Game: Delayed Chess Invented by Peter Obermair, January 2003; implemented by Karl Scherer, February 2003 Object: Capture the opponent's King. (5 variants) This game has been designed for one player to play against the computer. You make your move on the right board, which consists of more or less cloaked pieces. You never move a piece on the left board. The left board shows the board two half moves earlier (hence the name 'Delayed Chess'). This setup should help you learn to visualize the Chess board. You win if you capture the opponent's King. Otherwise all standard chess rules apply. For a good game, give the computer at least 3-5 seconds per move. Variant 2: pieces cloaked, but of different colours. Variant 3: white pieces invisible, black pieces cloaked. Variant 4: white pieces cloaked, black pieces visible. Variant 5: white pieces invisible, black pieces visible. Delayed Chess is related to Blind Chess and its variants (see the Zillions game 'Cloak Chess'). More freeware as well as real puzzles and games at my homepage http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Delayed Chess Now!
Game: Descent Chess Invented and implemented by Andreas Kaufmann, © January 2003. Descent /di'sent/: ... 5. [singular] a sudden unwanted visit or attack [Longman Dictionary] Object: Checkmate the opponent's King. You start with a King and two pawns. All your other pieces are in reserve. On your turn you can either move a piece with the usual chess rules or place a piece from the reserve at any position on your half of the board (White: rows 1,2,3,4; Black: rows 5,6,7,8). Pawns may not be placed on the first row. Standard variant of the game is 8x8 board with Kings on their usual places at center with two pawns before them. Further Variants: 5x5 board, Kings on the same side at corner 5x5 board (central), Kings at center 5x5 board (diagonal), Kings at corners, but on the different sides 6x6 board, Kings at center If you play Descent Chess against Zillion engine, better choose variants with 5x5 or 6x6 board. Computer plays much stronger on these small board then on the standard 8x8 board. My favorite variant is 5x5 with both Kings at the corner on the same side. The game is very dynamic from the first move and computer plays it very well! Send your comments and suggestions to "Andreas.Kaufmann@gmx.de". Download Descent Chess Now!
Game: Desert Benedict Chess Created by Richard Hutnik, February 2003 Background: This title is a hybrid of Desert Chess by Uwe Wiedemann and Benedict Chess by W.D Troyka. Both these titles are offshots of conversion chess. Conversion chess is a type of chess where pieces via capture, and/or position in relation to other pieces, switch sides. The bulk of the game's code, with minor tweaks, comes from W.D Troyka's Benedict Chess. The game has the same variants as found in Benedict chess. Object: The object of this game is to convert your opponent's king to your color. Gameplay: Standard chess rules apply, except: There is no capturing. At the end of a move, all enemy pieces attacked by the moving piece (under normal chess rules) are flipped to become friendly pieces. You win by flipping your opponent's King. In the variant, a promoted piece does not flip opponent pieces on the same turn as the promotion. Desert Benedict Chess is a wild game of rapidly shifting alliances. Unlike Benedict Chess, however, the line of play tends to be a bit more stable, as it requires pieces to be adjacent to Because there is no capturing, the full complement of 32 pieces remains on the board at all time, and the game is strictly positional. As with Benedict Chess, flipping the opponent's array pawns is not as advantageous as may first appear. Because they cannot capture, flipped pawns can serve as shields preventing (only for a moment) flipping of the opponent's royal pieces. The end result can be certain bottlenecks on certain parts of the board. Designer Notes: I had an idea in the back of my head one day to do a hybrid between Chess and Attaxx/Spot (aka, Blobs in Zillions). To do this, I took the basic chess set and had the idea of where moving next to an enemy piece would cause capture. The end result is Desert Benedict which is what I had in mind. It is a game that borrows elements from both. It has the converting of pieces of a player by being next to them from Desert Chess, while not having capture from Benedict. Thus, the game "Benedict Chess" got its name. I do want to thank W.D Troyka for letting me use the base code for this variant. Due to this, I was able to get this game done fairly quickly. Download Desert Benedict Chess Now!
