Even if there are already several
strategy video games (especially in PC) that have been developed to have more intellectual gameplays than chess, this timeless boardgame is still as popular
and esteemed as ever. But did you know
that there are actually numerous variations of chess out there?
Here are my favorite modified versions of chess that employed a couple
of twists to make the game more complex or crazier – hence, more
interesting.
10.) THREE-DIMENSIONAL CHESS
Three-Dimensional (3-D) Chess has
its origins from the late 19th century. It features multiple boards at different
levels, on which the pieces could move in three-dimensions. This variant features different variants
itself, but the most popular is the “Star Trek” version. Star
Trek’s 3-D Chess has been seen many times throughout the franchise’s TV
series and movies. Originally intended
to be merely fictional, fans developed detailed mechanics to make it playable in real life.
3-D Chess is probably the most
complex chess variant I’ve encountered (yes, even more complex than Quantum Chess)
that I didn’t even bother to thoroughly learn the rules. But this is probably the most popular chess
variant out there because of its connection with Star
Trek, so I gave it the tenth spot. And, besides, I have to admit that I also find it fascinating because of its intimidating set-up.
9.) DRINKING CHESS
When I first encountered the
image above back in 2011, I shared it in Facebook and jokingly captioned it...
So during my research while
constructing this list, I was surprised to discover that I was spot on with my jesting
deduction.
8.) PLAY IT BY TRUST
This chess variant is developed
by Yoko Ono (yes, that Yoko Ono) as an
art project. Both players’ pieces are
white. Therefore, after a few moves, the
board gets confusing; the players will have the difficulty of determining
which pieces are theirs. Of course,
those with genius-level eidetic memory would be able to play it with ease as if
it’s a normal chess game. But for most
players, they must trust each other in determining whose pieces are whose.
“Play It By Trust” is supposed to
serve as a metaphor for the senselessness of war. Through it, Yoko Ono intended to eliminate
the “conflict” in a chess game, rendering the “battle” to eventual futility
after a couple of moves. So – if I get
her intentions right – the set-up instead promotes “peace” and “unity” by
forcing the players to rely on each other’s memories and honesty if there’s
hope of finishing the game.
It’s either stupid or profound. Your call. Either way, it’s truly unique.
7.) MONSTER CHESS
In Monster Chess (also called Super
King Chess), Black has the standard set of pieces while White only has a king
and four – sometimes two, sometimes eight – pieces of pawns. However, White can move two successive moves
per turn.
On paper, Black seems to have the
advantage because he has a complete set of pieces. But White’s “two moves
against Black’s one move” function actually can make the game very winnable for
him, especially if White plays with eight pawns.
6.) EXTINCTION CHESS
To win, instead of checkmating
the king, one has to capture all pieces of a particular kind of chess piece. Therefore, he can win by doing one of the following: capturing the king, capturing the queen, capturing
the two bishops, capturing the two knights, capturing the two rooks, or capturing
all eight pawns. Since the king is just a
normal piece here, the restrictions in castling in check are suspended. Moreover, a pawn can now also be promoted to a king. Also, the queen should be taken
good care of, since there is only one queen and its elimination would
automatically mean losing (unless a pawn has been promoted to another queen
prior to the initial queen’s elimination).
5.) ATOMIC CHESS & STRATOMIC
I will be doing a “two item in
one spot” entry here because both variations make an interesting use of a “nuke” option,
but in different methods.
In Atomic Chess, standard board
and rules apply. The twist is whenever a
“capture” happens in a particular square, an “atomic bomb explosion” happens;
all pieces – whether belonging to the player or his opponent – in the eight surrounding
squares are removed from play. Pawns,
however, are immune to an “atomic bomb explosion”, hence, they can’t be removed
from play by it.
In Stratomic (illustration above),
the game happens in a 10x10 board. There
are two extra pawns, and, instead of rooks, the two extreme bottom pieces are nuclear
missiles (those that look like inverted kings in the illustration above). A nuclear missile moves and
captures one step at a time, like a king piece.
However, a nuclear missile can also be launched. When launched, it “nukes” – removes from play
– the piece on the square it is targeting as well as all the pieces on its
eight surrounding squares. The “nuclear
missile” piece is also removed from play after its use. The king is, understandably, immune to nukes. There are two prerequisites before a “nuke”
can be launched: 1.) a non-pawn piece must have been captured prior to using
it; and 2.) the nuclear missile should not be on a “state of attack” – can be
captured on the next turn – by an enemy piece at time of launch. Lastly, pawns can be promoted to nuclear
missiles.
4.) ABSORPTION CHESS
Standard board and rules
apply. But whenever a “capture” happens,
the capturer gains the movement ability of the capturee. Example, if a rook captures a bishop, it can
now also move diagonally (basically, making the rook capable of doing what a
queen can do). Or if a queen captures a
knight, it is now also capable of executing an “L” movement.
3.) FOUR-PLAYER CHESS & THREE-PLAYER CHESS
The number three spot is for Three-Player Chess and Four-Player Chess – another “two items in one spot” entry. Sometimes, a few additional rules are applied but they
are basically, at their core, three-way or four-way games of chess. The “multi-player” aspect, simple of a twist
it may be, actually enhances the difficulty and stakes. There will always be “Unholy Alliance” and “Mexican
stand-off” aspects hanging on the game. It
really makes the strategizing more complicated and exciting.
2.) BUGHOUSE CHESS
2.) BUGHOUSE CHESS
Bughouse Chess (which has also been
called in other names like Exchange Chess, Siamese Chess, and Tandem chess) involves four players divided into two teams and playing
against each other in two boards. The
set-up, as what the above picture illustrates, involves one of the players playing white on
his board while his teammate is black on the other board, and the teammates should sit
side by side. Standard chess rules
apply. However, whenever a player
captures an enemy piece, he can hand it to his partner and his partner has the
option of putting it into play on his own board by placing it on any vacant
square. The team wins when either one of
the two players checkmates his opponent or his opponent ran out of time.
1.) CHESSBOXING
This mash-up of chess and boxing
is actually a real sport, with federations and tournaments and all that. It’s definitely one of the most extreme
sports in the world as this taxing sport puts both mental and physical
toughness into test. A chessboxing match
consists of 11 alternating three-minute rounds between chess and boxing – 6 for
chess and 5 for boxing (with sixty second breaks between rounds). This means that
after one or both players have exhausted the three minutes in the opening
chess round (there is a total of 18 minutes worth of chess time; 9 minutes for each player), they would then proceed to a
three-minute boxing round, then back to chess, and so on. Anytime during the match, a player wins it if he wins in
either a chess round (checkmating his opponent, opponent exceeds his time
limit, opponent resigns) or a boxing round (a knockout, a TKO). If neither of the players wins within the 11-round
match, the chess game ends in a draw and the one leading in the boxing scorecards
is the winner. If it’s also a draw in
the scorecard, the player with the black piece wins (I don’t know why such
rule).
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