Editing List of chess variants (section)

=== Variants with fairy chess pieces ===
{{See also|Fairy chess piece}}

{{col-float|style=width:auto; float:left; clear:left;}}
{{Raumschach diagram
 |tright
 |
<!--   -->
 |rd|nd|kd|nd|rd
 |pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
<!-- E -->
<!--   -->
 |Nd|bd|qd|Nd|bd
 |pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
<!-- D -->
<!--   -->
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
<!-- C -->
<!--   -->
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
 |pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
 |bl|Nl|ql|bl|Nl
<!-- B -->
<!--   -->
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
 | | | | | 
 |pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
 |rl|nl|kl|nl|rl
<!-- A -->
 |'''[[Raumschach]]''' starting position. Inverted knights represent unicorns.
}}
{{col-float-break}}
{{Chess diagram 10x10 small
 |tright
 |
 |md|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |md
 |Bd|rd|nd|bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd|Bd
 |pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
 |Bl|rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|bl|nl|rl|Bl
 |ml|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |ml
 |'''Shako''' starting position. Cannons (shown as inverted rooks) are on a1, j1, a10, and j10. Elephants (shown as inverted bishops) are on a2, j2, a9, and j9.
}}
{{col-float-end}}

==== Variants with fairy pieces on a standard board ====
Most of the pieces in these variants are borrowed from chess. The game goal and rules are also very similar to those in chess; however, these variants include one or more [[fairy pieces]] which move differently from chess pieces.
* '''[[Baroque chess]]''' (or '''Ultima'''): Pieces on the first row move like queens, and pieces on the second row move like rooks. They are named after their unusual capturing methods. For example, leaper, immobilizer and coordinator.
* '''[[Berolina chess]]''': All pawns are replaced with Berolina pawns, that move diagonally and capture orthogonally.
* '''[[Chess with different armies]]''': Two sides use different sets of fairy pieces. There are several armies of approximately equal strength to choose from including the standard FIDE chess army.
* '''[[Falcon-Hunter Chess]]''': A falcon moves forward as a bishop; backward as a rook. The hunter moves forward as a rook; backward as a bishop. Players introduce the fairies as the game progresses. By Karl Schulz (1943).
* '''[[Grasshopper chess]]''' [multivariant]: The pawns can promote to grasshopper, or grasshoppers are on the board in the initial position.
* '''[[Pocket Mutation Chess]]''': Player can put a piece temporarily into the pocket, optionally mutating it into another (including fairy) piece.
* '''Spartan chess''': Black (the Spartans) has an army headed by two kings, which otherwise consists exclusively of non-standard pieces, and battles the standard FIDE army (the Persians) of white.<ref>http://spartanchessonline.com/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505003528/http://spartanchessonline.com/ |date=2016-05-05 }} by Steven Streetman.</ref>
*'''Super X Chess''': Players can combine their own pieces by capturing them. King or queen can't combine. A combined piece has the ability to move as both pieces that got combined. Same kind of pieces can combine into new pieces. Pieces can't uncombine or combine again.  By Miika Pihkala (2018).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://linuxgameconsortium.com/linux-gaming-news/super-x-chess-releases-tomorrow-steam-linux-70820/|title=Super X Chess releases tomorrow on Steam|date=2018-10-23|website=Linux Game Consortium|access-date=2019-01-07|archive-date=2019-01-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107234543/https://linuxgameconsortium.com/linux-gaming-news/super-x-chess-releases-tomorrow-steam-linux-70820/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''Torpedo chess''': Pawns are replaced with torpedo pawns, which can move two squares forwards anywhere on the board as opposed to only on the first move. Pawns that move two squares can be captured ''en passant'' on the very next move. The rest of the pieces remain unchanged.<ref>{{Citation | arxiv=2009.04374 | title=Assessing Game Balance with AlphaZero: Exploring Alternative Rule Sets in Chess | year=2020 | first1=Nenad | last1=Tomašev | first2=Ulrich | last2=Paquet | first3=Demis | last3=Hassabis | first4=Vladimir | last4=Kramnik}}</ref>
