Variants and playing formats

A chess variant with 960 legal back-rank starting arrangements and adapted castling rules.

An asymmetric variant where one side controls a large pawn horde without a king while the other keeps a normal chess army.

A two-board variant in which every moving piece transfers to the opposite board after completing its move.

A 10-by-8 variant adding one piece that combines bishop and knight movement and another that combines rook and knight movement.

Christian Freeling's 10-by-10 variant with two pieces combining familiar movements and pawns that promote by restoring captured friendly pieces.

A standard-board variant that adds a hawk and elephant from reserve when an original piece vacates its starting square.

Władysław Gliński's variant played on a three-colored hexagonal board containing 91 cells.

A variant in which every turn combines a chess move with the mandatory placement of a shared blocking duck.

A variant that keeps normal chess rules and adds an immediate win for delivering a third legal check to the opposing king.

A variant that keeps normal chess rules and lets a player win by legally moving their king onto one of the four central squares.

A pawnless variant with a special starting position where the goal is to race your king to the eighth rank without giving check.

A reversed-objective variant where captures are compulsory and you normally win by losing all your pieces or having no legal move.

A variant where every capture causes an explosion that removes the captured piece, the capturer, and nearby pieces under special rules.

A two-player variant where captured pieces change sides, enter a reserve, and can later be dropped back onto the board.

A family of variants in which four armies take turns in one game on a shared four-sided board.

A four-player team variant on two boards where captured pieces are passed to a partner and can be dropped back into play.

A hidden-information variant in which each player sees only their pieces and the squares those pieces can legally reach.

A hidden-information variant in which a referee validates attempted moves and communicates only limited facts.

A variant in which each normal turn gives the same player two consecutive moves.

A family of variants in which each turn contains one more move than the preceding turn.

A chess format where an agreed starting advantage is used to compensate for a difference in playing strength.

A format in which an authorized player combines personal judgment with analysis software and searchable game collections during play.

A hybrid sport in which two competitors alternate rounds of one continuing chess game and one continuing boxing bout.