The Chess Variant Pages
Version with graphics

Quick Chess

This game was invented by Joe Miccio in 1991. It is published by Amerigames International, endorsed by Chess Life, and popular on schools in the United States as a game for learning purposes. Sets for this game should be easily available in the United States, and possibly other countries.

Rules

The game is played on a board of 5 by 6 squares. The opening setup is as follows:
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | q | k | b | r |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| p | p | p | p | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|   |   |   |   |   |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|   |   |   |   |   |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | P | P | P | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | Q | K | B | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The box of Quickchess actually shows a different setup: Rook / Bishop / King / Queen / Knight. The setup above is from an earlier version, so it might be that the quickchess inventors changed the setup?
  1. Pawns can only advance one space on their first move. There is no en passant capturing.
  2. A pawn can only promote to a captured piece.
  3. There is no castling.
  4. If 20 moves are played without a capture or promotion, the player with the most `points' on the board wins. (Pawn=1 pt., Bishop/Knight=3, Rook=5, Queen = 9.)
Note: as in regular chess, the queen starts on her own color.
Text by Richard Sullivan and Hans Bodlaender. Some information based on Pritchard's Encyclopedia of Chess Variants.
Last modified: March 4, 1997.