Small board variant: Light Cavalry

Board: 7x7, removing a1, a2, b1, g7, g6, f7.

Pieces: Each player has 1 king, 3 knights, 5 pawns.

Moves: King and knights as in standard chess. Pawns move one cell horizontally and vertically, all four directions, and capture at one cell in all diagonals.

No castling, en passant, promotion, or mate. The objective is to capture the enemy king.

Board and starting position (ASCII art):

    +---+---+---+---+---+
    | K | N | P |   |   |    
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+
    | N | N | P |   |   |   |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
    | P | P | P |   |   |   |   |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
    |   |   |   |   | P | P | P |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
        |   |   |   | P | N | N |
        +---+---+---+---+---+---+
            |   |   | P | N | K |
            +---+---+---+---+---+

My chess variant

https://preview.redd.it/asubhi7bq83e1.png?width=128&format=png&auto=webp&s=a453db11d3c7f1121a8b2940d2a09c3c466cedc8

Introduction
We are happy to announce PyChess’ first community contest, the Variant Design Contest! The goal of the contest is to create the best chess variant. But there will be a special theme for the contest which the designs have to make use of. The winning entry will have the honor of being added to the site.

The contest (as well as updates and all communications) will be run exclusively via Discord. If you're not already on Discord, you can find the link on the PyChess website below the chat box.

Submissions can either be from individual users or a team of users. However, each member can only have their name attached to one submission. Entrees must be original; you cannot use one that has already been published. "Chess variant" means anything resembling the chess family of games (Chess, Xiangqi, Shogi, etc.) Games that heavily deviate will likely not win; for example, Ataxx would not win. Additionally, the variant must be designed using Fairy Stockfish (see below). If you need help, please ask around.

Contest format
As “best” is a subjective determination, we will use judges – the PyChess server admins, who will rate the variants on a 100-point scale. The entry with the highest average score will win. Judges will base their score on fun, uniqueness/creativity, as well as theming.

Timeline
December 31, 2024 – Registration closes at midnight -- Please register in the Discord channel.
April 31, 2025 – Submissions are due
June 30, 2025 – Judging ends

Theme
The theme is regions! Specifically having well-delineated parts of the board that function differently. In Chess and Shogi, there are promotion zones, but this is rather minimal and would be a poor submission. Instead, look more at variants like Xiangqi and Chennis, where pieces are limited to certain regions. While I did say Chess and Shogi would be poor examples, having pieces that can change movement as they promote from one zone (normal zone) to another (designated as the “promotion zone” on Fairy-Stockfish) but then demote when going back to the former zone would count as working in the theme.
Keep in mind that Stockfish can have parameters for exactly which squares pieces can move to, drop to, and promote/demote to.

Tips: A good variant will almost certainly require unique board designs to convey movements. There's a lot of creativity that can be done with the options available in FSF. For example, you could have a linear spiral on the board where the king can't escape but moves like a rook and needs to get to the center. You can have a region of the board where there's a super piece like an amazon but is only limited to the region. You can have regions that cause a piece to change (via promotion) but then cannot go back the way it came (like the Divine King in Chak). There are a lot of options available.

Coding the Variant
Again, the variant must be compatible with FairyStockfish. This means the variant has to be able to defined using the code in FSF. At the most basic level, this means no variants larger than 12 x 10. The variant definition code is basically what you'd put in the variants.ini file. All the documentation on that (which is very well explained by ubdip) is here, and you can see how PyChess implements all our variants here. If you're not familiar with variants.ini, don't worry! We'll provide assistance for anyone who's unfamiliar with making a variant definition.

Playtesting
Entries should be playtested using FairyStockfish. At the most basic level, this involves downloading the FairyStockfish engine and then running a script to have the engine play against itself for multiple games. One such script provided by ubdip (FSF’s creator) is variantfishtest. If there any difficulties, there members in the community that will be be able to help.

