieces. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]David Howe wrote on Thu, Apr 11, 2002 01:02 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★I wish I had thought of this! The idea of finding the weakest possible pieces that still provide a chess-like game is inspired. For some reason, it reminded me of my attempt to create a <a href='../newideas.dir/construction.html'>chess variant construction set</a>. The concept of a flipping move to switch between capture-only and move-only is something I never thought of. On the whole, a well-thought-out, and aesthetically pleasing game. I must try it out sometime!
If we created higher dimensional analogues of the Feeble/Weak/Weakest pieces, would we be able to make a playable higher-dimensional CV with them (perhaps even a Chess For Any Number of Dimensions)?
The Game of Nemoroth. For the sake of your sanity, do not read this variant! (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]The Editor in Yellow wrote on Thu, Apr 11, 2002 09:05 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Addition to Interactions made as requested. Did you also mean to add a
diagonal step move to the Go Away?
<p>
<br>
<i>(Fnord)</i>
Chigorin Chess. White has knights instead of bishops and a chancellor for his queen; black has bishops instead of knights. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Peter Hatch wrote on Fri, Apr 12, 2002 05:59 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★For what it's worth, on Christian Freeling's Grand Chess site, under About Grand Chess, it says:
<blockquote>Finally, although the Queen may have the edge in the endgame, the Marshall is arguably the strongest piece, so it flanks the King in the center as does the Queen in Chess.</blockquote>
I'd think being on a 10x10 board would benefit the Queen more than the Chancellor/Marshall.
Chessgi. Drop the pieces you take from your opponent. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Brady wrote on Fri, Apr 12, 2002 10:20 PM UTC:Good ★★★★It's ok but crazyhouse is better.
Glinski's Hexagonal Chess. Chess on a board made out of hexagons. (Cells: 91) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Anonymous wrote on Wed, May 16, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★I searched all over the internet for basic information on Hexagonal chess and this one website gives me more information than all other websites combined!
Raumschach. The classical variant of three-dimensional chess: 5 by 5 by 5. (5x(5x5), Cells: 125) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Raumschach is elegant in design (a good thing!) but not quite as good as it could be. The unicorn is far too weak to be a useful piece, and the king is so mobile that he is bound to be difficult to checkmate. I'm currently (5/15/01) working on these problems, and hope to have my new version ready for posting before too long. --Jim Aikin (jaikin@musicplayer.com)
Xiangqi: Chinese Chess. Links and rules for Chinese Chess (Xiangqi). (9x10, Cells: 90) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Anonymous wrote on Wed, Mar 6, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Very useful and informative. Thanks for your effort.
Anonymous wrote on Wed, Jan 9, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Thanks for the initial overview of this unknown game. I hadn't heard of Chinese Chess until tonight and simple curiousity sent me to your website. Now...I just want to play! With appreciation, tt
Anonymous wrote on Tue, Jan 1, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★Anonymous wrote on Mon, Jun 4, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Anonymous wrote on Tue, May 8, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Make sure you add something about who made/created it and what year it was created.
Anonymous wrote on Sun, Dec 31, 2000 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Anonymous wrote on Fri, Dec 29, 2000 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★very good
Anonymous wrote on Tue, Dec 5, 2000 12:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★it took me at least 15 mininutes to complete download of this website. So far, not finish yet. Thanks
Anonymous wrote on Tue, Sep 5, 2000 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★ Shatranj. The widely played Arabian predecessor of modern chess. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Anonymous wrote on Sat, Jun 9, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★I thought pawns are not allowed to make a double-step on their first move. isn't it?