Game: Dictator Chess Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, January 2001 Object: Capture the opponent's King. (2 variants) You are told by an invisible dictator which type of piece you have to move with. The piece type is selected randomly at each turn. The selected random piece type is indicated by red squares. The kings are non-royal and can be captured. Pawns cannot capture En Passant. Apart from this, standard chess rules apply. Variant 1 of Dictator Chess works best when played between human players. I recommend to play at least two games each to reduce the influence of randomness to a certain degree. In contrast, Zillions plays variant 2 surprisingly well. In variant 2 the piece type is dictated only every second move. For more freeware as well as real puzzles and games see my home page http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Dictator Chess Now!
Game: Different Armies Implemented by Roger Cooper, April 2003. This is a series of variants in which White has the standard chess pieces while Black has something other than the usual pieces. If you are not certain of the power of the Black piece, right-click on it. In some variants there are special powers or restrictions, which will be in the variant's title & description. Updated 05/10/03 setup bug in variant 5 corrected Download Different Armies Now!
Game: Dino-Czars Invented and implemented by Clark D. Rodeffer, January 2002 A two-player chess variant on exactly 42 spaces. Submitted as an entry in the www.chessvariants.com 42-Squares Chess Variant Design Contest, 2002. Back in the days when the great plains were ruled by dinosaurs, the local Tyrannosaurus came to you and your dinosaur friends with a proposition you couldn't refuse: help eliminate the neighboring Tyrannosaurus to open up a new food supply, and you and your friends won't get eaten. Your brain is the size of a walnut, so this 'not getting eaten' bit sounded like a pretty good idea. Little did you realize that the neighboring Tyrannosaurus had the same idea. Who will be the next Dino-Czar? See included Dino-Czars.txt for complete rules, along with a sample game. Download Dino-Czars Now!
Game: Double Agent Chess Created by W. D. Troyka, June 2001 Standard chess rules apply, except: There is no capturing. At the end of a move, all pieces attacked by the moving piece under normal chess rules are flipped to the opposite color. This includes friendly as well as enemy pieces. You win when the enemy King is flipped. Double Agent Chess is a companion to Benedict Chess, also available on Zillions. The difference between the two games is that only enemy pieces are flipped in Benedict Chess, whereas all pieces within range of the moving piece are flipped in Double Agent Chess. It is possible, though not advisable, to flip your own King in Double Agent Chess. In the unlikely event that a single move flips both Kings, the game continues. In Benedict Chess, no piece is loyal to its King. In Double Agent Chess, no piece is loyal to either King. The concept of flipping has not been widely explored in chess variants. For another chess variant that involves flipping, check out Conversion Chess by Keith Carter. Updated 12/21/02 Board switching implemented in Zillions v2 style (game still works in Zillions v1). Download Double Agent Chess Now!
Game: Double Chess Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, April 2000 Double Chess Object: Checkmate one of the opponent's Kings. All standard chess rules apply. Castling happens as if the boards would be separate. Double Chess it most probably not a new idea. (There are about 1500 chess variants around the world...) Updated 5/20/00 Reduced board size to fit on 800x600 monitors. Download Double Chess Now!
Game: Double Move Chess Invented and implemented by Karl Scherer, April 2001 Object: capture your opponent's King. (9 variants) A piece is allowed to make two moves per turn. Depending on the variant, the second partial move is only allowed under certain conditions: Variant 1: Second partial move always allowed. Variant 2: Second partial move only when first move was a capture. Variant 3: Second partial move only when first move was not a capture. Variant 4: Second partial move only when second move is a capture. Variant 5: Second partial move only when second move is not a capture. Variant 6: Second partial move only when both moves are captures. Variant 7: Second partial move only when neither move is a capture. Variant 8: Second partial move only when into the same direction. Variant 9: Second partial move only when not into the same direction. There is no double move when castling or promoting. In the first partial move the king may move into check. Whereas the first variant is an obvious extension of standard chess, at least some of the other variants seem to be new. For more freeware as well as real puzzles and games see my home page http://karl.kiwi.gen.nz. Download Double Move Chess Now!
