Questions tagged [chess-variants]
Questions about variants of normal chess including bughouse, Chess960 (Fischer Random), atomic chess, and antichess.
192
questions
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5 views
Castling variant rule?
In chess, the king can't castle if it or the 'castling' rook had moved. How would the basic strategy of the game change if the king could castle after moving, same condition for a rook?
Also, how ...
1
vote
1answer
93 views
Chess variant-Is it strategically good?
In this chess variant, the number of moves made both chess players are 1 & 2 alternatively. Here is a showing of it.
White Black
1 2
2 1
1 ...
7
votes
2answers
385 views
Are there any inherent problems with point-symmetric random chess?
The regular setup of chess is mirror-symmetric: If you mirror the positions of all figures on the equator of the board (between the fourth and fifth rank) and swap the colours, nothing changes. It is ...
1
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0answers
79 views
Why don't chess sites offer best of X match formats? [closed]
I believe chess sites should offer best of 3/5/etc match formats, rather than a one-off game. Basically, if you enter such a game, you don't "win" by just winning 1 game, you have to be the ...
5
votes
1answer
74 views
How much material is needed to force the capture of a lone queen (for example in horde chess)?
In horde chess, the following starting position is used:
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/1PP2PP1/PPPPPPPP/PPPPPPPP/PPPPPPPP/PPPPPPPP w - - 0 1"]
The goal of White is to checkmate Black; the goal ...
4
votes
1answer
110 views
Which chess GUIs support the chess variants Atomic and King of the Hill?
I want to play against Stockfish offline because I'm going on a trip. I downloaded the compiled exe from GitHub since my laptop will have limited Internet connection. After loading it into the Arena ...
4
votes
1answer
164 views
What is the correct name for a part of a chessboard: 'square' or 'cell'?
I play shogi (Japanese chess) and there is a word "マス" to call a cell of a square lattice not only used in shogi and chess. As far as I have read the article about chess in Wikipedia, it seems that "...
5
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4answers
1k views
Would a piece that moved like a king – but could be captured (and could be moved en prise) – be considered a major or a minor piece?
I could be wrong, but it seems like the major determinant of whether a piece is a major piece or a minor piece is whether a king and one of that piece can force checkmate on a lone king. Would this be ...
5
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1answer
93 views
Why the extra rank on each side in 4 player chess?
Why do we have an extra rank (the red lines below) on each side in 4 player chess on? What could be the possible logic?
(screenshot is taken from chess.com)
1
vote
1answer
28 views
With 8 each of these 4 different compound leapers, what is the arrangement with the “strongest coverage properties” on a 16x16 board?
The 4 compound leapers I'd like to look at are:
(1,2), (0,3), (2,2); knight+threeleaper+alfil
(1,2), (0,2), (1,1); knight+kirin
(1,2), (1,3); knight+camel
(1,2), (2,3); knight+zebra
What arrangement ...
11
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4answers
3k views
Can one side force a loss in regular chess?
Chess is unsolved, so there is no known optimal strategy for one side to force a win or a draw.
However, is there an optimal strategy to lose? Consider a variant where checkmate results in a loss, ...
4
votes
1answer
143 views
Gyula Breyer joke composition cooked?
I recently bought the delightful book Outrageous Chess Problems by Burt Hochberg, which among other things contains some interesting joke compositions. I have a question about Problem 102 (diagrammed ...
3
votes
3answers
116 views
What would a playable chess variant with a complexity comparable to Go look like?
What would a playable chess variant with a complexity comparable to Go look like?
Simply increasing the board size is a very direct way to increase the complexity of the game, but this comes at the ...
3
votes
3answers
166 views
Fun variants in teaching chess to children
I'm teaching my 5 year old daughter basic chess. While she's kind of interested, I feel the material, such as how the pieces move, mate in 1 puzzles, basic KQ and KR checkmates, etc, is a bit boring ...
4
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1answer
118 views
How to Create Positional Theory
I've been playing Kraton Chess, which is basically standard chess except there are 96 different possible starting positions that are similar to the standard starting position. All the rules of ...
9
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4answers
607 views
Variant in which two pieces can occupy a single square
A friend and I tried playing this variant yesterday. My question is:
Surely someone has looked at this before. Does it have a standard name? Or is there something obviously wrong with it that my ...