Tandem Chess. 4 player variant where pieces taken from your opponent are given to your partner. (2x(8x8), Cells: 128) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Anonymous wrote on Tue, Mar 19, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Anonymous wrote on Mon, Mar 18, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Great! The tandem chess rules were just the thing I was looking for :D
Ultima. Game where each type of piece has a different capturing ability. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Gert Greeuw wrote on Mon, Nov 19, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★Ultima is very interesting, I play it with Zillions (not strong). However, I tried to find game annotations and I could not find any. It would be nice if you could give some games and some open sources. I wonder if there exists opening and endgame theory. Gert Greeuw grw@geodelft.nl
Double Chess 16 x 8. On 16 by 8 board. (16x8, Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Now that this comments page is up, I'd like to ask the regular readers of www.chessvariants.com to comment on Doublechess. Doublechess is the first chess variant which I invented, and I think it is my best one of all the ones I have created. It is my pride and joy. At the time I submitted it to this site I had learned that I was just a few months too late to enter it into the Large Variants contest that was being held at the time. What a pity! I feel that Doublechess would have been a very strong contender, but by the time I first learned of this site's existence, the deadline for submissions for the contest had passed. Doublechess' page on this site is unique in many ways. You won't find too many other games on this site which have sample games linked to it, and one of the games is annotated in detail. (The link to my 'Doublechess web site' is no longer valid.) Doublechess can be played by email on Richard's Play By Email server, and I frequently conduct Doublechess tournaments on PBM. The next one may be beginning in a few months and I will post an announcement about it here (as I did recently for the forthcoming Omegachess tournament which I will be running on PBM as well) when I am ready to begin it. Doublechess is a very simple variant. Simply lay two 8 by 8 chess boards side by side. Use two chess sets, and replace the second set of kings with a third set of queens. (if one does not have a third set of chess queen pieces handy, substitutes can be used until they are captured. Coins work well, for instance, a penny for a white queen and a nickel for a black queen.) Set up the first army of pieces in the traditional setup (RBNQKBRN) in files E to L and the second army out in the wings (RBNQ, QBNR) in files A to D and M to P. You will notice a few interesting strategic points about Doublechess. Opposing bishops start along the same diagonals as each other, often promting them to be quickly traded off if the opportunity presents itself. If they avoid an early exchange, bishops of like color can double themselves along the same diagonal to form a battery in much the same way that one might double their rooks along the same file in chess. Notice that whereas white begins with two dark squared bishops on the left side of the board, or queenside (in Doublechess terminology, the 'queenside' refers to files A to H, and 'kingside' refers to files I to P, mimicking the same sides of the boards which these terms refer to in regular chess), and black has two light squared bishops on the queenside. Likewise, white has two light squared bishops to start the game on the kingside, and black has two dark squared bishops on each side. Each side can try to exploit the other's weaknesses on light or dark squares on each half of the board. The way the board is set up, as players begin to develop their pieces and pawns, the pieces tend to engage each other on each half of the board in about the same amount of time as they do in regular chess. In the middle game it is often the case where pieces will be interacting with each other and threatening each other on each half of the board completely independent from what is going on on the other side of the board. In some ways then, Doublechess is like playing two games in one, though one really needs to look at the board as a whole to truly understand and appreciate the game. There are other strategic differences between Doublechess and regular chess which make my variant exciting and unique. It is more common to sacrifice material for attack in Doublechess than it is in regular chess, since one has so much material at one's disposal to attack with. In Doublechess then, obviously king safety becomes extremely important. Thus another axiom of dc is that it is quite possible to win despite a material disadvantage, more often than one can overcome such a deficit in regular chess. As long as one has enough pieces to launch an attack, they can make things interesting. I should also point out that the one rule that is unique and distinctive to Doublechess is the castling rule (see dc's page for full explanation of the castling rule), and the pros and cons of long castling vs. short castling can be long debated. It's another twist to the game which makes it interesting. One advantage that my variant has over other CVs is that it only uses orthodox pieces, so it is very easy to learn how to play. Perhaps more than any other CV, Doublechess has the 'feel' of regular chess. There is a ZRF file available for download at the bottom of Doublechess' page. I urge everyone who has not played it yet who owns ZILLIONS OF GAMES to download Doublechess and try it out. I welcome comments from everyone, pro or con, as to how they would rate Doublechess as a chess variant. What are this variants' strengths and weaknesses? Finally I would say that, although I realize I am very biased in the matter ;-) I feel that Doublechess is such an excellent variant that it deserves consideration as one of this site's 'Recognized Chess Variants' and as inventor of this game I am necessarily disqualified from nominating it to that position. Might someone else who has an equal appreciation for this game take up the gauntlet and nominate it along with an eloquent essay on my game's merits?