* {{Anchor|Way of the Knight}}'''Way of the Knight''' (WOTN): Invented by [[Ralph Betza]], incorporating two elements from [[tabletop role-playing game]]s. Begins with the standard starting position and pieces, however through capturing and advancing up the board pieces can earn "[[Experience point|experience]]", and a sufficiently experienced piece is upgraded to a more powerful one. Upgrades include various fairy pieces, and involve player choices of "[[Alignment (role-playing games)|alignment]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessvariants.com/crossover.dir/wotn.html|title=Way of the Knight|website=chessvariants.com|access-date=2018-08-03|archive-date=2018-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803134715/http://www.chessvariants.com/crossover.dir/wotn.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessvariants.com/crossover.dir/wotnsample.html|title=A Sample game of Way of the Knight|last=Trenholme|first=Sam|website=chessvariants.com|access-date=2018-08-03|archive-date=2018-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803134556/http://www.chessvariants.com/crossover.dir/wotnsample.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Variants with popular fairy pieces: Empress, Amazon, Princess ====
There are a number of variants which use the [[Empress (chess)|empress]] (rook + knight) and [[Princess (chess)|princess]] (bishop + knight) compound pieces. The empress is also called marshall or chancellor.<ref>[http://www.chessvariants.org/piececlopedia.dir/rook-knight.html The Piececlopedia: The Rook-Knight Compound] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117121137/http://www.chessvariants.org/piececlopedia.dir/rook-knight.html |date=2015-11-17 }} by Fergus Duniho and David Howe.</ref> The princess is also called cardinal, archbishop, janus, paladin, or minister.<ref>[http://www.chessvariants.org/piececlopedia.dir/bishop-knight.html The Piececlopedia: Bishop-Knight Compound] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117141127/http://www.chessvariants.org/piececlopedia.dir/bishop-knight.html |date=2015-11-17 }} by Fergus Duniho and David Howe.</ref> Another compound piece is the [[Amazon (chess)|amazon]] (queen + knight). To adapt to the new pieces, the board is usually extended to 10×8 or 10×10 with additional pawns added.<ref name="material power in variant chess games">{{Cite web|url=https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess960-chess-variants/comparison-of-material-power-in-variant-chess-games|title=Comparison of Material Power in Variant-Chess Games - Chess Forums|website=Chess.com|access-date=2017-12-21|archive-date=2017-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051714/https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess960-chess-variants/comparison-of-material-power-in-variant-chess-games|url-status=live}}</ref>
* '''[[Almost Chess]]''': Uses an 8×8 board, with the conventional starting position, but queens are replaced by chancellors (empresses). By Ralph Betza (1977). A related variant is '''[[Sort of Almost Chess]]''' (Ralph Betza, 1994), where one player has a queen and the other has a chancellor.
{{Chess diagram 10x10
 |align=tright
|fen=r8r/1nbqkcabn1/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/1NBQKCABN1/R8R
 |footer=
'''[[Grand Chess]]''' by Christian Freeling}}
* '''[[Capablanca Chess]]''': A variant by the former world chess champion, [[José Raúl Capablanca]]. Played on a 10×8 board with chancellor (empress) and archbishop (princess).
* '''[[Capablanca Random Chess]]''': Generalises all possible variants of [[Capablanca Chess]] with random starting positions following a method similar to that used in [[Chess960]]. By Reinhard Scharnagl (2004). 
* '''[[Grand Chess#Embassy chess|Embassy Chess]]''': Uses a 10×8 board with Marshall (Empress) and Cardinal (Princess). The starting position is borrowed from [[Grand Chess]]. By Kevin Hill (2005).
*'''Gemini Chess''':<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://musketeerchess.net/games/gemini/rules/rules.php|title=Gemini Chess Variant|date=2016|website=Musketeer Chess and Chess Variants|access-date=2017-11-27|archive-date=2017-09-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906191142/http://musketeerchess.net/games/gemini/rules/rules.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Uses a 10×8 board with two Archbishops. From an idea of Dr Zied Haddad in 2016. The difference from Janus Chess is the initial setup where the archbishops are sandwiching the queen and king remaining in the center of the board. 
{{Chess diagram 8x10
| tright
| 
|rd|nd|bd|ad|kd|qd|ad|bd|nd|rd
|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  
|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl
|rl|nl|bl|al|kl|ql|al|bl|nl|rl
|Gemini Chess initial position. The archbishops surround the queen and king from each side
}}
* '''[[Capablanca chess#Postdating Capablanca chess|Gothic chess]]''': A commercial variant played on a 10×8 board with Chancellor (Empress) and Archbishop (Princess).
* '''[[Grand Chess]]''': Uses a 10×10 board with marshall (empress) and cardinal (princess). Invented by [[Christian Freeling]] (1984).
