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Chess Variants/Anti-King Chess

< Chess Variants


a b c d e f g h
8a8 black kingb8 black kingc8 black upside-down pawnd8 black rooke8 black bishopf8 black kingg8 black queenh8 white upside-down king8
7a7 black kingb7 black kingc7 black upside-down pawnd7 black kinge7 black knightf7 black knightg7 black bishoph7 black rook7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black upside-down pawnd6 black upside-down pawne6 black upside-down pawnf6 black upside-down pawng6 black upside-down pawnh6 black upside-down pawn6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 black kingf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 white upside-down pawnb3 white upside-down pawnc3 white upside-down pawnd3 white upside-down pawne3 white upside-down pawnf3 white upside-down pawng3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white rookb2 white bishopc2 white knightd2 white knighte2 black kingf2 white upside-down pawng2 black kingh2 black king2
1a1 black upside-down kingb1 white queenc1 white kingd1 white bishope1 white rookf1 white upside-down pawng1 black kingh1 black king1
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Starting position of Anti-King Chess I


a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black pawnf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 white upside-down kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 black kingf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black upside-down kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 white knighth1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Starting position of Anti-King Chess II

Introduction

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Anti-King Chess is a variant that adds a piece known as the "anti-king" to the chessboard. There are two versions of the variant, named with the Roman numerals I and II.

History

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Both versions of Anti-King chess were created by chess variant creator Peter Aronson in 2002, inspired by losing chess. Inspired by previous variants that simply replaced the king with an anti-king, Aronson got the idea to have both the king and anti-king on the board to add dynamic tension to the game.

Rules

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Both versions of Anti-King chess play mostly like the standard game, with the addition of the anti-king to the typical set of pieces.

The anti-king (reresented by an inverted king) moves exactly like a standard king. The difference between the two is that the anti-king must be kept attacked by enemy pieces at all times, and the anti-king is considerd to be in "anti-check" if it not attacked by an opposing piece. If a player's anti-king is in anti-check and the player is unable to move the anti-king to a square where it is attacked by an enemy piece that anti-king is in "anti-checkmate" and its owner has lost the game.

Because of the unique nature of the anti-king, it cannot capture or be captured by enemy pieces. This means that the anti-king cannot deliver check to the enemy king, and likewise the enemy king cannot attack the anti-king. However the anti-king does possess the ability to capture friendly pieces.

Anti-King Chess I uses several additional rules:

  • The pawns are replaced with Berolina pawns, which move diagonally and capture forward. See the Berolina chess page for more information. Unlike in Berolina chess the Berolina pawns in this game do not get the options of a first-move double-step (and hence, there is no en passant).
  • There is no castling. Instaed, if the king or anti-king have not yet moved in the game they may make their first move as a knight's leap to an empty square, provided it is not attacked (for the king) or attacked by the enemy (for the anti-king).

Sub-variants

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This chess variant does not have any notable sub-variants.

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