Terror Chess. Variant on 11 by 11 board with combination pieces. (11x11, Cells: 121) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]It would seem that I am not the first person to create a CV on an
11 by 11 board. (see my SPINAL TAP CHESS) It would be interesting
to play a game of TERROR CHESS (for WHITE) vs. SPINAL TAP CHESS
(for BLACK) as a game of Chess Between Different Armies !!!
PETER ARONSON I challenge you to create a ZRF for such a game
IMMEDIATELY!! :-) I could then challenge Brian Wong to a game by
email! (if anyone has his address!) (mine is DavidNYJfan@hotmail.com)
though I suspect that TERROR CHESS has the more powerful army!
Then again who can say for sure?
TERROR CHESS vs. SPINAL TAP CHESS
A game of Chess Between Different Armies created by
David Short with thanks to Brian Wong.
a b c d e f g h i j k
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
11 |*R*|*S*|*W*|*V*|*Q*|*K*|*M*|*W*|*V*|*S*|*R*| 11
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
10 |*P*|*P*|*P*|*P*|*Cr|*Cr|*Cr|*P*|*P*|*P*|*P*| 10
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
9 | |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| | 9
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
8 |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| 8
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
7 | |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| | 7
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
6 |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| 6
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
5 | |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| | 5
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
4 |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| 4
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
3 | |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| |:::| | 3
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
2 |:P:| P |:P:| P |:P:| P |:P:| P |:P:| P |:P:| 2
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
1 | R |:B:| N |:C:| A |:K:| Q |:Mr| B |:N:| R | 1
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
a b c d e f g h i j k
Diagram index:
R- ROOK
B- BISHOP
N- KNIGHT
C- CARDINAL
A- AMAZON
K- KING
Q- QUEEN
Mr- MARSHALL
P- PAWN
Cr- CRAB
S- SQUIRE
V- VICEROY
W- WIZARD
M- MINISTER
Pawns move 1, 2, or 3 squares on their initial move and the en
passant rule is the same as it is in OMEGACHESS.
Each side may castle as its game's rules dictate. Stupid. A cross variant between Ultima and orthodox chess. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Anonymous wrote on Sat, Mar 31, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★ Hammer Chess. Minor pieces have increased movement possibilities. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]benoit wrote on Sun, Apr 14, 2002 05:45 PM UTC:Good ★★★★ The knight is clearly stronger than the rook: in the center of a crowded board, it can control 16 squares,which is more than the rook on an empty board. The value of this knight should be close to that of the bishop, a bit less,I guess. The rook is therefore the only minor piece, and the most difficult to develop.Opening is hard stuff. I suppose it consists in opening files or diagonales to make quick and violent attacks by exchanging pawns, and making gambits (the pawn's relative value to other pieces is decreased compared to fide chess).
