Check out Symmetric Chess, our featured variant for March, 2024.

This page is written by the game's inventor, Roger Cooper.

Bid Chess

(A Chess Variant with different armies)

Rules

  1. Choose colors randomly
  2. Pick a chess piece (or power or restriction). A possible random list follows.
  3. Each player submits a bid. The high bidder gets the piece. On ties, black gets the piece. The winning bidder must then give up men whose value equals his bid. Use values of P=1, N=3, B=3, R=5, Q=9. (Bids can be negative).
  4. Each player sets up his forces on simultaneously, behind a barrier, on his first three ranks. Pawns can't start on the first rank. Bishops must be deployed on opposite color squares.
  5. White's first move can not be a capture. Otherwise play proceeds normally.

If the man seems low in value, just bid for 2 or 3 of them. It is a good idea to discuss the ramifications of an unusual piece before bidding.

Send any questions or comments to (email removed contact us for address) .com

A sample list of chess pieces follows (using Henry Davidson's, A Short History of Chess). Feel free to create your own list.

 

Piece

Power

1

Adjundant

B+N

2

Alfil

Moves/captures with a 2-2 leap

3

Bare King

If you capture all your opponents men, you win

4

Camel

Leaps 2 squares diagonally

5

Camel

3-1 leaper

6

Camel

3-1 leaper

7

Cannon

Moves like R. Captures on R-lines, but must cross a piece to do so

8

Cannon

R

9

Centaur

R+N

10

Centurion

K+N

11

Champion

R+N

12

Chancellor

R+N

13

Concubine

R+N

14

Counseller

Non-royal King

15

Courier

B

16

Crowned Rook

R+K

17

Decurion

1 square diagonally

18

Dragoon

B

19

Enlisting Captives

Captured enemy pieces can reused and placed instead of moving. Captured Pawns must be placed in your half of the board

20

Equerry

B+N

21

Gaja(Elephant)

Moves/captures 1 square diagonally or 1 square forward

22

Gazelle

3-1 leaper

23

General

Q+N

24

Giraffe

4-1 leaper

25

Griffon

1 diagonal then any number orthogonal

26

Guard

R+N

27

Jester

1-0 leaper

28

King's Leap

Your K may move once like a N

29

Lion

4-0 leaper

30

Mantri(Counseller)

Moves/captures 1 square diagonally

31

Marshall

R+N

32

Restricted Promotion

Your Pawns may only promote to lost pieces

33

Rhinocerus

B+N

34

Sacrifice

If your K is checkmated you may have it exchange places with another piece and continue play

35

Scout

B

36

Single-Move Pawn

Your Pawns lack the double move

37

Sow

Non-royal King

38

Sow

Leaps 2 squares diagonally

39

Stalemate=Win

If you stalemate your opponent, you win

40

Unicorn

B+N

41

Vizier

4-1 leaper


Written by Roger Cooper. HTML conversion by David Howe.
WWW page created: October 5, 1998.