Tomato’s standards/recommendations from playtesting are the following:

• Balance – Ideally there should be no larger than a 40/60% winrate between the two sides. Testing should be done over at least 100 games with a long time control.
• Sharpness – Ideally there should not be a forced opening. When looking at the log of AI selfplay, seeing some variation in the opening moves is important.

Don't worry about being particular perfect on these. The design is more important for the contest. The main thing is that the variant is not obviously imbalanced or sharp/limiting in choices.
The chosen winner will likely undergo more vigorous testing with NNUE and ironing out any issues before being added to the site.

Graphics
Graphics are not a consideration when judging. The entries can be playable using already available symbols if no graphics are provided, and special board graphics can be created by the contestant or Couch Tomato as needed. Naming is (including variant name, piece names, etc) is also not a part of the judging process. The community can assist with polishing the game and creating assets for the winning selection.

I've recently discovered a new chess variant where you can't capture pieces (might be known as "scacchi e principesse" in Italy). However, unlike antichess or Fischer960, "No capture chess" doesn't have any website to be played on, or has an official name either (to my knowledge).

The rules are quite simple as well: The players can't perform a capture in any sort of way, so a square is permanently occupied until the piece standing on it gets moved. To win you still need to checkmate, which often happens by smothered mate, so watch out for knights. The variant has still some flaws unfortunately, as one player is able to bunker his king and play for a draw.

Whether anyone is interested to the same variant or already has some infos, please DM me.

We are excited to launch the first two tournaments in the history of '5D Chess Pro'!

Whether you're a fan of classic 5D Chess and/or 5D Crazyhouse, we have something for you!

Registration in the Tournaments “Welcome to '5D Chess Pro'” and “Welcome to '5D Crazyhouse'” has started.
The top 3 players in each tournament will receive special tickets granting access to upcoming World Championship qualification tournaments!

Also all participants will receive Bonus Points as a reward based on their final standings — the higher your place, the more points you earn! — but no one leaves empty-handed!

This is your chance to be part of 5D Chess history and start earning your way to the World Championship! Don't miss out on the fun, the prizes, and the glory! Good luck to all players, and let the tournaments begin!

Our community here: https://www.reddit.com/r/5DChessPro/
Our main community on Discord: https://discord.gg/cR5J2zpGu7

PS: You can find details of the tournaments (with all conditions and prizes) in the app.
PS2: Also "Ukraine" Theme has been added: https://www.reddit.com/r/5DChessPro/comments/1gynbml/welcome_ukraine_theme/

A very fair and three-player chess variation that doesn't change the movement of the pieces. Rules

1. You need three chess boards/pieces.
2. Decide on the order of the pieces. Let's call them A, B, and C.
3. Place the pieces on three chess boards. Let's call them X, Y, and Z.
4. The opponents for each board are as follows.

• On board X, A plays white and B plays black.
• On board Y, B plays white and C plays black.
• On board Z, C plays white and A plays black.

5. Start with A. A makes his first move on board X.
6. Then, B makes his first move on board X and board Y.
7. Then, C makes his first move on board Y and board Z.
8. Then, A makes his first move on board Z and board X. Repeat steps 2-4 until the game ends on one board.
9. If checkmate occurs on one board, the game ends and the person who made the checkmate there wins, the person who was checked loses, and the person who didn't care comes in second place.
10. If a draw occurs on one board, the game continues (but no moves are made on the board where the draw occurred. If board X is a draw, C still has to make moves on boards Y and Z), and if a draw occurs on all boards, it is a draw.

I think it's a good variation of chess.