Tripunch Chess. Knights become Nightriders, Rooks add Gryphon moves, Bishops add Aanca moves, and Queens become unbelievable. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Joseph DiMuro wrote on Sun, Apr 14, 2002 11:45 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★How about the Tripunch Terrors, another army to compete against the Fabulous FIDEs? :-) King and Pawns are standard. The rest of the pieces are from Tripunch Chess, but they flip as pieces do in Weakest Chess- these pieces have capturing and non-capturing modes, and can flip (as a move) from one to the other. To keep the pawn line defended, the Reapers and Combine start in capturing mode; the others start in non-capturing mode. If flipping pieces are half as strong as regular pieces (and that seems to be the estimate in the Weakest Chess article), then the Tripunch Terrors are about 4 Pawns too strong as described. So we remove the ability to move as a Bishop from the Harvesters and Combine... and then we should have a game. So here's the official lineup: the Flipping Reaper, the Flipping Nightrider, the Flipping Aanca, and the Flipping... the Flipping... Give me some time. I'll come up with a name for that last one. :-D
Terror Chess. Variant on 11 by 11 board with combination pieces. (11x11, Cells: 121) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]It would seem that TERROR CHESS is identical to THE SULTAN'S GAME http://www.chessvariants.com/large.dir/sultan.html with the exception that the positions of the marshall and cardinal are reversed. THE SULTAN'S GAME pre-dates TERROR CHESS on this web site by three years. Nevertheless I still propose that my idea above for a variant of chess between different armies would be intriguing. Oh and I would suggest variants with and alternately without the 'Battle Move' when programming the ZRF for the above proposed new variant. Players can decide for themselves which they prefer to use.
Full Double Chess. 32 pieces each, including all combinations of the basic Chess pieces, on a 16x8 square board. (16x8, Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Gee, now I wonder where he could have gotten the idea for this game, huh? Well, you know what they say, 'immitation is the sincerest form of flattery' so I guess I should be honored, eh? To anyone who is not overly familiar with this web site I suggest you scroll down on this comments page and click on the link for Double Chess below or find it in the alphabetical index (the one with my name next to it). Anyone can create a variant on a 16 by 8 board but it's not going to have the same 'feel' of regular chess like my variant Doublechess does. I have always felt that games with two kings are flawed. Chess should be single-minded. Checkmate one king, period!
Wildebeest Chess. Variant on an 10 by 11 board with extra jumping pieces. (11x10, Cells: 110) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]This game is really something! To me the best large variant of chess! WHY is it not a recongnized variant yet???? :-)
Full Double Chess. 32 pieces each, including all combinations of the basic Chess pieces, on a 16x8 square board. (16x8, Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Tony, what you say about the added or diminished relative scopes of the knights and bishops in double-board variants is true, just as it is in larger variants to begin with (the knight is an extremely weak piece in 10 by 10 variants) but the beauty of a game like my Doublechess variant which I invented is that the knights still have their roles to play. Like I said before, pieces on each half of the board tend to engage each other at the same rate they do in regular chess. Pawns challenge each other, knights move up to the third (or sixth rank, for black) rank to attack enemy pawns, files open up for rooks and queens, diagonals open up for bishops and queens. I think one point that needs to be made here is that in Full Double Chess, stronger pieces are used, and that's fine, if you are a player who likes new fangled pieces that can do neat little tricks and jump through hoops. My Doublechess is more traditional, uses only orthodox pieces and has the look and feel of traditional regular chess. So whether a game like my Doublechess or the new Full Double Chess appeals to someone is going to be a matter of personal taste, I guess. p.s. I would still like to encourage people to add comments below to my Doublechess variant, for which I began a discussion.
Interesting game. The wide board creates both tactical and strategic
situations that are 'regional'. The doubled King adds a certain element
of interest. The strong pieces promote tactics. However, they do not
overwhelm the game because the large board still allows for strategic
maneuvers.
<p>
I'm sure interesting sub-variants could be created with different setups
or different mix of pieces. One possible issue, though, is that the overall
evolution of the game may move more quickly than players are able to
develop their pieces, thus leading to a certain amount of attrition-type
of play, more tactics and less strategy. But I am not sure that this
overwhelms the game. It seems playable.
Regarding some of the debate about faerie pieces versus traditional
pieces, I personally tend to design games with traditional pieces because usually I am more interested in the game system than the pieces themselves.