1
vote
1answer
148 views
Chess variants-Anyone recall the name for one that has a “superpiece” with the movements of the queen and knight?
What is the name of the chess piece in a variant game where there is a piece that moves like the queen AND a knight?
Is there a name for this variant?
22
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4answers
6k views
Is there a name for a chess variant where you are allowed to capture your own pieces?
I occasionally think it might be fun to play a chess variant that is exactly the same as regular chess, except that it is permitted to capture your own pieces as well as your opponent's pieces - so, ...
5
votes
1answer
209 views
What sort of strategies unfold on this elongated board?
I recently found this incredibly elongated chess board on the /r/gaming subreddit, with this image:
There was a comment thread discussing the potential strategies of playing on this board, with some ...
1
vote
2answers
447 views
Is Choker worth playing?
Choker (chess + poker) was released recently as a mobile app. It is a game where players have a round of poker to bet on cards they draw. They then use these cards to play chess and win the bets.
My ...
8
votes
6answers
4k views
Moving into check for a draw as black, why is it illegal? Comparison to Racing Kings
I am confused why you cannot move into a check when it can force your opponent to capture your king and expose theirs. In such a case why is there no extra move to result in a draw?
In the "Racing ...
4
votes
1answer
282 views
Longest possible game of Horde Chess
The longest possible normal game of chess has been calculated, but I want to know what the longest possible game of Horde Chess is. What makes this an interesting case is the crazy amount of pawn ...
6
votes
0answers
159 views
16 roses, 16x16 board; maximum double-attacked squares while all 256 squares are attacked at least once?
The rose is a piece that is best described as a "circular nightrider", able to reach up to 32 other squares from the center of a 13x13 area by making consecutive knight jumps in a rotating fashion in ...
5
votes
2answers
249 views
What is the maximum number of squares 8 queens and 8 nightriders can attack on a 16x16 board?
Including but still obstructed by occupied squares, what is the maximum number of squares on a 16x16 board that 8 queens and 8 nightriders can collectively attack at least once each? Even if attacking ...
6
votes
3answers
178 views
How do generic game engines work?
The evaluation functions for chess usually includes chess specific knowledge. However, Zillions of Games is able to play any game based only on a description of how the pieces move and winning/losing/...
3
votes
5answers
242 views
When can king and pawn win against another king and pawn?
Assume such a situation: Both players (Black and White) only have two pieces, that is a King and a Pawn. They have the liberty of placing them according to their wishes on the first row of their side ...
2
votes
0answers
75 views
Chess 960: what is the optimal arrangement? [closed]
Chess 960 is a version of chess where the pieces are arranged behind the row of pawns. The same random arrangement (with the constraints of the king being between the rooks, and the bishops being on ...
1
vote
1answer
135 views
Are 'Conveyor Belt' Chess variants studied?
A 'Conveyor Belt' Chess variant is where rows (And the pieces on them) of the chessboard move left, right, up or down based on different criteria.
I've not seen or heard of a chess variant where rows ...
6
votes
2answers
549 views
What would chess openings be like without castling and/or the double pawn move?
Chess has a fairly elegant set of rules, but it has two rather ugly "rules hacks" in it:
Pawns can move two squares forward, but only on their first move, and have the rather ugly rule of en passant ...
5
votes
2answers
303 views
How is endgame theory developed?
First of all, I am explicitly not asking for a list of endgame principles, nor am I asking for resources to study endgames from.
My question is: How does one develop endgame theory? The main ...
3
votes
2answers
209 views
Fairy endgame statistics for KDDDDvKN (D=dabbaba; '2,0' leaper)?
The dabbaba is a '2,0' leaper fairy piece, only able to ever reach a quarter of the squares on the board. According to the linked Wikipedia page, a quartet of them can apparently "easily" force mate ...
7
votes
1answer
229 views
Chess database software for variants
For regular chess, I use SCID and it works well. It has database searches, position searches, player stats, and a nice compact file format (i.e. not PGN, which is inefficient and big).
Is there any ...
8
votes
3answers
940 views
Openings in King of the hill
As you probably know, "King of the hill" (KOTH) is a variant of chess where one can win either like in classical chess or by putting the king in the central squares, namely d4, e4, d5 and e5, by a ...