Tactorius V2.0.0 has been released. Come check out the new spells like dyads (move twice, no captures), offerings, and new modifications... use them against the engine. New pieces: Valkyrie and Herring (must be captured if legal). tactorius.org

Probably different value wether promotable or not And probably not gold since it'll be weaker So it would probably promote into king knight hybrid

https://preview.redd.it/x1eaccxzbe2e1.png?width=512&format=png&auto=webp&s=7f4d154cfee697dcb97699666204c6a684fe426e

https://preview.redd.it/n96510zzbe2e1.png?width=512&format=png&auto=webp&s=044910aa70032d4961ad0a0eda25956798a8769e

So the tower moves exactly like a rook, but it can merge with a piece, that piece will gain the rook's movement, if the piece has the rook's movement like a rook or a queen then they can split up moving 2 pieces at the same time, also it can still divide and leave the piece. also the square they merge in has to be in the tower's square if only the tower can attack the friendly piece but if the friendly piece is the only one who can attack the tower then they merge in the friendly piece's square, you can check or checkmate when doing the merge, and also you can only merge with friendly pieces not enemy pieces, you can send a pawn to a promotion square and if they promote they will still be merged with the rook, if it becomes a queen or a rook then it can move 2 times

FINAL THING: you cant merge with another tower.

Or a Reddit channel or fairy pieces

also idk why in original post list became single row

once any piece gets to the point farthest away from it it becomes a thief and can steal any of its captures and keeps its pieces movement but if it’s a pawn it becomes a queen first+both black and white start off with 2 kings which you need to kill/steal both to win and every 3 turns they both can place a pawn anywhere on the board that’s not on or in check with any piece+once a pawn captures 10 things it will get a gun which starts off as a pistol with full map range and 1 dmg 1 pierce can only fire once per round and 0 splash damage which damages in a square that grows by 1x1 every time + theifs can move from diaogonal to diaoganal and pac man from one side of the board to another

https://preview.redd.it/eh5u5qwft51e1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=dd7c38226960d140f2c7618c2922e10aba3236b9

(The location is explained based on the yellow pieces(Black in the original chess) below)

How to move a piece

King (6th space from bottom): Can move 1 or 2 spaces in a straight line or 1 space diagonally.

Princess (7th space from the bottom): Same as the queen in chess.

Elite (5th and 8th spaces from bottom): Same as the queen in chess.

Warlord (second row, 6th and 7th spaces from bottom): You can choose the moves of the chess bishop and knight. (Archbishop)

Rook (1st and 12th spaces in the first and second rows from the bottom): Same as the rook in chess.

Bishop (second row from bottom, spaces 3, 5, 8, 10): Same as the bishop in chess.

Knight (second row, spaces 2, 4, 9, and 11 from the bottom): Same as the knight in chess.

Golden Generals, Silver Generals, and Bronze Generals (the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd squares of the bottom row, respectively, and the 9th, 10th, and 11th squares, respectively): Each can move 1 or 2 squares in the direction indicated by the piece. (Same as shogi, which can move 2 spaces)

Pawn: Can move 1-2 spaces forward and can only attack diagonally forward. From your starting position, you can move three spaces forward.

How to promote a piece and how to change move

All pieces except kings, elites, and warlords can be promoted.

You can be promoted when you reach the enemy camp (the opposing side with a different color on the chessboard).

You do not need to promote pieces other than pawns if you do not wish to do so.

Princess -> Queen: If you promote this piece, your opponent must capture this piece to win. (Royal Piece) However, you can only move one space in each direction.

Rook -> Dragon King: A one-space diagonal move is also possible (Rook + Ferz)

Bishop -> Dragon Soldier: One-space straight move is also possible. (Bishop + Wazir)

Knight -> Dragon Knight: King's Ride is also possible. (Centaur)

Gold/Silver/Bronze General -> Promoted Gold/Silver/Bronze: Can move any number of spaces in the original movement direction.

Pawn promotion can be done with bishops, knights, rooks, and queens, just like regular chess.

Special rules

Castling: Same as before, except move the king three spaces. Only possible with the rook below.

Insult to Royalty: Royal pieces cannot capture an opponent's Royal piece of the opposite gender. (Does not apply to Royal pieces of the same gender, Elites, or pre-promoted Princesses)

Check: If you threaten the opponent's only royal piece, you must declare it. It is not a foul if you do not declare it, but it is a foul to capture the royal piece without declaring it. (The reason for adding this rule is that it is difficult to detect a check threat due to the large size of the board.)

