Questions tagged [chess-variants]

Questions about variants of normal chess including bughouse, Chess960 (Fischer Random), atomic chess, racing kings, crazyhouse, antichess, etc. Can be used together with a more specific chess-variant tag, like [chess-960], [bughouse], etc. (see tag wiki for suggestions).

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What are the rules of Glinski's Hexagonal Chess?

Wladyslaw "Bill" Glinski was a Pole who came to London immediately after the end of WW2. He developed what is probably the most popular version of hexagonal chess, a variant played on an ...
Brian Towers's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
67 views

Are randomly created Queen's Quadrille and Hippodrome puzzles always solvable?

I found two chess puzzles on chessvariants.com, Queens's Quadrille and Hippodrome. I'm thinking of creating random Queen's Quadrille and Hippodrome puzzles with a computer program. My question is can ...
Arda Kaan Özcan's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
105 views

Is white winning in chess with the 1st and 8th ranks reversed?

Here is the position I am referring to: [FEN "RNBQKBNR/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/rnbqkbnr w - - 0 1"] It seems that there are no forced checkmates for white, any f3-Qh4# plans are thwarted ...
edit_profile's user avatar
9 votes
0 answers
728 views

A fun game (for problem composers, mostly...)

A game leading to a given position is called a proof game. Of course any proof game can be prepended with 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.Ng1 Ng8, so we defined a shortest proof game as, duh, the shortest possible proof ...
Hauke Reddmann's user avatar
12 votes
3 answers
938 views

Are knights more powerful in Duck Chess?

In the chess variant Duck Chess (full rules), each player moves the shared blocking "duck" piece to any free square on their turn, taking away one or more moves for the opponent. One ...
SE - stop firing the good guys's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
903 views

Fastest stalemate in Duck Chess

Seeing the meteoric rise in popularity of Duck Chess (full rules), I'd like to ask how to stalemate the fastest (from the starting position) in this variant, because the stalemated player wins here. ...
Benjamin Wang's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
170 views

If I remove a king from one side, which side has an advantage?

If I remove a king from one side, which side has an advantage? Say, the losing condition will change for that side to "no pieces left". Removing king = one less way to lose, but an extra ...
voismager's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
115 views

Demotion Chess (variant) [closed]

Suppose a player may choose as their move to demote their Queen to a Rook, or a Rook to a Bishop, or a Bishop to a Knight, or a Knight to a Pawn. Importantly, if a Knight is on the 8th rank and is ...
Joseph O'Rourke's user avatar
10 votes
4 answers
2k views

How would the min max algorithm of a chess engine work in the case of 3 player chess?

I understand that for 2 player chess if an engine is playing white, then the engine uses a min max algorithm, which assumes that black will always make the move that is best for black, or worst for ...
Anders Gustafson's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
114 views

How many types of pieces or icons are in Dashpaad (10x10 board)?

Dashpaad board (10x10 square blocks) have 100 squares in total. How the pieces fit in this board and what are their names.
ShadYantra's user avatar
-6 votes
1 answer
202 views

What is the detailed meaning of Shad Yantra in the Dashpaad board (10x10)?

Shad Yantra (pronounced as Skhad Yantra or Shad Yantra) is the 6 Principles of War according to scholars. What are all these Shadgunya principles and how significant are they in this ancient dashpada ...
ShadYantra's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
1k views

What is the maximum number of moves in a position of Crazyhouse?

We know that the maximum number of moves for a given colour in a legal position of standard chess (or at least record so far) is 218. What is the record we can come up with for Crazyhouse? Note that ...
Mobeus Zoom's user avatar
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-4 votes
1 answer
148 views

How well is a variant in which Black moves first?

Would it be good a chess variant if Black makes the first move instead of White? Notations will change, of course. For example, since Black makes the first move with a king's pawn push of two steps, ...
Prashant Akerkar's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
146 views

What is the best garden chess set?

We plan to buy a garden chess set for outside at our work facility. It should be mobile which means we don’t plan to build a chess board with stones on the ground. What is a good garden chess set (and ...
ee2Dev's user avatar
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-3 votes
4 answers
164 views

Least amount of "points" to mate a berserk king

"Berserk king" is my own invention ;). It means that you play according to the normal chess rules, until a king is mated. At that point the mated king is allowed to do TWO moves, in a last ...
Carlo Wood's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
293 views

How do I evaluate the value of every piece in Mathematical Chess?