Game: Dragonchess Invented by Gary Gygax, implemented by L. Lynn Smith, November 2001. DRAGONCHESS is played on three 8x12 boards stacked above each other. The near right corner of all three boards is white. The top represents the Sky, the middle the Ground and the bottom the Underworld. The BASILISK moves or captures horizontally one orthogonal or diagonal cell forward, and may also move without capturing horizontally one orthogonal cell backward. It has the power to 'freeze' an opposing piece on the adjacent orthogonal cell above. 'Freezing' is automatic, whether the opposing piece moves over or the Basilisk moves under the opposing piece. 'Freezing' is temporary, once the Basilisk moves away or is captured, 'frozen' pieces regain normal powers. The CLERIC[C] moves and captures horizontally to any adjacent orthogonal or diagonal cell. It also moves or captures to the orthogonal cell above or below. The DRAGON[R] may move or capture horizontally to any adjacent diagonal or orthogonal cell or by sliding horizontally through adjacent diagonal cells. The Dragon has the additional power of 'capturing from afar', one enemy piece that is either in the adjacent orthogonal or diagonal cell below the Dragon is removed from the board. The Dragon MAY NOT move and 'capture from afar' in the same turn. It never leaves the Sky The DWARF[D], while in the Underworld or on the Ground, may capture horizontally one diagonal cell forward or move without capturing horizontally one adjacent orthogonal cell forward, left or right. It may move up to the Ground by capturing the adjacent orthogonal cell above. It may move back to the Underworld by making a non-capturing move to the adjacent orthogonal cell below. The ELEMENTAL[E], while in the Underworld, may move or capture horizontally one or two orthogonal cells. [It may NOT leap over occupied cells.] It may also move without capture horizontally one diagonal cell. It may also make a capturing move to the Ground by moving horizontally one adjacent orthogonal cell and then one adjacent orthogonal cell up. The intermediate cell MUST be empty. The Elemental may not move while on the Ground except to return to the Underworld by moving or capturing one adjacent orthogonal cell down and then horizontally one adjacent orthogonal cell. The intermediate cell MUST be empty. The GRIFFIN[G], while in the Sky, makes an unblockable move or capture horizontally three adjacent orthogonal cells then horizontally perpendicular two adjacent orthogonal cells. A Griffin may make an unblockable move or capture from the Sky to the Ground by moving to any adjacent triagonal cells. While on the Ground, the Griffin can move or capture horizontally one diagonal cell, or return to the Sky by making a unblockable move or capture to any adjacent triagonal cells. The HERO[H], while on the Ground, may move or capture horizontally one or two diagonal cells, jumping over a piece of either color if necessary. The Hero can move or capture any adjacent triagonal cell. The KING[K], while on the Ground, moves and captures horizontally any adjacent orthogonal or diagonal cell, and may also move and capture to an adjacent orthogonal cell above and below. While in the Sky or the Underworld, the King may ONLY move or capture to an adjacent orthogonal cell on the Ground. There is no castling move. The MAGE[M] moves and captures by sliding horizontally through either diagonally or orthogonally adjacent cells on the Ground, and may also move and capture to the adjacent orthogonal cell above and below. While in the Sky or the Underworld, the Mage may only move or capture horizontally one adjacent orthogonal cell. It may also move or capture vertically one or two adjcent orthogonal cells. It may NOT leap over a piece on the Ground while going from the Sky to the Underworld or vice versa. The OLIPHANT[O] moves and captures by sliding horizontally through orthogonally adjacent cells. It never leaves the Ground. The PALADIN[P] may move and capture horizontally to any adjacent diagonal or orthogonal cell, or leap horizontally two adjacent orthogonal cells then horizontally perpendicular one adjacent orthogonal cell on the Ground. It moves and captures horizontally to any adjacent orthogonal or diagonal cell in the Sky or the Underworld. It may move or capture from board to board by leaping either, vertically one adjacent orthogonal cell then horizontally two adjacent orthogonal cells or vertically two adjacent orthogonal cells then horizontally one adjacent orthogonal cell. It's move is unblockable. The SYLPH moves without capturing horizontally one adjacent diagonal cell towards the opponent's side. It may capture by moving orthogonally forward one cell towards the opponent's side. It may also capture orthogonally down to the Ground. While on the Ground, the Sylph cannot move except to make a non-capturing move orthogonally up OR to any one of the six empty cells that friendly Sylphs occupied at the start of the game. The THIEF[T] moves and captures by sliding horizontally through adjacent diagonal cells. It never leaves the Ground. The UNICORN moves and captures by leaping horizontally two adjacent orthogonal cells then horizontally perpendicular one adjacent orthogonal cell. It never leaves the Ground. The WARRIOR[W] may move but not capture horizontally one adjacent orthogonal cell forward. It may make a capturing move horizontally one adjacent diagonal cell forward. On reaching the farthest rank, the Warrior promotes to a Hero only. It is restricted to the Ground. The GOLD player moves first. The game is won by checkmating the opponent's KING. Dragonchess was invented by Gary Gygax and published in Dragon Magazine #100, August 1985. Gary Gygax is probably best known for the world famous RPG 'Dungeons and Dragons'. Visit his website at www.gygax.com. Download Dragonchess Now!