Endless Game: If the same position is repeated four times or three times in a row, the game ends in a draw (except that it is against the rules for one side to keep putting the last remaining royal piece in check). It is also a draw if 30 moves pass without a pawn moving or a piece being captured or promoted.

En passant: Unlike basic chess, en passant is possible no matter where the pawn is. The condition for en passant is that if the pawn had moved only 1 or 2 squares, the capture would have been made, but if the opponent had advanced the pawn further, en passant is always possible.

Annihilation: If both sides have 3 or fewer pieces remaining, including the royal piece, it is an automatic draw, even in situations where one side can easily win, such as Queen + Elite vs Queen.

Mutual Destruction: If both sides' royal pieces are captured at the same time, it is a draw. (If one side captures a royal piece, the other side loses if they fail to capture the royal piece this turn or if they have two or more royal pieces. If they capture the last remaining royal piece, it is a draw.)

I tried it with my younger brother and it's not a bad game :] (I don't think my little brother likes it very much...)

This is a variation of the already existing version on Dice Chess, In which the piece you roll is the piece you play.

In this Variant, you start the game by getting 32 Chess Piece Dice (or normal dice with numbers representing different pieces). 16 dice should be white and 16 should be black. Place the dice on the board in standard starting position (8 dice with Pawns on the 2 and 7 line, and all the other pieces in their ordinary starting places on the 1 and 8 line). Then, both players crown the dice with the king on it as their “King Dice” (this can be done visually by putting some sort of mark on the dice). That dice remains the “King Dice” no matter what piece is rolled on it, and the game ends in Victory for the side that Captures, Checkmates, or Stalemates (the piece isn’t under attack, but has no legal moves) the opponent’s “King dice”.

Before either side makes a move, they must select a piece and roll it. Whatever the dice lands on is the new piece you are playing with (you must move the dice you selected even if the rolled result isn’t a piece you like). If the dice you selected lands on a piece that cannot legally move that turn, your turn is skipped and your opponent goes. In this Variant, capturing a dice with a King on it that isn’t the “King dice” doesn’t count as a victory, so the king is just an ordinary chess piece here. Dice with Pawns on them are allowed their Double Move as long as they are on the 1 or 2 (or 7 and 8 in black’s case) line. En Passant and Castling is allowed if the extremely rare situation occurs that it is possible to perform these moves (you roll a dice as a king/rook, on the 1 line, whilst having another dice that is a king/rook more than one space horizontally across from you, without any pieces in between the two dice) [you roll a Pawn dice next a dice that is your opponent’s pawn and that opponent’s pawn just performed its double move]. If a pawn dice reaches the other side of the board, the next time you choose to move that die you are allowed to choose which piece it is for that turn (and that turn alone).

( Souece: https://www.chessvariants.com/rules/leaperhouse )

https://preview.redd.it/wrqk8kjmk70e1.png?width=550&format=png&auto=webp&s=6859a430d7a8047f11673b575c2232b6eaa87eeb

Leaperhouse

A 10x10 drop variant consisting of only Leapers, Shogi pawns, and Kings.

- There are no long-range pieces such as Rooks or Bishops.

The initials of pieces

Leapers' movement points

The Leapers are: Knight, Ox, Camel, Courtier, and Ram.

- Leapers can pass pieces on the path as they move.

Knight (N) : As soon as it moves 1 square orthogonally, it moves 1 square diagonally in that direction.

Ox (O) : Moves 2 squares away orthogonally or diagonally.

Camel (C) : As soon as it moves 2 square orthogonally, it moves 1 square diagonally in that direction.

Courtier (U) : As soon as it moves 1 square orthogonally, it moves 2 square diagonally in that direction.

Ram (R) : Moves 3 squares away orthogonally or diagonally.

Pawn (P) : Moves one sqaure orthogonally forward. Promotes to Guard.

Guard (G) : Moves one square orthogonally or diagonally.

King (K) : Moves one sqaure orthogonally or diagoally.

About King :

- The state in which your King is attacked by opponent's piece is called Check.

- A situation in which there is no way to block or avoid an opponent's check is called a Checkmate. The player who gives checkmate wins.

