Cubic chess In this 6×6×6
3D variant by Parton, boards are denoted
A (bottom level) through
F (top level). Each side has six pieces: king (K), queen (Q), bishop (B), unicorn (U), knight (N), and rook (R); and twelve pawns.
Game rules Pieces move the same as in
Raumschach, except that pawns move capture one step forward (either
orthogonally,
diagonally, or
vertexally), but not directly upward or downward. As in chess and Raumschach, the objective is
checkmate. •
White's starting setup:
KAa1, QAb1, BAc1, UAd1, NAe1, RAf1; pawns on
Aa2–f2 and
Ba1–f1 • Black's starting setup:
KAf6, QAe6, BAd6, UAc6, NAb6, RAa6; pawns on
Aa5–f5 and
Ba6–f6 Variation Parton made a variation of cubic chess for the same gameboard: In
compulsion cubic chess, capture is compulsory, there are no
checks, and the object is of the opposing king.
Alice chess ; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel. Parton's most famous chess variant, played on two adjacent
chessboards. A piece that completes its move on one board automatically "vanishes strangely off its board to appear suddenly on the other board, magically out of thin air!" A move in Alice chess has two basic stipulations: the move must be legal on the board on which it is played, and the square transferred to on the opposite board must be vacant. (Consequently, capture is possible only on the board upon which a piece currently stands.) From
D. B. Pritchard's
Popular Chess Variants (2000): This wonderful game, appropriately named after Lewis Carroll's eponymous heroine, was the inspiration of Vernon Parton. If you pass over every other game in this book, don't miss this one. Still, alas, little known, Alice chess, now almost a half-century old, continues to attract converts. The body of Alice players grows steadily.
Mad Threeparty chess This variant is for three players on a 10×10 board. Each player has a standard set of pieces in their own colour, including an extra but no
pawns. tea party; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel Game rules The board starts empty. Players take turns, in clockwise rotation around the board, placing one of their pieces on any vacant square. Kings are placed last, but must not be placed in
check. The two kings of each player are marked differently. (For example, of a player's two kings, one might be marked with a .) Each player attacks the king of the opponent to their left, and the king of the opponent to their right. It is not permitted to check the opponents' other kings. The first player to
checkmate a king wins the game.
Tweedle chess ; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel Also known as
twin orthodox chess or
double-king chess, each player has two
kings and two
queens on a 10×10 board. A player wins by
checkmating either one of the opposing kings.
Game rules The normal
chess rules apply, except that kings and
rooks can only castle "short" (i.e. with kings shifting two squares toward the nearest corner), and
pawns can move one or two steps at any stage.
Comments "While his pair of Queens will provide the player's main hopes for victory, his twin monarchs King Tweedledee and King Tweedledum jointly provide his sequence of headaches!" Parton makes note that the only way a player can escape mate from a
fork on his two kings is by capturing the checking piece. Boyer remarked that the variant yields "magnificent games" because there are two directions of attack and two points to defend.
March Hare chess In this variant, a player first moves one of their own pieces, "and then 'meddles' with his opponent's men". ; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel Game rules For each turn, a player makes : he first moves one of his own pieces, then one of his opponent's. When in check, a player must get out of check immediately on his turn by moving one of his own men. (If he cannot legally do so, he loses the game.)
Cheshire Cat chess Game rules In this variant, all normal
chess rules apply, except: Whenever a piece moves from its square, then that particular square "disappears". Parton suggests using checker pieces to mark "disappeared" squares. Once vanished, a square may not be occupied again; however, pieces may move disappeared square(s), including giving
check through them. Since
castling is impossible in Cheshire Cat Chess (pieces which normally clear a path for castling cause needed squares to "disappear"), Parton permits the kings to be moved like queens once per game, on their first move.
Variation The game can also be played using a regular 8×8 board and set, but Parton suggests the 10×10 board with two extra rooks in the corners as "best".
Co-regal chess In this variant, the queens are subject to check and checkmate the same as kings. ; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel Game rules Checkmate of the opponent's king or queen wins the game. The queen moves and captures as a normal queen, but may not put itself in check. The queen may pass over attacked squares.
Amplified rules by NOST A queen, the result of a pawn promotion, is royal. A queen may check a king from a distance, but may not check a queen. Both kings and queens may castle .
Comments "It will be seen that difficulties for a 'checkmate' of the hostile Queen must chiefly arise from her great mobility which enables her to escape to safety with some degree of ease, in contrast with the King's poor slow power to move out of grave dangers. Victory in Co-regal will be in general achieved by checkmate of the enemy King. [...] A player must acquire two new habits at least. He must crush all his desires to make some brilliant Queen sacrifice. When he attacks the hostile co-regal Queen, he is obliged to give the polite word 'check' as warning!"
