Antichess, also called
losing chess,
loser's chess,
zero chess,
giveaway chess,
suicide chess, or
take me is a
chess variantA chess variant is a game derived from, related to or similar to chess in at least one respect. The difference from chess can include one or more of the following:...
in which the objective of the participants is to get all of their
piecesChess pieces vary in both value and abilities. A standard chess match consists of each player having the following equipment:* 1 king* 1 queen* 2 rooks* 2 bishops* 2 knights* 8 pawns...
captured. The most widely played variation, as described in the book
Popular Chess Variants by D.B. Pritchard, is described below.
The rules of the game are the same as those of chess except for the following additional rules:
- Capturing is compulsory.
- When more than one capture is available, the player may exercise choice.
- The king
In chess, the King is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that he would not be able to avoid capture . If a player's king is threatened with capture, he is said to be in check, and the player must move so as to remove the threat of capture...
has no special prerogative and accordingly:
- It may be captured like any other piece.
- There is no check or checkmate
Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured...
.
- There is no castling
Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. It is the only move in chess that involves more than one piece of the same player. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook, then moving the rook onto the...
.
- Pawns may also promote
Promotion is a chess term describing the transformation of a pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a queen, knight, rook, or bishop of the same color . The new piece replaces the pawn on the same square and is part of the move. Promotion is not limited to pieces that have...
to King.
- In the case of stalemate
Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....
, there are different rules:
- It is a win for the stalemated player (international rules).
- It is a draw.
- It is a win for the player with the fewer number of pieces, and if both have the same number it is a draw.
Discussion
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Antichess, also called
losing chess,
loser's chess,
zero chess,
giveaway chess,
suicide chess, or
take me is a
chess variantA chess variant is a game derived from, related to or similar to chess in at least one respect. The difference from chess can include one or more of the following:...
in which the objective of the participants is to get all of their
piecesChess pieces vary in both value and abilities. A standard chess match consists of each player having the following equipment:* 1 king* 1 queen* 2 rooks* 2 bishops* 2 knights* 8 pawns...
captured. The most widely played variation, as described in the book
Popular Chess Variants by D.B. Pritchard, is described below.
The rules of the game are the same as those of chess except for the following additional rules:
- Capturing is compulsory.
- When more than one capture is available, the player may exercise choice.
- The king
In chess, the King is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that he would not be able to avoid capture . If a player's king is threatened with capture, he is said to be in check, and the player must move so as to remove the threat of capture...
has no special prerogative and accordingly:
- It may be captured like any other piece.
- There is no check or checkmate
Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured...
.
- There is no castling
Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. It is the only move in chess that involves more than one piece of the same player. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook, then moving the rook onto the...
.
- Pawns may also promote
Promotion is a chess term describing the transformation of a pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a queen, knight, rook, or bishop of the same color . The new piece replaces the pawn on the same square and is part of the move. Promotion is not limited to pieces that have...
to King.
- In the case of stalemate
Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....
, there are different rules:
- It is a win for the stalemated player (international rules).
- It is a draw.
- It is a win for the player with the fewer number of pieces, and if both have the same number it is a draw. The type of the piece makes no difference (FICS rules).
A player wins by losing all his pieces, or being stalemated (as detailed.) Apart from
move repetitionIn chess and some other abstract strategy games, the threefold repetition rule states that a player can claim a draw if the same position occurs three times, or will occur after their next move, with the same player to move. The repeated positions need not occur in succession...
,
mutual accordIn chess, a draw by agreement is the outcome of a game due to the agreement of both players to a draw. A player may offer a draw to his opponent at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw. The relevant portion of the FIDE laws of chess is article 9.1...
and the fifty-move rule, the game is also drawn when a win is impossible, such as if a dark-squared
bishopA bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...
and a light-squared bishop are the only pieces remaining. In another little-played version, forcing the opponent to checkmate the king is another option to win.
Because of the forced capture rule, antichess games often involve long sequences of forced captures by one player. This means that a minor mistake can ruin the game. Losing openings include 1.d4, 1.e4, 1.d3, 1.Nc3, 1.Nf3, 1.f4, 1.h4, 1.b4, 1.h3. Some of these openings took months of computer time to solve, but the wins against 1.d3, 1.d4, and 1.e4 consist of a single series of forced captures and can be played from memory by most experienced players.
Internet sites where antichess can be played
- FICS
- ICC
The Internet Chess Club is a commercial Internet chess server devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. ICC currently has over 30,000 subscribing members...
- Playchess
Playchess is a commercial Internet chess server edited by Chessbase devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. Playchess currently has over 5000 players online, including many internationally titled players who remain pseudo-anonymous and other masters whose identities are...
External links
AntiChess Game for Linux