- At any time, the King cannot move to a square attacked by the opponent's piece.

About Basic Rules :

- The first player is called White, and the second player is called Black.

- White moves first and Black moves next. They move alternately until one player is defeated.

- Your piece cannot move to a square where a friendly piece exists. Conversely, if your piece moves to a square where an enemy piece exists, it captures the enemy piece and moves to that square.

- There is no passing a turn.

- There is no castling.

- There is no 50-move rule.

- Because it is different from Chess Pawns, there is no two square advance or en passant rule for Leaperhouse Pawns.

https://preview.redd.it/cysdp9uc580e1.png?width=434&format=png&auto=webp&s=40c46a20ef329316f5ef63828888548cae97cda0

About Promotion :

- The 8th, 9th, and 10th ranks are called the Enemy camp.

- Any Pawn that reaches an enemy camp is promoted.

- Promotion is mandatory. Therefore, a pawn that can be promoted must be promoted.

- On a physical board, this is typically accomplished by flipping the pawn upside down, as in Shogi.

- A promoted piece maintains its promoted state until it is captured by an opponent. If a promoted piece is captured by an opponent, the piece returns to the state it was in before promotion.

About Drops :

- Any piece you capture is called a Handpiece (held "in hand" in Shogi terminology).

- Handpieces are placed on a Piece stand (the square plate on which you place the captured piece).

- On your turn, you may place a handpiece on any empty square instead of moving a piece on the board. (This is called Drop.)

- You can only drop one piece on a turn.

- If you drop a pawn in the enemy camp, it is not automatically promoted. Pawns are always dropped in their pre-promotion state. A pawn dropped in enemy camp can be promoted only when it is moved after being dropped.

- You can deliver a check or checkmate to your opponent by dropping a piece.

About Pawn Drop :

- Unlike in Shogi, you can deliver checkmate by dropping a Pawn.

- Two or more of your own unpromoted Pawns cannot be placed on the same file. It is called Prohibition of Two Pawns.

- Pawns cannot be dropped to the last (10th) rank.

 About Stalemate :

 - The player who can no longer move or drop pieces loses. (It is called Stalemate.)

About Campmate :

- The player whose King reaches last rank first wins. (It is called Campmate.)

- Obviously, when the King reaches the last rank, that square must not be attacked by an opponent's piece.

About Prohibition of Threefold Repetition :

- Neither White nor Black can repeat the same situation three times. Even if it is not repeated in succession, if the same situation is repeated twice in one game, no one can repeat the situation again. (However, as an exception, it is impossible for a player to cause an opponent to lose due to Prohibition of Threefold Repetition by repeatedly checking for the same situation.)

About Resignation :

- When you resign, you declare resignation by placing your King on your piece stand. You can resign only on your turn.

About Defeat :

Defeat is determined by the following cases.

- When checkmate is delivered to you

- When the opponent's King reaches the last rank (i.e. when campmate is delivered to you)

- When stalemate is delivered to you (i.e., when you cannot move or drop any pieces)

- When you declared resignation

- When you break one or more of all the rules above

- When you break the rules of the tournament (e.g. time forfeit)

About Leaperhouse Definition For Fairy Stockfish variants.ini :

# A 10x10 drop variant consisting of only Leapers, Shogi pawns, and Kings.
[leaperhouse]
variantTemplate = shogi
pieceToCharTable = PN...OU.CR.+Kpn...ou.cr.+k
maxFile = 10
maxRank = 10
pocketSize = 6
startFen = oncurkucno/10/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/10/ONCUKRUCNO[] w - - 0 1
pieceDrops = true
capturesToHand = true
shogiPawn = p
knight = n
customPiece1 = u:Z
customPiece2 = c:C
customPiece3 = r:GH
customPiece4 = o:AD
commoner = g
king = k
promotionRegionWhite = *8 *9 *10
promotionRegionBlack = *3 *2 *1
promotedPieceType = p:g
doubleStep = false
castling = false
perpetualCheckIllegal = true
dropNoDoubled = p
stalemateValue = loss
nMoveRule = 0
nFoldValue = loss
flagPiece = k
flagRegionWhite = *10
flagRegionBlack = *1
immobilityIllegal = true
mandatoryPiecePromotion = true