However, I have played many variants with interesting faerie pieces. The movement of the pieces is an appealing element in itself. In this game they work quite well. And, actually, the mix here is not all that exotic--
as variants go. Check-out Mulligan-Stew Chess
<a href="../42.dir/mulligan-stew.html">Mulligan Stew Chess</a> for an
example of faerie pieces gone a-muck, but in a very playable and
interesting game--with double Kings, by the way!
The Fair First Move Rule in Chess. Every turn you flip a coin to see who goes first.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Mike Nelson wrote on Thu, Apr 18, 2002 02:10 PM UTC:Good ★★★★I've played it and I agree with Ralph--the best way to introduce randomness into Chess. A checkmate rule I find satisfactory: If a player is mated by a single move, the game is over. If a player is mated by two consecutive moves, if taking two consecutive moves would relieve the mate, the mated player wins the next toss automatically and can play two moves. For stalemate the rule is the same.
Full Double Chess. 32 pieces each, including all combinations of the basic Chess pieces, on a 16x8 square board. (16x8, Cells: 128) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]gnohmon wrote on Thu, Apr 18, 2002 05:09 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Perhaps Tutti Frutti Chess could be considered a Half Board version of Double Chess, because it uses all possible combinations of the basic pieces on an 8x8 board. However, Double Chess has the interesting thought of having two Kings, which seems to be an excellent inspiration for making sense of such a wide board.
Spinal Tap Chess. Variant on an 11x11 board with a once-a-game mass 'Battle Move' of Pawns and Crabs. (11x11, Cells: 121) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]PBA wrote on Tue, Mar 26, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Definitely an amusing game! I particularly like the Minister (RLF), as it's a piece, while obvious in design, I haven't seen before. I find myself wondering about its value. On an 8x8 board, I would be fairly confident in assigning it a value greater than a Queen -- about a Raven (RNN) in fact. But on an 11x11 board, the shorter range components of its movement are worth less, and so a Queen -- which is all long range elements after all -- gains in relative power.
<p>Anyone out there have an opinion?
Rutherford's 1-dimensional Shogi. Modern one-dimensional chess variant, based upon Shogi. (1x17, Cells: 17) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]PBA wrote on Tue, Mar 26, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★This is a cool idea. Someone ought to write a Zillions of Games rules file for this game. (I might one at some point, but I'm getting a bit backed up.) Having Zillions play itself at 3 minutes a turn on a fast machine might expose any forced wins.
Augmented Chess. Players give standard chess pieces small additional movement possibilities from predescribed set. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]PBA wrote on Thu, Aug 2, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★This is very nice, but I find myself wondering about the army
selection process. I can see several possibilities:
<ul>
<li>
Each player writes down their section secretly, and the selections
are simultaneously revealed;
</li>
<li>
White makes their selections, announces them to black, then black
selects;
</li>
<li>
White makes one of their choices, then black chooses a piece, then
white, etc. until both players have chosen their Queen, Rook, Bishop
and Knight;
</li>
<li>
White selects their Queen, then black selects a Queen,
then white selects their Rook, then black selects a Rook,
then white selects their Bishop, then black selects a Bishop,
then white selects their Knight, then black selects a Knight;
</li>
<li>
Like about, but in order Knight, Bishop, Rook, Queen.
</li>
</ul>
Clearly all of the above would work reasonably well, but is there a
prefered way to select the armies?
PBA wrote on Tue, Mar 26, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★I recently finished a PBeM game of this variant with Tony Quintanilla
(which I won't post due to embarassing turn 18 mate by a RNA
supported by a BD <g>), and found this a very exciting game.
