Chess Variants/King of the Hill

Introduction

King of the Hill (KOTH) is a variant with a strong emphasis on centre play.

History

It is not known where the variant came from or how it got its name, but one theory is that the variant's name was derived from the children's game of the same name.

Rules

King of the Hill is played exactly like the standard game, with one key difference - if a player manages to move their king to one of the four centre squares (d4, e4, d5 or e5, called "the hill" in this variant), they automatically win the game. The move that places their king on the hill must be legal, so a king cannot move into check to get to the hill.

Sub-variants

King of the Hill 960 is a variant combining the rules of King of the Hill with the random placement of Chess 960. The same rules apply to both games.