What's New?
Last Game Courier move entered 29 seconds ago.
Last Game Courier invitation submitted 2 DAYS ago.
Last kibbitz comment entered 37 DAYS ago.
Last Chess Variant problem added 187 DAYS ago.
Last comment or rating entered 1 hour ago.
Week ending Mar 05, 2016
Gross Chess. 
Added new photograph. (12x12, Cells: 144) By Fergus Duniho.
Flyover Xiang Qi. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (18x20, Cells: 180) By Charles Gilman.
- Compact Hex Chess. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (9x9, Cells: 61) By Charles Gilman.
- 2 Level Guru Mahachaturaji. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (10x10x2, Cells: 200) By Charles Gilman.
- Univers Chess. Added photograph. (10x8, Cells: 80) By Fergus Duniho.
Week ending Feb 27, 2016
- Hexiang Qi. Hexagonal Variant of Xiang Qi. (11x11, Cells: 91) By Robert Hancock.
Chess Variant Construction Set. Major update with links to currently-available products. Author: Fergus Duniho.
- Grotesque Chess. Added photograph. (10x8, Cells: 80) By Fergus Duniho.
- Hexgi. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (Cells: 91) By Charles Gilman.
- Trebuqi. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (11x11, Cells: 91) By Charles Gilman.
- Guru Mahachaturanga. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (12x12, Cells: 144) By Charles Gilman.
- Klondike Chess. With 52 potential pieces, build a foundation on the enemy throne. (5x5, Cells: 25) By Daniel Robert MacDuff.
- Hourglass Hex Chess. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (9x9, Cells: 65) By Charles Gilman.
- 4 Linepiece Hex Chess. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (Cells: 91) By Charles Gilman.
- Herichess. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (14x14, Cells: 112) By Charles Gilman.
Week ending Feb 20, 2016
- 3d Magna Carta Chess. Ticked "different armies" category and added to notes. (5x8x2, Cells: 80) By Charles Gilman.
- Anglojewish Chess. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (Cells: 91) By Charles Gilman.
- Haiku Shogi. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (17x17, Cells: 289) By Charles Gilman.
- 3 Level 4 Player Variants. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (8x8x3, Cells: 192) By Charles Gilman.
- Open King 5*4DChess. Four dimensional game with 74 pieces. (5x5x25, Cells: 625) By Kevin Pacey.
- Open King 4*4DChess. Four dimensional game with 48 pieces. (4x4x16, Cells: 256) By Kevin Pacey.
Week ending Feb 13, 2016
- Mini Fivequarters. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (9x9, Cells: 45) By Charles Gilman.
- 12 Sharp Chess. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (12x12, Cells: 108) By Charles Gilman.
- Yonin Bishogi. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (11x11, Cells: 121) By Charles Gilman.
Musketeer Chess. A game that adds extra pieces to Chess, playable online with Game Courier. (8x8, Cells: 64) Author: Fergus Duniho. Inventor: Zied Haddad.
- Mystery Chess. An imperfect information variant you can play online with Game Courier. (8x8, Cells: 64) Author: Fergus Duniho. Inventor: Ross Gillies.
- Neutral Subject Chess. Array diagram converted to new-style virtual single image. (8x8, Cells: 64) By Charles Gilman.
Week ending Feb 06, 2016
Chess on a Soccer Ball 
. (Cells: 32) By David Cannon.
Total items listed: 28
About Chess Variants
Chess variants comprise a family of strategy board games that are related to, inspired by, or similar enough to the game we today call Chess. The game we commonly know today was based on earlier games, most immediately the Arabian game of Shatranj, itself descended from the Indian game of Chaturanga
.
Besides its direct ancestors, Chess has many cousins, the most popular being Shogi (in Japan), Xiangqi (in China), and Janggi (in Korea).
Modern Chess has inspired countless variants. Some have been created by Chess champions seeking new challenges, some by entrepreneurs who have provided commercial sets, and some for fairy Chess problems without any intent of actually playing them. And most have been designed by creative people who like to try out new pieces, new rules, or new ideas.
This site seeks to catalog the vast number of Chess variants created throughout history, as well as to nurture the creation of new variants. Thanks to computers and the internet, it is now easier to play new Chess variants than ever before. We have benefited from Zillions-of-Games, which has allowed us to program and play numerous Chess variants against the computer. And we offer Game Courier, which enables you to play numerous Chess variants against others online, including new games of your own invention. This time in history is a renaissance for Chess variants, and this site is here to share this renaissance with the world.
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