<p>
As we all know, a Pawn is only as strong as the hand that holds it,
and Tony usually beats me at games that fairly closely resemble usual
Chess. But I found this game particularly interesting as I was sure
I had picked a stronger team than his:
<blockquote>
<DL>
<DT><B>White (PBA)</B></DT>
<DD><B>Queen</B>: RfbNFA</DD>
<DD><B>Rook</B>: RfbN</DD>
<DD><B>Bishop</B>: BW</DD>
<DD><B>Knight</B>: NF</DD>
</DL>
<p>
<DL>
<DT><B>Black (TQ)</B></DT>
<DD><B>Queen</B>: RNA</DD>
<DD><B>Rook</B>: RF</DD>
<DD><B>Bishop</B>: BD</DD>
<DD><B>Knight</B>: NW</DD>
</DL>
</blockquote>
Now Tony's Knight is color-changing, and his Bishop is color-bound,
but with all of that power on the board, it didn't seem to matter.
I suspose if the game had lasted longer and we had gotten down to
fewer pieces, it might. As it was, it felt like playing in a
minefield (which, IMHO opinion, is a <u>good</u> thing).
Crown
. Players secretly decide whether their king or queen (who moves like the king) is royal.[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Excellent piece of detective work and extrapolation!
Mideast chess. Variant on 10 by 10 board, inspired by ancient Tamerlane chess. (10x10, Cells: 100) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]I do like this game, although the Cavalier is a very 'irregular piece'. I propose to replace it's movement by the one of the Croocked Bishop! This would produce a very enjoyable game, don't you agree? :-)) The other pieces, I believe, are well balanced for 10x10 board, and the fact that Knights depart from the 2nd row turns them more valuable in the opening and during the rest of the game (a problem with other 10x10 board variants that place them on the 1st row!). Please comment me on this to: nuno_cruz78@hotmail.com
I would have to agree that the Cavalier (Gryphon + Aanca) is a kind of
extreme piece, but if you look at Ralph Betza's note on the value of such
<a href='../piececlopedia.dir/bent-riders.html'>Bent Riders</a>, you will
see that he rates such a piece as being worth slightly less than an
Amazon (Queen + Knight) on an 8x8 board [Although honestly requires me to
add that Ralph himself is not entirely convinced of his piece evaluation
system, although in my experiance it is at least approximately right most
of the time]. On a 10x10 board the Cavalier gains some additional value,
while the Amazon would probably break even (Queen components gain in value,
Knight components lose in value) -- so call the Cavalier a rough equivalent
of an Amazon.
<p>
Now, would two Amazons be too strong for a 10x10 board? It comes down to
a matter of taste I suppose, but I have to suspect that as Tony Paletta
noted in a comment on <a href='../large.dir/full-double-chess.html'>Full
Double Chess</a>, their presence would tend to
reduce the minor pieces to cannon fodder (although there is fun to be had
with weak pieces).
<p>
In any case, I rather like your idea of substituting Cooked Bishops -- the
world needs more games with Crooked Bishops (and where, you may ask are
<em>your</em> games with Crooked Bishops, Mr. Aronson? Err, well, the
<a href='../dpieces.dir/fighting-fizzies.html'>Fighting Fizzies</a> have
a WzFF as a Queen, and otherwise, they're all in the future . . .)
<hr>
I'm commenting on your comment here, rather than by e-mail as you suggested
as that way other people can join in the discussion and have fun.
Chance Chess. Commercial game: cards determine what piece you can move. (8x8, Cells: 64) [All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Chris wrote on Mon, Mar 25, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Hi Hans,
<p>Just thought I would let you know I have redesigned the site for chance
chess and it now includes an online deck. No online chess board, but
players can play with the deck on the computer with a chess board nearby.
I
also registered the domain name of chancechess.com and it should be
online
as soon as tomorrow.
<p>Thanks for keeping our info on your site all these years.
Chess. The rules of chess. (8x8, Cells: 64) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]Mary wrote on Fri, Apr 19, 2002 10:40 PM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★:)This page is excellent! It couldn't be better. It shows you all the rules, diagrams and all. Its great! :)
Good :)
Anonymous wrote on Mon, Mar 25, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★I can't say this page is excellent, because it has the old F.I.D.E. Rules.
Anonymous wrote on Thu, Mar 21, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Anonymous wrote on Wed, Feb 20, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Eaxctly what I was looking for!