Sample game Walter Whiteman vs. Rib Orrell:1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Bc5 4.Bc4 Ng4 5.0-0 Nxf2+ 6.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 7.Kxf2 0-0 8.d3 d6 9.Ng5 Be6 10.Bxe6 fxe6+ 11.Ke1 h6 12.Nxe6+ Qh4+ 13.g3+ Qxh2 "Black threatens 14...Qg/h1 mate since a K move is illegal as it exposes the Q to check. If 14.Qg4 (only legal move for Q) Rf2 15.Ne2 (forced: Qxg7 is not mate—it's illegal!) Rxe2+ and mate in three."
Racing Kings This game was the original
Dodo chess before being renamed. The rules are the same as Dodo chess, but there is a different board setup.
Sample game R. Betza vs. J. Leitel:1.Bd4 Be4 2.Kh3 Ka3 3.Nxc1 Rxc1 4.Be2 Nb3 5.Bh8? Ka4 6.Kg4 Ka5 7.Qh6 Rc6 8.Qe3 Rxe2 9.Qxe4 Qxh8? 10.Qxc6 Qc3 11.Qh6 Rxe1 12.Rxe1 Qxe1 13.Kf5 Qe7 14.Qe6 Qb7 15.Kg6 Nc5 16.Qf7 Ka6 17.Kh7 Ka7 18.Rg8 (18.Kg8 only draws) Parton suggests also that play can be extended to a "double course", where a player wins by being first to go to the eighth rank and then return to the first.
Dodo chess Dodo; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel Played on a regular
chessboard, this variant is a simple
race game: the first player to reach a square on the last with his king is the winner.
Game rules Checking is not permitted, neither is exposing one's own king to check. Captures are allowed, however, as in normal chess. "By way of compensating for the first move (always an advantage in a race game) if White gets there first but Black follows on the next move the game is a draw."
Kinglet chess Also known as
imperial fiddlesticks, there is no checking or checkmate in kinglet chess – kings are treated like any normal piece. The winner is the first player to capture all the opponent's
kinglets (i.e. pawns or Fiddlesticks). ; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel.
Additional rules When reaching the last rank, a kinglet
promotes to a king. If a player is forced to promote his last kinglet, he is then without any kinglets so automatically loses. All pieces including kings are subject to capture. Stalemate is a draw.
Comments "The idea contains some interesting problems in tactics. The balance between rushing to capture Fiddlesticks [pawns] quickly and fear of becoming defenceless thereby, (loss of major pieces) seems to be subtle and delicate."
Variations Parton suggests two "less subtle" variations in
Curiouser and Curiouser, one based on
Progressive chess where players make an increasing number of moves per turn, and the other based on
Marseillais chess where players move two pieces per turn, at least one of which must be a kinglet (or, the same kinglet may be moved twice).
Looking-glass chess ; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel. Two separate games ensue in this Parton creation. A player may make any normal move on either board, and then must make the 'looking-glass' (reflected) move on the other board to complete his turn.
Game rules To illustrate, if White opens with 1.Nf3 on board
A, then he must play on board
B to complete his turn (see diagram). If a reflected move would put the player in check, then the first move may not be made. The move of a king or queen must be mirrored on the other board, even if this means moving the king several squares. (For example, in the diagram if White captures 2.Nxe5/A Nxd5/B and Black recaptures 2...Qxd5/B, then Black's reflected move is: 2...Kxe5/A.) Castling is normal, but then the reflected move must be executed to 'castle' the queen. (E.g. if White castles kingside, then reflected queenside castling results in the queen on b1 and the rook on c1.)
Gryphon chess Also known as
complicacious chess, at the end of a move, the moved piece transforms to a piece of a different type (the next in the series: ). So after moving a pawn, the pawn transforms to a knight of the same colour. After moving a knight, it becomes a bishop; and so on. Kings do not transform. ; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel Game rules A player may have no more than four knights, four bishops, four rooks, or two queens on the board at any one time, but may have as many as fifteen kings. Checkmating any one of the enemy kings wins the game.
Comments "It will be seen at once that a complicacious pawn reaches the status of kingship in five moves, whereas a complicacious Rook does so in two moves. [...] Naturally, a player will not capture the enemy Queen! Neither will he desire to move his own Queen, to provide the necessary target for his opponent to win by."
Variations In
circular Gryphon chess, players have one king for the entire game as in normal chess. But the transformation sequence is changed and made circular: . (So, a piece can transform any number of times without limitation.) Again, no more than four knights, four bishops, four rooks, or two queens are permitted in play at any one time. In
simplified Gryphon chess, players start with their king and eight pawns. "The pawns change through the regular Gryphon order and terminate in kingship. Until a player has captured an enemy piece, he is forbidden to move his king sideways or backwards."