3
votes
2answers
198 views
An objective measure of the difference in strength between top programs and top human players in the four most popular forms of chess?
Is there an objective measure of the superiority (or otherwise) that the strongest computer programs enjoy over the strongest human players which can be compared across the four main forms of chess, ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Where can I play Quantum Chess online for free?
I saw some videos featuring a chess variant called Quantum Chess on YouTube. It looked very interesting to me, so I decided to try to find it online for free, but I couldn’t. Does anyone know of such ...
6
votes
2answers
245 views
Studying why Gardner's Minichess Variant is solved?
I recently came across an interesting article that proves Gardner's Minichess is solved (2013) and the theoretical result is a draw.
Might studying why Minichess is a theoretical draw help me better ...
4
votes
1answer
421 views
Is there a winning strategy for Losing chess?
Losing chess has been proven to be a win for white, with the opening move 1. e3
The proof consists of a number of huge game trees which show that each variation must end in a white win, but is there ...
6
votes
1answer
283 views
Would certain checkmates be possible if the king could move into check?
Similar to a previous question of mine, let's suppose there's a piece that moves like the king, but isn't restricted from moving into check.
While a normal king and two knights can't force checkmate, ...
10
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2answers
481 views
Is a “Strong King” handicap really as powerful as is claimed?
Wikipedia quotes an analysis by GM Harry Golombek (from Golombek’s Encyclopedia of Chess, Crown Publishers, 1977, p. 218. I do not have access to the source) where he lists possible handicaps, in ...
2
votes
1answer
181 views
What's the point of attack board inversion?
In tri-dimensional chess some rule sets allow for the attack board to be moved from the peg on top of the main board to the peg on the underside (as long as the attack board is unoccupied). What is ...
2
votes
1answer
85 views
Are there starting positions in dobutsu shogi that are farther from a win/loss than the standard one?
In dobutsu shogi, the usual starting position is a loss for the beginning player in (at most) 78 turns (from first move until (and including) lion capture or ascension).
But are there perhaps other (...
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vote
1answer
100 views
What is the value of most starting positions in dobutsu shogi?
In dobutsu shogi, the usual starting position is a trébuchet or full-point mutual zugzwang position, but other likely (starting) positions can have a completely different value.
If we arrange the ...
25
votes
4answers
5k views
Is there a balanced chess system where players of unknown skill can have an equal chance of winning?
Is there a chess system where you can make players of differing skill levels compete against each other with an equal chance to win without using different chess variations?
This system should give ...
3
votes
1answer
372 views
Is this a sound elephant offer?
In the following dobutsu shogi position, is Gc3xc2 a bad move?
ABC
+---+
1| | g
2|lce|
3|E G|
4| L | *C
+---+
2
votes
1answer
189 views
Crazyhouse Chess: Playing with a real board and overall popularity?
Played a decent amount of bughouse but only started with crazyhouse a month or less ago. Although on the surface very similar games, I would say they are fundamentally different because there is no ...
5
votes
2answers
222 views
Fairy chess: KNNvK
I just wondered: can K + 2 nightriders force a mate against bare K? (A nightrider can make an unlimited number of knight moves in any direction - it cannot change direction partway through its move.)
3
votes
1answer
144 views
Why are three chess sets needed for Kriegspiel and dark chess?
Wikipedia states that three chess sets are needed for Kriegspiel and dark chess. Is that actually true? I can see how having three sets would make things a lot easier, but couldn't the referee simply ...
4
votes
3answers
163 views
Multi (N>3) dimensional chess designs
I was wondering whether anyone has ever designed chess rules for more than 3 dimensions. At that point you wouldn't be able to visualize the play using one board. And you'd instead need to to use 8 3-...
-1
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2answers
285 views
Is it possible to give two more checks here?
If the knight moves then is it possible to give check mate? I have already given one check. I was playing a game of "3 check". How can I get two more checks? Is it not possible?
3 check is a mode in ...
2
votes
3answers
188 views
Pawns VS pawnless?
I'm writing a story where because of the character's vanity says "you can have pawns but I don't need them, they are beneath me."
In such a game who would have the advantage?