Anonymous wrote on Wed, Jan 30, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★Anonymous wrote on Wed, Jan 16, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★The description of castling mixes up the coordinates and the team colors according to the positioning diagram at the top of the page. It should read, 'When castling, the king moves two squares towards the rook, and the rook moves over the king to the next square, i.e., *black's* king on e*8* and rook on a*8* move to: king c*8*, rook d*8* (long castling), white's king on e1 and rook on h1 move to: king g1, rook f1 (short castling), and similar for black.
Anonymous wrote on Tue, Jan 15, 2002 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★your web page saved an argument in less than 5 seconds thankyou
Pete Denk wrote on Sun, Dec 30, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Just got a chess board for Christmas...this is the best site for instructions. Thank you for taking the time. Pete Denk New Jersey
Anonymous wrote on Fri, Dec 28, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Hard to remember them all, but great illustration's
Anonymous wrote on Thu, Dec 27, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Anonymous wrote on Wed, Dec 26, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★i'm a total novice and have never played looks like this will help
Anonymous wrote on Tue, Dec 25, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Anonymous wrote on Mon, Dec 24, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Anonymous wrote on Sun, Dec 9, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Easy and informative
Anonymous wrote on Thu, Nov 22, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★ifp rlayer has have a quen and and his pawn rich the other side its impossible to have a 2 quen
Anonymous wrote on Mon, Nov 12, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Great! This website has taught me a lot about the basics of chess. I am now the best chess player in my school!
Anonymous wrote on Mon, Nov 12, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★great job it looks nice
Anonymous wrote on Tue, Oct 2, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Anonymous wrote on Sat, Dec 29, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Anonymous wrote on Fri, Sep 21, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★This is David Paulowich writing in support of the standard rules for pawn promotion, which seem to be unpopular with some players and chess variant designers. If, for example, pawns could only be promoted to previously captured pieces, then many beautiful games would no longer be legal. My databases contain over 400 games with 4 Queens on the board, 2 White and 2 Black, including: Capablanca - Alekhine, 1927 (Thirteenth World Chess Championship Match, game 11) and Borsony - Koch, 1956 (Second World Correspondence Chess Championship). In 1936 Reinle checkmated Lange in this 'extra promotion' game: 1. e4 e5 2. f4 f5 3. exf5 e4 4. Qh5+ g6 5. fxg6 h6 6. g7+ Ke7 7. Qe5+ Kf7 8. gxh8=N#
Such games, with one player having nine pieces other than pawns, used to be rare (only ten were played between 1856 and 1963). In modern times the opening: 1. b4 e5 2. Bb2 Bxb4 3. f4 exf4 4. Bxg7 Qh4+ 5. g3 fxg3 6. Bg2 gxh2+ 7. Kf1 hxg1=Q+ 8. Kxg1 (from Kucharkowski - Walter, 1982) has been repeated in over 200 games. Incidentally, White is winning, by about 150 to 50.
Anonymous wrote on Wed, Sep 5, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★Anonymous wrote on Wed, Jul 11, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★now I feel confident to win my wife in her own game
Anonymous wrote on Sat, Jun 9, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★I am a teacher and am thinking of starting a chess club at school. I am a beginner at the game and was looking for easy to read rules, preferably with clear diagrams. Your site gave me precisely that. The descriptions of taking en passant and castling are succint and precise.
Anonymous wrote on Tue, May 15, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Good ★★★★I already know how to play and i am very good for 12 years.I wnated pictures so I can make my own chess website.
Anonymous wrote on Tue, May 8, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★ITs really very informative for all chess players and specially for beginers and inter-mediatory level
Anonymous wrote on Sat, Mar 24, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Anonymous wrote on Mon, Mar 12, 2001 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★Good detailed info. Helped me a lot.
Anonymous wrote on Mon, Dec 25, 2000 12:00 AM UTC:Excellent ★★★★★100 comments displayed
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