Game: Dragonfly & HexDragonfly Dragonfly and HexDragonfly games & art work © 1983-1999 by Christian Freeling Dragonfly Rules File © 1999 by Ed van Zon Capture those enemy pieces and have them work for you! Dragonfly was conceived as an afterthought from Loonybird, and thus may be considered as 'normal Loonybird'. The differences with orthodox Chess: The pieces are the same as in Chess, but for the option to re-enter them. If a piece is captured, it becomes the captor's property and he may drop it, at the cost of a turn, on any empty square. Until dropped, the captured piece stays put beside the captor's side of the board. As in all systems that feature the re-entering of pieces, this is called a 'piece in hand'. Pawns are the same as in orthodox Chess, but do not have the initial double step. They promote on moving to the far side to a piece the opponent has in hand. Pawns, if captured, are out of the game. The King is the same as in orthodox Chess. He has a castling option with both rooks under the usual conditions (King to f1, rook to e1 or King to b1, rook to c1). It's not allowed to castle with a rook that has previously been dropped. The following applies specifically to the pawns in HexDragonfly: As in Dragonfly, pawns move one cell forward, without the option of an initial double step. Different from Dragonfly, pawns do not capture diagonally forward, but obliquely forward to a directly adjacent cell. Thus in the initial position, all pawns except the three backmost ones, are covered by one or two friendly pawns! Try Dragonfly on both a square board and a hexagon board... Download Dragonfly Now! (includes HexDragonfly)
Game: Dragonfly Miniatures Invented and implemented by Ingo Althofer, June 2003. Dragonfly is a nice chess variant on 7x7 board with some elements from the Japanese game Shogi. Dragonfly was invented by Christian Freeling in 1983. http://www.mindsports.net/ gives some more info on this game. In 1999, Ed van Zon realized Dragonfly under Zillions. "Dragonfly Miniatures" is a collection of Dragonfly combinations for boards of smaller size. They were arranged, collected, and selected by Ingo Althofer with the help of the Zillions engine. Zillions users should feel free to contribute own nice combinations, especially for the "virginal" board sizes 6x7, 3x7, 6x6, 3x6, 2x6, 7x5, 6x5, 3x5. Download Dragonfly Miniatures Now!
Game: Drop Chess Drop Chess © 1999 by Key McKinnis After both you and your opponent drop 8 pieces on the first rank it plays like most other chess variants. Well, almost, because Drop Chess knows 20 different piece types, including 5 from ordinary chess. A Drop Chess Pawn is somewhat different from the usual pawn though. The pieces one can use (drop) is determined by the Drop Chess variant you choose to play. For example, when you play a 'Flag'-side (like Black in the diagram below) you have 1 Flag (d8), 1 Queen (f8), 2 Archbishops (b8,g8), 2 Topguards (d5,g7), 1 Tower (e8) and 1 Rook (a8) to be dropped initially on the first rank. There's no constraint regarding the position where a piece can be dropped, so there are a lot of possible set-ups. The object of the game is to capture the opponent's King, Flag, Ferz-King or Slider (depending on the variant), or to stalemate your opponent. Obviously, this is somewhat different from ordinary chess too. To find out how all the pieces move, pick the Pawn Fight variant, clear the board, right click to pick a piece and look at its properties. You should extract from the downloaded zip file preserving path names. Download Drop Chess Now!