This is Vietnamese Mathematical Chess— http://cotoan.vnvista.com/rules-en.html The board contains 11 ranks and 9 files. Each side has ten pieces, numbered from 0 to 9. The board initial layout is as ...
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1 vote
0 answers
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Mating with B+N+handicap

Elsewhere there was a discussion on "pass chess" (instead of making a move you can pass...if you don't happen to stand in check!). There are three sensible rule variants of pass chess: on/...
Hauke Reddmann's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
101 views

What if white can't capture before black?

Imagine a variant of chess with the simple rule: it is illegal for white to play any capturing move before black has captured a piece. Check/checkmate is unaffected. And white can lose by being ...
Steve Bennett's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
158 views

Is there a strategy to win chess960 games? [duplicate]

Chess960, a variant where the backrank pieces are all randomized subject to a few constraints, is a variant of chess where you cannot really memorize openings. Is there a strategy in chess960 so it is ...
DialFrost's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
279 views

Tips for King-of-the-hill (KOTH)

Related This question is about general tips, not just openings Is there any tips for this variant KOTH, which requires the player to bring the king to the center before the opponent, or by checkmating ...
DialFrost's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
198 views

Does 3-check help you in any way for normal chess?

Does a variant called 3-check, where you have to check the opponent 3 times to win, actually improve your train of thought and analysis of normal chess, or is it close enough to normal chess to ...
DialFrost's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
341 views

How can I evaluate a position in 4x6 chess?

For example, here is a 4x6 chess position. Black to move. How can I determine who is winning, and by how much? Rules: Chess variant on a small board. Standard rules apply with the following changes:...
AyushDwi's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
226 views

Chess with negotiations

I'm new to this forum and don't know if the following question is appropriate. It is of a more general "meta-chess" nature. I wonder if a variant of chess makes sense in which negotiations ...
Hans-Peter Stricker's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
238 views

Chess against Chuck Norris (starting position with lots of queens)

Just plain silly. Replace all pieces of Black (except the king — you are not Chuck Norris, you must have one) with queens. The starting position is then a Mate in 3 (#3). Challenge: Replace only a few ...
Hauke Reddmann's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
263 views

Funny chess starting positions

Recently, I found this funny position called Omicron. Are there are any other funny starting positions like this that can be used to have fun with friends? [FEN "2bqkb2/1rppppr1/np4pn/p6p/P6P/...
Ginger Bread's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
115 views

Piece values on nonstandard boards

Inspiration. For the moment, a nonstandard nxn board suffices. Very obviously, with growing n the long-range pieces become stronger with respect to short range ones. (Also, other effects come in play, ...
Hauke Reddmann's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
157 views

What are the piece values in chess.com's four player chess?

In chess.com's four-player chess, they evaluate the bishop and rook as an equal 5 points. But the geometry of the board is far more diagonal, perhaps making the bishop actually worth more than the ...
karlabos's user avatar
  • 131
7 votes
1 answer
2k views

Elo disadvantage due to one pawn move in Indian Chess

In Indian chess, the pawn doesn't move two squares, however in the western chess, pawn can move two squares. Now, since the pawn can't move 2 in the Indian style, the fianchetto is a natural square to ...
shoonya's user avatar
  • 307
0 votes
1 answer
336 views

Is there a sequence to force a draw in crazyhouse?

I have heard that there is something like a 9 move sequence to force a draw in crazyhouse. Is there such a sequence?
DialFrost's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
144 views

Is it possible for the hopper/locust to jump over unmovable squares?

If a board with unmovable squares, such as Chessence, has a Cannon on a1, and an enemy piece on a3, can the Cannon jump over the unmovable square (a2) and capture the target? Normally, a "leaper&...
Noob002's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
226 views

Is it possible to put special pieces on a chess.com custom board?

I would really like to create custom positions with custom pieces (and maybe even variants) to play with my friends because we have always enjoyed playing custom variants. So for example a board with ...
Leo's user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
417 views

What is white's increased advantage in chess90 as compared to chess870? (Chess960 can be split into 2 subsets, chess90 and chess870)

Here, it is shown 90 of 960 positions involve having to move a rook on 1 side in order to castle on the other side (unless the rook is somehow captured or something). These 90 positions come from 18 ...
BCLC's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
409 views

Is there a variant in which any piece can be taken 'en passant'?