Mock chess 's story; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel To win the game, a player must capture all his opponent's pieces, including the king. "A proper pseudomorph to Chess, for it has no elements of check and mate whatever in its basis. Kings are now merely treated like any other chessman."
Game rules If a player can capture, he must do so. If more than one capture are possible on his turn, he may choose which one to make. Only one capture per turn may be made. On its first move, a pawn must advance squares—unless the pawn's first move is a capture.
Contramatic chess The normal rules for check and checkmate are contradicted—a player may check the enemy king, but may move his own king check. A player wins when his opponent cannot escape check. ; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel Game rules Players start with kings positioned as shown. White places his remaining pieces anywhere he likes on his side of the board, then Black does the same. White moves first. Checking the opponent is not allowed. (If a player has no move other than to give check, then he loses.) A player may make a move putting his own king in check from enemy piece(s)—unless the move would also give check to the opponent. When a player is in check, his opponent must remove the check on his next turn or lose the game.
Observations Kings tend to move more than any other piece. Kings cannot occupy adjacent squares, since it would result in giving check to the opponent (in violation of the rules). Captures are rare, since capturing the opponent's men reduces the chance of putting one's own king in check.
Variation In
Complete Contramatic chess (also known as
C.C.C.) each player has kings – a normal (orthodox) king in addition to the regular "contramatic" king. There are two ways to win: putting one's own contramatic king into inescapable check, or checkmating the enemy orthodox king. Players place the orthodox kings last, after other pieces are placed.
Observations A contramatic king can move to a square adjacent to the enemy orthodox king (since the orthodox king may be checked as in normal chess, and the contramatic king may put itself into check). But an orthodox king may move adjacent to the enemy contramatic king (since it is not allowed to check an opponent's contramatic king, or to put one's own orthodox king into check).
Idle Kings' chess ; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel Game rules Players play without kings until after Black's 12th move, when White places his king on any open square (but not in check), and Black does the same.
Additional rule After kings are placed the game continues normally, except that kings may not move, unless in check.
Unirexal chess Also known as '''The Black King's Complaint''', Unirexal variants are those with only one king on the board. "The black king disappeared, explains Parton, because he was fed up with always being mated in problems."
Game rules Black has a second queen instead of a king, and must checkmate White in a reasonable number of moves (agreed to before the game), otherwise White wins.
Variation Black has 20 knights, but no king. If Black does not checkmate White within 50 moves, he loses.
Decimal Rettah chess ; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel This is Parton's first chess variant invention. The idea sprang from a dislike for weak kings: "The king ought to be strong, not feeble, by aesthetic standards: he is the centre around which turns the whole game itself. In consequence, my Rettah monarch is the most powerful of all pieces." Each player has two rettahs (kings) and two queens on a 10×10 board. There is no
checkmate; a player wins by capturing both opponent's rettahs.
Game rules A rettah [ spelled backwards] moves and captures as a
Q+N compound. If a rettah is attacked, the attacking piece must be captured immediately. (If more than one piece is able to capture, the player may choose. An attacked rettah will always have the option to capture.) If a rettah is attacked by two pieces simultaneously, the attacked rettah must capture one of them (the player may choose which). Pawns can move up to three steps on their first move. There is no
en passant. If players agree, pawns can also move one step diagonally forward (to facilitate opening lines). A pawn promotes to rettah, but only if a rettah of the same colour was previously captured. There is no
castling in Decimal Rettah.
Variations Parton gives several variations, although Decimal Rettah is "possibly the earlier version and arguably the better" . In
Absolute Rettah chess, only a rettah may capture a rettah. (So a successful tactic involves attacking a rettah with a piece guarded by one's own rettah.) In
Giveaway Rettah, Decimal or Absolute Rettah are played according to
Suicide chess rules. In
Rettah chess (one rettah; pawns move only one step forward) and
Double Rettah chess (two rettahs; no forced capture; win by checkmating a rettah), play is on a regular 8×8 board.
Sample game Decimal Rettah, "a game of assault and sacrifice", received high praise from Boyer ; illustration by Sir
John Tenniel Game rules The Biok makes non-capturing moves like a bishop, and captures like a rook. The Roshop makes non-capturing moves like a rook, and captures like a bishop. As a result, the Roshop "has the great advantage of being able to change from one colour system of squares to the other when required" .
Variation Parton defines an extension having no additional pawns and a pair of Bioks and Roshops per player.
Black and White chess Also known as
Black and White Marseillais chess, this game follows a simple rule: each player makes two moves per turn, first with a standing on a white (light) square, then with a man standing on a black (dark) square. Some resolutions are provided: Castling can be done on either the first or second move of a turn. A man can be moved in a turn if square colour requirements are met. (For example, with a white pawn on a2 and a black bishop on b4, White's turn can consist of a3 followed by axb4.) ==List of game inventions==