Chess Variants/Dice Chess

Introduction

Dice Chess is a variant that adds randomness to chess by using dice to determine what pieces may move.

History

There is literary evidence to suggest that dice chess originated in Europe between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries, and possibly earlier than that in Myanmar and India.

Rules

As its name suggests, dice chess is played using dice - more specifically two six-sided dice.

Before a player takes their turn they roll the dice, and the numbers they roll determine what piece they may move that turn, as follows:

• 1 for a pawn,
• 2 for a knight,
• 3 for a bishop,
• 4 for a rook,
• 5 for the queen,
• and 6 for the king.

If a player rolls doubles (the same number on both dice), they may move any piece they want.

If a player does not have any legal moves of the pieces indicated by the dice, they lose their turn.

If castling is legal, a player wanting to castle must roll a 4, 6 or doubles.

An en passant capture can only be performed if the player rolls a 1 or doubles immediately after the enemy pawn has moved.

If a player is in check the only moves they may make are legal responses to the check. If no such moves are possible the player loses their turn but they do not immediately lose the game.

If a player rolls the number of a piece attacking the opponent's king they may capture said king, which will immediately end the game in victory.

Sub-variants

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