Discover and Play Various Games Similar to Chess
Chess has its origins in the Arabian game of Shatranj, which goes back to the Indian game of Chaturanga.
Many more games are based on or inspired by Chess and its relatives.
Grant Acedrex is our featured variant for April, 2024.
Thanks to computers and the internet, we may now play several of these games without physical boards or pieces.
This website – The Chess Variant Pages – is here for cataloging, discussing, and playing the many games that are based on, related to, or similar enough to Chess.
📓 Learn
A different logo for each color scheme
The Chess Variant Pages may be viewed in three different color scheme using controls in the menu, and each color scheme has its own logo.
- Light
- This uses touched-up photographs of real Chess variant pieces available for purchase in Musketeer Chess variant kits. The Elephant represents historic and regional variants, as many from Chaturanga to Janggi include this piece, and Xiangqi is even named for it. The Unicorn represents fairy chess, which was the practice of creating Chess problems with novel pieces or alternate rules, as well as modern variants.
- Dark
- This logo features AI art images of a Dragon Horse and a Fairy Princess. The Dragon Horse comes from Shogi and represents Asian variants. As a fairy, the Fairy Princess symbolizes fairy chess. Also, the piece known in fairy chess as a Princess is one of the most popular of Chess variant pieces, though it is usually known by other names and depicted differently. Fergus Duniho generated both images with Leonardo.Ai.
- Darker
- This logo makes use of 3D designs for printing physical pieces with a 3D printer. Jean-Louis Cazaux designed the Cannon, which comes from Xiangqi and Janggi and represents Asian variants. Bob Greenwade designed the Nightrider, which represents fairy chess and modern variants. If you're interested in printing your own 3D pieces, you can search for 3D Printers on Amazon or for 3D Printers on ebay.