Chaturanga
Chess is a board game that is played between two players with a chess board. The chessboard is square-shaped and contains 64 squares arranged on an 8 by 8 grid. Each player during a chess match starts with sixteen different pieces. Each player has one king and queen, two rooks, knights, and bishops, and eight pawns. Every unique piece on a chess board has unique ways of traveling up and down the chessboard. Both player in a game of chess has the goal of using the pieces to checkmate the opponent’s king. This means that the king is under attack, and there is no possible move that will deem the king safe from the attack. If a king is in check, it means it is being attacked, but there is a move that will keep it safe, either by moving the king or another piece to block the attack.
Although the standard game of chess played throughout the world is played on the 8 by 8 grid in many countries and in official competitions sanctioned by the FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs or World Chess Federation), there are many other variations of chess that use different chess piece combinations and chess boards. In most cases, the chess board consists of a larger or small surface with more or fewer squares, while some other chess boards have different layouts or different shaped spaces, such as triangles or hexagons. Many variants that use different chess boards are much older than the standard western chess board variant.
Chess Variants Using Different Chess Boards:
While most variants only have a few subtle differences, others have major differences, completely changing the nature of not only the chess board, but the game itself. The following are some of the most common chess variants that use different chess board structures:
Chaturanga:
An older chess variant originating from India, this game was played on an 8 by 8 board, similar to a western chess board, but the squares were not checkered. The pieces were also very similar to the modern game of chess but called different names. The exact rules are not known either, although some chess historians have some idea that they are similar to the game of Shatranj (Shatranj is an old form of chess also originating from India).
Hexagonal Chess:
A chess variant, popular in Eastern Europe, that used a different chess board in the shape of a hexagon. The spaces on the board had three different colors, and an extra bishop and an extra pawn were added from the standard game of chess. Due to the nature of this chess board, the pieces have similar, but altered move sets.
Three-Dimensional Chess:
A chess variant using a significantly altered chess board, originating from an older version called Raumschach from Germany. The chess board has four different playing surfaces and the rules are slightly altered to make the game more strategic.
Grid Chess:
A chess variant that uses chess boards with dark grids added to the playing surface for added rules.