* '''[[Janus Chess]]''': Uses a 10×8 board with two januses (princesses). By Werner Schöndorf (1978).
* '''[[Maharajah and the Sepoys]]''': Black has a complete army, and White only one piece: the maharajah (a royal amazon).
* '''[[Modern Chess (chess variant)|Modern Chess]]''': Played on a 9×9 board, with an extra pawn and a prime minister (princess). By Gabriel Vicente Maura (1968).
*'''{{vanchor|Musketeer chess}}''':<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musketeerchess.net/|title=Musketeer Chess, a modern Chess Variant|website=Musketeer Chess & Chess Variants|access-date=2019-11-18|archive-date=2016-07-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720011155/http://musketeerchess.net/|url-status=live}}</ref> A commercial variant, inspired from [[Seirawan Chess]]. This variant introduces 10 fairy pieces: archbishop, chancellor, hawk (different rules from Seirawan Chess), elephant (different rules from Seirawan Chess), leopard, cannon (different from Xiangqi), unicorn, fortress, spider, and amazon (also called dragon in this game). Players have a choice of 2 pieces among the 10 possible and method used to introduce them during the game.
* '''[[Seirawan Chess]]''': A commercial variant. Uses a standard 8×8 board with elephant (empress) and hawk (princess).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seirawanchess.com/|title=Seirawan chess {{pipe}} Yasser Seirawan|website=seirawanchess.com|access-date=2019-06-22|archive-date=2019-06-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622045140/http://seirawanchess.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> By [[Grandmaster (chess)|GM]] [[Yasser Seirawan]] and [[Bruce Harper]] (2007).

==== Other variants with fairy pieces ====
* '''[[2000 A.D. (chess variant)|2000 A.D.]]''': Played on a 10×10 board, features the empress, capricorn, gorgon, chimaera, dragon, minotaur, unicorn, and fury fairy chess pieces. By V. R. Parton.
* '''Bear chess''':<ref name="chessvariants_bearchess">[https://www.chessvariants.com/rules/bear-chess About Bear chess] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612153941/https://www.chessvariants.com/rules/bear-chess |date=2021-06-12 }} on chessvariants.com.</ref><ref name="evochess_bearchess">[https://www.evochess.com/chess-variant/bear/ About Bear chess] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705220920/https://www.evochess.com/chess-variant/bear/ |date=2022-07-05 }} on evochess.com.</ref><ref name="encyclopedia_chess_variants">[http://www.jsbeasley.co.uk/encyc.htm Chapter 15, New pieces (2) : Pieces with limited range (pages 128—137)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615035121/http://www.jsbeasley.co.uk/encyc.htm |date=2021-06-15 }} from The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants (D. B. Pritchard, ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1, 2007).</ref> 10x10 [[chess variant]], proposed by Mikhail Sosnovsky in 1985 in [[Tver|Kalinin]].<ref name="kp_bearchess">[https://www.tver.kp.ru/daily/27284.5/4420333/ «Медвежьи шахматы могут подвинуть тверского козла»] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612154233/https://www.tver.kp.ru/daily/27284.5/4420333/ |date=2021-06-12 }} — article in Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian)</ref><ref name="mk_bearchess">[https://tver.mk.ru/social/2021/06/02/shakh-i-mat-skeptiki-zapadnye-shakhmatisty-ocenili-tverskoy-apgreyd.html Шах и мат, скептики: западные шахматисты оценили тверской апгрейд] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612154234/https://tver.mk.ru/social/2021/06/02/shakh-i-mat-skeptiki-zapadnye-shakhmatisty-ocenili-tverskoy-apgreyd.html |date=2021-06-12 }} — article in Moskovskij Komsomolets (in Russian)</ref> Board 10x10; extra pieces are Bears, which leap as N or two squares as R or B; baseline (a1-j1/a10-j10) RNBBeQKBeBNR. Pawns can move up to three squares initially (e.p. permitted). In castling, K moves to c/h files.
* '''Chessers''': There are multiple variants that combine the rules of chess and [[Draughts|checkers]], including a 1925 variant by Frank Maus,<ref name="encyclopedia_chess_variants_18">[http://www.jsbeasley.co.uk/encyc.htm Chapter 18, Mutation games (pages 161—174)]{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615035121/http://www.jsbeasley.co.uk/encyc.htm |date=2021-06-15 }} from The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants (D. B. Pritchard, ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1, 2007).</ref> and a 1960 proprietary variant by Phillips Publishers, Inc.<ref name="encyclopedia_chess_variants_15">[http://www.jsbeasley.co.uk/encyc.htm Chapter 15, New pieces (2) : Pieces with limited range (pages 128—137)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615035121/http://www.jsbeasley.co.uk/encyc.htm |date=2021-06-15 }} from The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants (D. B. Pritchard, ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1, 2007).</ref>
* '''[[Chess on a really big board]]''': Played on a 16x16 board with 6 nonstandard piece types. Invented by Ralph Betza.
