Chess Variants:
Taking the fun even further with more ways to play.
As though chess in and of itself isn’t awesome enough, there’s a vast number of possible types and variants of the game to take things even further. Here, we’ll describe some of the standard formats of gameplay, and also give some of the most common recreational variants.
Standard formats of play:
With the emergence of online chess play, new ways to play chess have come forth. One of the primary of these is with varied time controls. (That’s right: limiting how much time each player has to move creates its own categories of chess formats).
Classical:
Typical to tournament play and the reigning standard of formal chess is the “classical” format, which broadly denotes allocating at least thirty minutes to each player as the total duration they may use across their turns. It should be noted, however, as described in an article here on Chess.com, that the classical format can be more complex, of involving further changes in how much time each player gets to move beyond a certain number of moves.
At any rate, one should keep in mind that classical chess allocates some of the most time to players for games that may be played face to face.
Rapid:
Rapid chess (as also seen similarly seen in the above-mentioned article here) is that which allocates less time to each player than does classical, but which is more than ten minutes. Fifteen minutes per player, for instance, to make all of their moves, would therefore be an example of a rapid time format.
Blitz:
Blitz chess is essentially any time format that allocates between three and ten minutes per player. I personally find that ten minutes is an efficient time format where the clock can itself become a strategy, but where there is still enough time to think out one’s moves with care.
Bullet:
When you get down to under 3 minutes per player for all their moves, then you have entered the realm of “bullet” chess. Bullet is, essentially, a rapid-fire format where either player must nearly constantly be making a move (or else have their clock run out and thereby forfeit their game).
...And Increments too:
For each standard format of play, there is also what we call “increments.” For instance, a given Blitz game may be 3 minutes for each player (denoted as 3|0), but with increment, may become, for instance, 3|1 or 3|2. (The left number denotes the number of minutes each player begins with on their clock for all of their moves, and the right the number of seconds that are added to their clock each time they make a move). Playing shorter time formats with increment can be quite helpful if you wish to enter that world of speedy chess but wish to have some buffer to carry out those longer games as well.
Getting Funky: Here come the variants:
So above, we gave the supposedly-”legitimate” variants of chess, or in other words, those that are widely accepted as still typical chess. (For instance, you may find the above in official tournaments for standard chess). However, as time has passed, and especially now with the emergence of the internet, new variants have come to rise to give you more options for playing chess (or at least, something remotely related to it) than you could have dreamed of. Here, we’ll try to get you started with some of the most common.
Bughouse:
This variant of chess has been, in my experience, one of the most heated. In it, there are two teams, each composed of two players. The setup is essentially the same as regular chess, with each player having their own board and same starting position as per usual. The difference here, however, is that the pieces of your opponent’s that you take may be individually placed down by your teammate as their own on their turn.
And, for a team to win, one of the opposing team’s players must be checkmated.
As a result, it’s key to be on good terms with your teammate in bughouse. (Please, for the sake of chess sportsmanship, don’t regress to finding all fault for a loss on your partner, even if it is tempting to do so. You both are playing for enjoyment, so don’t ruin theirs). Collaboration and communication here are key. For instance, numerous strategies exist involving taking particular pieces from one board requested by your opponent so that they may place them appropriately to reach checkmate.
In addition, as a tip for this variant of chess, be aggressive. And by that, I mean go all out. This is the variant where hammering one of your opponent’s positions, while having the other feed you pieces, is an extremely useful tactic. (A common example, for instance, is sacrificing one’s knight for a pawn to weaken the king’s side). But remember, of course, to be courteous while you do it.
Crazyhouse:
Similar to bughouse, crazyhouse is essentially bughouse but with only one player vs. another. In other words, in this variant, you begin and play the game as you would in standard chess, with the one exception that pieces you take of your opponent’s you can then take a turn placing down (one individually) per turn as your own.
Also like bughouse, I personally recommend to emphasize your attacking play with crazyhouse. This way, you can oftentimes achieve a sequence of moves whereby you create chains of pieces taken from your opponent that advance a path to be dangerously near their king.
Chess 960:
Now, in case you’ve gotten tired of always beginning with the same position in chess, Chess960 was created just for you.
In this variant, gameplay progresses along essentially the same rules as in standard chess, except that the starting position of either player, still on their respective back two ranks, is randomized. This way, though both players start with the same positions, all chess theory goes out the window, and your self-reliant play can now fully release itself.
3+ Check:
3+ check, similar to how it sounds, is won by either checkmating your opponent or by being the first to check the opposing king three times. In this type of chess, it’s therefore wise to keep your king appropriately protected.
King of the HIll:
Quite opposed to 3+ check, where hiding your king is a must, “King of the Hill” is won by either delivering checkmate or being the first to advance your king to one of the central four squares (see our discussion of the center here ).
Taking it even Further with Chess.com Variants:
With the rise of chess play online, it is now possible to have variants that wouldn’t otherwise be achievable if played face-to-face. In particular, Chess.com has become a titan in the online world of chess gameplay; and as a result, has also become known for a multitude of variants it hosts in addition to those given above. Here are but some of them.
Fog of war:
One of the most intriguing examples, in my opinion, is “Fog of War,” a chess variant where you begin and play as you would a normal game, but also can only see those squares that your own pieces could move or capture to. The result is an engaging experience with the unknown.
(See videos such as this, featuring Hikaru and Levi, described on our page here, which provide avid “Fog of War” gameplay.)
Giveaway:
Known on Chess.com as “Giveaway,” this variant is won by being the first player to either lose all your pieces or get stalemated. In addition, if you can capture an opponent’s piece, then you must.
The result is gameplay that requires a whole new bucket of tactics, and yet which can provide both some of the most frustrating and rewarding play.
(You can see here for Chess.com’s details on this variant.)
4 player chess:
Prominent on Chess.com is its four-player chess variants. In these variants, a modified and enlargened chess board boasts four sides of pieces, each controlled by their own player. An example setup is given below, taken from Chess.com’s opening page on the matter:
Four-player chess, I do warn, can be quite addictive (really, like all of these variants), and offers its own immense number of variants particular to it.
For more information or opportunities to play variants involving a “normal” chess board, see this page, and for more details on four player chess variants in particular, see this page, which offers a brief description of some of their rules, and this page, which provides further links to each).
But which should I play?
Well, to be as helpful as possible, that’s really up to you. Take a shot at some of the above variants, and see what interests you. Is it the dynamics of teamwork that is the most exhilarating for you? Is it delving into new strategies of personal gameplay? Is it testing our positions under new circumstances? Or is plain-old chess more than enough? Again, up to. But, with that said, each provides its own addition to the overall world of tactical chess mastery, so you really cannot go wrong. As always, learn, grow, and enjoy yourself as you rise to the pinnacle of chess experience.