https://preview.redd.it/fkb4xwn9oyyd1.png?width=1917&format=png&auto=webp&s=0f118747a1f29b8157efb329cc7158cd62c316e6

https://preview.redd.it/uyq2x67aoyyd1.png?width=1917&format=png&auto=webp&s=2013f8bcebaf9e752ae6ae48d4f5c280a6b1ff45

Hey everyone!
I’m excited to introduce Checkmate-Royale — a real-time, chess-inspired battle royale that I built entirely on my own. This game pits 2 players (Up to 8 players in the future) against each other on a chessboard that shrinks over time, and the goal is simple: capture all other kings and be the last one standing.Checkmate-Royale keeps the strategy of chess but adds some fun twists, like summoning unique units, mining gold, and making moves all at the same time. The shrinking board keeps things intense, so every move counts!

I’m always making updates and adjustments, so I’d love any feedback you have. Whether you’re a chess fan or just looking for something fresh and different, give it a try and let me know what you think!

Here is a link to the game!
https://www.checkmate-royale.com/

Make sure you grab a friend to play with as there is no player base right now. Otherwise, you will be waiting in the que for a long time looking for a game.

The game is best experienced using Chrome on a desktop or laptop. The game is not mobile friendly yet.

How to Play Checkmate-Royale

Controls:

• Move camera: WASD
• Zoom: Mouse wheel

Objective:
Defeat all other kings before your own falls. Be the last king standing!

Game Mechanics:Real-time Movement Moves are simultaneous, not turn-based. Each moved piece has a cooldown before it can move again, so plan and act quickly.

1. Summoning Pieces Use gold to summon pieces next to your king by dragging them from the menu to an adjacent square. To the left of the bottom menu, you can click on the different categories to view different types of pieces to summon. Categories include:
   • Melee: Fast and low-cost, good for close combat but vulnerable.
   • Ranged: Attack from a distance, safer but slower and more costly.
   • Magic: Uses powerful abilities; costly with long cooldowns.
   • Support: Produces gold, boosting your economy without fighting.
2. Shrinking Board The play area shrinks over time. Outer squares turn red, eliminating pieces left on them after a countdown.
3. Mining for Gold Place a "Miner" piece on rock squares to collect metals for extra gold. Precious metals are near the center, so controlling this area is strategic.
4. Hover Actions Hover over pieces to see move options, indicated by circle colors:
   • Red: Attack enemy
   • Blue: Move to empty square
   • Green: Move or attack
   • Purple: Use magic ability

Enjoy the game! If you spot any bugs, please let me know so I can fix them promptly!

Designed by Alek Erickson and Michael Amundsen, Lielow is certainly one of the most original recent chess-likes, and in my opinion also one of the most fun.

Here's a link to a rules video. To give you a preview of its most unique features:

• The king in Lielow is not permanent, the crown can move around between your pieces
• The game is strictly decisive, meaning it cannot end with a draw
• The moveset is robust, yet stems from a single easy rule; and there are no "special cases"

You can try it out on AbstractPlay, where, apart from regular games, a larger size 9 version is currently being tested.

Hello! I hope I am not doing anything illegal in this reddit. Thank you.

I've been developing a game for a long time now, Which is currently called Josufy. It is a a mix of Chess and Stratego but very similar to the game The Duke without the luck element the game brings.

It is a lot easier to learn the game than this "Chess Evolved", but the game is similar to being a strategist in a war with so many things to think about, if you like this type of game I would really love your opinion to better improve my game.

I do have a discord server if you guys want more information.

Play Time: 12pm to 6pm ET
Platform: Discord or suggest.
Game Availability: Tabletop Simulator (Paid but better quality) and Tabletopia (Free but low quality)

Playing the physical game

Tabletop Simulator Version