* '''Decimal Chess''' [multivariant]: Played on a 10×10 board, usually add extra pieces. Some decimal chesses use only standard pieces, but others such as [[Decimal Falcon-Hunter Chess]] use fairy pieces. One such variant is '''Decimal Rettah chess''', which adds a king, queen and two pawns. Invented by [[V. R. Parton]]. 
*'''[[Dragonchess]]''': Three 8x12 boards with some standard chess pieces and many other pieces, some of which move between the levels. Created by Gary Gygax.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dragonchess - rules |url=https://www.chessvariants.com/3d.dir/dragonchess.html |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=chessvariants.com |archive-date=2022-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427040630/https://www.chessvariants.com/3d.dir/dragonchess.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
*'''[[Duell (chess)|Duell]]''': Dice are used instead of pieces. Played on a 9×8 board.
* '''Etchessera''': Played on a regular chessboard but where players build their own chess army from a collection of 17 different pieces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://etchessera.com/|title=Etchessera|access-date=2021-12-26|archive-date=2022-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327082742/http://www.etchessera.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*'''[[Gess]]''': Chess with variable pieces, played on a [[Go (game)|Go]] board.
* '''[[Jetan]]''': A "Martian chess" invented by [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]] for his novel ''[[The Chessmen of Mars]]'' (1922), played on a 10×10 board. None of the pieces are standard chess pieces.<ref name="ekman">{{cite web |last1=Ekman |first1=Fredrik |title=Exploring Jetan |url=http://www.erbzine.com/mag70/7030.html |website=ERBzine |publisher=Bill Hillman |access-date=5 January 2020 |archive-date=25 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225232847/http://www.erbzine.com/mag70/7030.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* '''Prince & Princess''': The chess variant that uses the criterion of succession, where the king or queen are replaced in favor of the prince or the princess, created by [[Antonio Maravi Oyague]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oyague |first=Antonio Maravi |date=July 22, 2015 |title=CHESS 10X10 SUCCESSION PRINCE PRINCESS SUCESION PRINCIPES FAMILIAR |url=http://profemaravi.blogspot.com/2015/07/chess-10x10-succession-prince-princess.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917105136/http://profemaravi.blogspot.com/2015/07/chess-10x10-succession-prince-princess.html |archive-date=September 17, 2018 |website=Profe Antonio Maravi}}</ref>
* '''Proteus''': A chess variant using dice to represent normal chess pieces, created by [[Steve Jackson Games]].{{sfnp|Pritchard|2007|p=304}}
* '''Shako''': Played on a 10×10 board. New pieces are the cannon from [[xiangqi]] (Chinese chess) and an elephant moving as a fers+alfil of old [[shatranj]] (ancestors of queen and bishop), so diagonally one or two squares with jumps allowed. By Jean Louis-Cazaux (1997).<ref>[http://www.chessvariants.org/large.dir/shako.html Shako] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207013023/http://chessvariants.org/large.dir/shako.html |date=2010-12-07 }} by [[Hans Bodlaender]]</ref>
* '''[[Stealth chess]]''': Played in the fictional [[Ankh-Morpork Assassins' Guild]] from the ''[[Discworld]]'' series of books; played on an 8×10 board. The fairy piece is the [[Games of the Discworld#Stealth Chess|Assassin]].
* '''[[Stratomic]]''': Adds nuclear missiles to the standard chess array on a 10×10 board. When launched they irradiate any 3×3 area (friendly pieces included) except kings. By Robert Montay-Marsais (1972). 
* '''[[Wildebeest Chess]]''': Uses an 11×10 board, each player has two camels and a wildebeest (camel + knight). Pawns move one, two, or three squares initially. By R. Wayne Schmittberger (1987). 
* '''[[Wolf Chess]]''': On an 8×10 board, with fairy pieces wolf (empress), fox (princess), [[Nightrider (chess)|nightrider]], sergeant (almost a [[Berolina chess|Berolina pawn]]), and elephant (amazon). By Arno von Wilpert (1943).