Seven Other Games to Play on a Chess Board

Chess is a great game, but even your favorite activities can get repetitive after a while. Here are seven great variants on chess that can be played with the board and pieces you already have.

Bughouse

Bughouse is one of the world's most popular chess variants, and requires four players and two chess boards and sets. Take your four players and divide them into two teams of two - one good idea is to pair the strongest player with the weakest, in an attempt to even out the teams. Setup the two boards and sets next to each other, with each team having one player who plays white, while the other plays black. Each game should also be played with a chess clock; each player should have a short amount of time to play, usually three or five minutes.

Both clocks should be started at the same time, and both games should begin as in normal chess. Any checkmate, resignation or flag fall ends the game. Here's the twist: when you capture one of your opponent's pieces, you pass it to your partner. On your move, you may either make a legal chess move, or you may place one of the pieces your partner has captured for you on your board! This adds a whole new layer of strategy, and team communication becomes critical. Stalling can also be a strategic option; sometimes you may lose if you make another move, but if your partner can play fast enough, you can stall and still win before you run out of time.

To keep the game fair, remember that all players should have the captured pieces available to them in plain sight, so their opponents may see what options they have. Also, keep in mind the one restriction on placing pieces: pawns cannot be placed on the first or eighth ranks. Other than that, be creative, and remember to talk to your teammate! This game is also possible for six players with three boards and sets.

Crazyhouse

Crazyhouse is similar to bughouse, but for just two players. You will still need two sets, but just one board. Like in bughouse, when you capture a piece, you can now place it in play for your army; simply use a second set to get more pieces of your own color. Because stalling is not an option in this variant, it can be played at longer time controls than bughouse.

Chess960

This game, also known as Fischer Random Chess, is mostly played with the same rules as standard chess. The change comes from the opening position, which is generated at random from 960 possibilities! The back rank of pieces is shuffled, with only the following rules: the bishops must be on opposite colors, and the king must be between the two rooks. Several ways of doing this randomization are possible, such as with dice or with a computer. Only one randomization is necessary, as black's position must mirror white's, as in standard chess.

Many people like this variation, as it eliminates most of opening theory and requires both players to rely on their own ideas. This page features the complete rules for Chess960, along with instructions on how to randomize the position.

Atomic Chess

This variant is popular on many online chess servers, but is also easily played on a real board. The game is setup and played like normal chess. However, when a capture is made, it creates an "explosion," which destroys all pieces in a one square radius around the capture - including the capturing piece itself! The only pieces immune to the explosion radius are pawns, though they are still destroyed if they are used to capture another piece. For instance, if a piece captures another piece on e5, pieces (excluding pawns) on all the following squares are also destroyed: d6, e6, f6, d5, f5, d4, e4 and f4.

The game is won by capturing or exploding the enemy king. Even if you are already in check and have no way out, you may be able to win if you can cause an explosion that will destroy your opponent's king.

Suicide Chess

In this game, the goal is to lose all of your pieces - depending on the exact rules, this may include your king, which is treated as just another piece. If you can make a capture, you must, and the winner is the first player to be left with nothing on the board.

Three Check

Not enough time to play a full game? Three check chess changes the rules so that the person who gives check three times wins - no need to trap the king, just attack it enough times to force a surrender! Strategy can get quite wild, as huge sacrifices that would simply lose in regular chess create enough checks to win in this game.

Progressive Chess

This popular variant is another way to speed up the game when you're short on time. The game begins as normal, with white making a single move. However, black next makes two consecutive moves, followed by three for white, and so on until one player is checkmated or the game ends in resignation or a draw. Several variants on this idea are discussed here.

There are many other games that can be played with a chessboard; these are just a few of the most popular. Try them out, and you might even find you enjoy some of them more than chess itself!