The en passant rule for pawns can be thought of as an 'attack of opportunity', such as in D&D - the attacking pawn would have been able to take the moving pawn as it passed through the first space....
Wossname's user avatar
  • 193
2 votes
2 answers
368 views

White is down 3 pawns in opening, but it doesn't seem like white is really losing

Lichess suggests Re3, Nb1, h4, Bf1, and e5 as top 5 moves. Evaluation is within (-0.7, 0.5). I expected it to be the evaluation to be at most -1. What's going on? [FEN "rnbnk1r1/pp1p1p1p/2p1p1p1/...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1
-1 votes
2 answers
864 views

Why don't these statistics disprove white's supposed larger (practical?) advantage in chess960?

I've read that, at least theoretically, white has a larger advantage in 9LX as compared to chess. (See appendix.) This seems to be assumed in practice to the point that in some 9LX tournaments, such ...
BCLC's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
109 views

Looking for the finesse variant rules by GM Walter Browne

I am looking for the rules of chess variant finesse by GM Walter Browne. Here is my research so far. Two youtube videos : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nysD5lS4lBI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...
la minute dom's user avatar
-5 votes
1 answer
165 views

Is the average online account underrated in chess960?

I'm going to use lichess as an example, but I believe this applies to chessdotcom too. (I think it's better to use lichess as an example anyway because lichess and statistics for Chess960.) It looks ...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
2 answers
224 views

What is the meaning of 'fighting draw' vs 'draw by theory' in re Chess960?

I remember reading in some YouTube comment that Chess960 will lead to less draws or something. There was a comment response saying that it seems about the same. Then the original commenter replied in ...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1
4 votes
2 answers
312 views

On an 8-by-∞ board, who wins between an infinite number of pawns and a rook?

I've had this puzzle rattling around in my brain for the past few days and I want to know what you all make of it. Imagine chess played on a board with eight ranks and an infinite number of files. ...
AKemats's user avatar
  • 477
2 votes
0 answers
84 views

Unhinderable long/short castling by White/Black

Assume the goal is that a certain side castles as soon as possible, and the other side wants to completely ruin castling rights. White simply plays 1.e3 2.Nf3 3.B any 4.(5.)capture an interloper 5.(6.)...
Hauke Reddmann's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
65 views

variant where middle 4 squares aren't used [closed]

A teacher of mine proposed a chess variant to me that he called "border chess," where the middle four squares (d4, d5, e4, and e5) cannot be used. In other words, no piece can occupy one of ...
Tsvi Benschar's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
157 views

Variant where each pawn promotes according to its file

Somewhere I came across a description of street chess played in India (I think) with a number of non-standard rules. One of them was that when a pawn reaches the 8th rank, it must promote according to ...
Steve Bennett's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
1k views

If the back row of white pieces is moved to be in front of the pawns, which side should I play?

I remember this starting position played many times by my grandfathers. But I am too young to recollect the results of their games. If I have to choose, which side should I play? (White moves 1st)
TSLF's user avatar
  • 325
2 votes
1 answer
673 views

How many Chess960 positions exist in which castling on one side does not require moving the rook on the other side?

Update: It's chess870 (or chess869). See answer. Context/Motivation/Goal: In regular chess, you never have to move a rook (on 1 side) to castle (on the other side). My aim is to see how much of 9LX ...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1
6 votes
2 answers
335 views

Where to download fischer random games?

Where can I download the PGN files for the World Chess 960 championship from 2019, that was won by Wesley So? I can view the games on the website e.g, https://www.frchess.com/stream but I want to ...
smilingbuddha's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
186 views

Name for the "folding magnetic chess set" variant?

Does anyone know the name of the chessboard variant where you fold a standard board along the line between the d-file and e-file, to get a double-sided 8x4 board? A piece on top can move past the edge ...
deep thought's user avatar
14 votes
2 answers
726 views

If repetition loses, who wins KvK?

Suppose we're playing a version of chess where you lose if you repeat once an earlier position (position = arrangement of pieces + who's move it is). We're down to the wire, and we've just arrived at ...
Laska's user avatar
  • 11k
3 votes
2 answers
181 views

Is an early "normalization" of the position in Chess960 a sign of good quality game?

First let us start with two definitions. Definition #1: A position is said to be normal if there exists a sequence of legal moves from the classical starting position which lead to this position. ...
Davide Giraudo's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
156 views

Are there any tri dimensional chess rules utilising traditional starting positions?

I have a tri dimensional chess game for my phone which let's the player select different rule sets to play by. They all start with the king and queen on the attack boards which I find incredibly ...
sanepete's user avatar
  • 133
14 votes
3 answers
4k views

Would bishops be stronger or weaker on the same coloured squares?

Assuming one or both players makes a mistake and transposes a bishop and the adjacent knight when setting up the board, would this help or hinder them? The answers to this similar question suggest it'...
llama's user avatar
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