Game: Drop Chess (HP) Invented (April 2002) and implemented by Harvey Patterson, July 2003 Drop Chess is normal chess except that the board begins empty and both sides begin by taking turns dropping the regular set of 16 pieces onto empty spaces on the board. You cannot move any of your pieces until all of your pieces have been dropped. Pawns can still double move and be captured en passant if they are dropped on their second rank. Pawns promote as usual, but there is no castling. A pawn dropped in the promotion zone does not promote. Note: The computer isn't particulary good at this variant. See the Strategy section for details. Download Drop Chess Now!
Game: Dunsany's Chess Invented by Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett. Implemented by Andy Fluke, January 2001. A variant created by Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, the 18th Baron Dunsany, whose family seat is in County Meath, northwest of Dublin. He fought in the Boer War and was wounded in WWI. An excellent chess player, Lord Dunsany was the Irish champion and held the great Capablanca to a draw in a simultaneous exhibition in London; his story, Three Sailors' Gambit, is considered one of the best chess stories ever written. In this variant, Black defends against a horde of White Pawns. White wins by checkmating, Black wins by capturing all of White's Pawns. White is slightly stronger, especially when pawn promotion becomes the goal: two Queens behind Black's lines and the game changes very quickly. What seems to be a bit of chess fun, quickly turns into a strategic nightmare. Black will start feeling lucky anytime he / she can maneuver a draw by blocking White's forward movement. Enjoy. Download Dunsany's Chess Now!
Game: Dunsany's Chess Invented by Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett. Implemented by Uwe Wiedemann, June 2001 In this game whites pawns do not have an initial double move, and promote as usual, while for black normal chess rules apply. Black starts the game, and wins when he has taken all white pawns; white wins by checkmating black. Download Dunsany's Chess Now!
Dunsany's Chess Invented by Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett. Implemented by Uwe Wiedemann, June 2001 In this game whites pawns do not have an initial double move, and promote as usual, while for black normal chess rules apply. Black starts the game, and wins when he has taken all white pawns; white wins by checkmating black. Download Dunsany's Chess Now!
Game: Dutch Chess Implemented by Uwe Wiedemann, November 2001 In the game of Dutch chess is played with a usual set of chess pieces. In the setup, the pawns are on the backrows, and the major pieces at the second rows. Rooks and knights move as in usual chess. Bishops move one square in any direction, i.e., as a king, without being royal. A pawn moves like a queen, and does not promote. King and queen move exactly two squares horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. The player that has taken both the queen and the king of the opponent wins the game. Download Dutch Chess Now!
Game: Edge Chess Invented by Mitch Martin and David Myers, 1998, Implemented by Robert Price In Edge Chess, pieces are permitted to stand on the edge between two squares, or the corner of four. A piece's moves are calculated from the owner's choice of the spaces occupied. After the move, the piece may be shifted to an adjacent edge, provided the bordering squares are completely unoccupied. The power of a Rook occupying a corner is depicted below. When castling, the rook travels an extra half step, and you have the option of moving the King to an adjacent edge. There is no en passant capture in this implementation. Due to the possibility that the second part of a move may remove check, the loss condition is a King capture, not checkmate. Edge chess was invented in 1998 by Mitch Martin of El Dorado and David T. Myers of Diamond Springs, California. This implementation was based on the information at www.edgechess.com. Download Edge Chess Now!
Game: Elena Chess Implemented by Uwe Wiedemann, November 2001 In the game of Elena chess, all rules of usual chess apply, but there is another setup on a smaller board. Pawns can only advance one space on their first move. There is no en passant capturing. There is no castling. Download Elena Chess Now!
