View source for Knighted chess

{{Short description|Chess variant using two new chessmen}}

[[file:Ed vs susan big.jpg|thumb|Grandmaster [[Susan Polgar]] playing Trice's chess (a version of Capablanca chess) with Ed Trice.]]

{{multiple image
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| footer            = One [[Staunton chess set|Staunton]] style design for the chancellor (left) and archbishop (right) knighted [[Chess piece|chessmen]].
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{{double image|right|Chancellor Chess Piece.jpg|60|Archbishop Chess Piece.jpg|60|One [[Staunton chess set|Staunton]] style design for the chancellor (right) and archbishop (left) knighted [[Chess piece|chessmen]].
}}

'''Knighted chess''' is a family of over twenty Western [[Chess variant|chess variants]] which incorporate two new pieces. The family includes Capablanca chess (usually played on a 10×8 board), Seirawan chess (on a 8x8 board), [[Embassy chess]], [[Grand Chess|Grand chess]] (10x10 board), and [[Ed Trice|Trice's]] chess. The two new pieces combine the powers of knight with that of bishop or rook, hence the term "knighted chess" as used by Cazaux & Knowlton.<ref name=":0">Cazaux & Knowlton (2017), pp. 251-274.</ref><ref>The term is also used in ''Variant Chess'' magazine article, see: ''Variant Chess,'' [https://www.mayhematics.com/v/vol1/vc06.pdf Volume 1, Issue 6, April June 1991, pp 67-73.]</ref><ref>Pritchard, D. B. (2007), p. 181.</ref> Some authors also use the term "Capablanca chess" to refer to the whole family of variants that add these two new pieces.<ref>Gollon, John (1985). ''Chess variations Ancient, Regional, and Modern'', p. 219. Tuttle Publishing.</ref> 

The new compound pieces are the [[Princess (chess)|archbishop or princess]] [[Image:Chess alt45.svg|Archbishop|26px]] which combines moves of a [[bishop (chess)|bishop]] and a [[knight (chess)|knight]], and the [[Empress (chess)|chancellor or empress]][[Image:Chess clt45.svg|Chancellor|26px]] which combines moves of a [[rook (chess)|rook]] and a [[knight (chess)|knight]]. These new pieces (which go by various other names depending on the variant) allow new strategies and possibilities that provide an interesting change to game of chess while also retaining the original style and aesthetic. For example, the archbishop by itself can checkmate a lone king in a corner (when placed diagonally with one square in between).<ref name=":0" /> A few variants also add another compound piece, the [[Amazon (chess)|amazon]] (queen+knight). 

The first knighted chess variant was introduced by Italian chess player [[Pietro Carrera]] in his 1617 book ''Il Gioco de gli Scacchi'' (''The Game of Chess'').<ref name=":1">Foster, Ben. ''Chancellor Chess, or The New Game of Chess'' (1889), p. 5.</ref> Various similar games appears throughout the 18th and 19th centuries with the new knighted pieces. In the 20th century, [[World Chess Champion]] [[José Raúl Capablanca]] (1888–1942) also promoted a knighted chess variant now called Capablanca chess. Capablanca was concerned with how high level chess was overly reliant on extensive memorization and study of [[Chess opening|chess openings]] and their variations. He feared that eventually most high level games would end in draws because of this. This threat of "draw death" for chess was his main motivation for developing and promoting a new chess variant.<ref name=":4">Cazaux & Knowlton (2017), p. 258.</ref> Later board game designers like [[Christian Freeling]] also attempted to promote different knighted chess variants.

Several chess grandmasters played and commented on knighted chess variants throughout the 20th century. [[Alexander Alekhine]] is reported to have played Neo-chess.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Winter |first=Edward |title=Chess Variants and Rule Changes by Edward Winter |url=https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/variants.html |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=www.chesshistory.com}}</ref> The American grandmaster [[Yasser Seirawan]] designed his own variant to be played on a standard chessboard (Seraiwan chess). The Soviet grandmaster [[Viktor Korchnoi|Victor Korchnoi]] is known to have enjoyed playing [[Janus Chess]], and is quoted as having said "I like playing Janus Chess because one can show more creativity than in normal chess."<ref>Pritchard (2007), p. 124.</ref> 

== Early variants ==

===Carrera's chess===
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|Carrera's chess.{{sfnp|Pritchard|2007|p=120|ps=}} Earliest chess variant on 8×10 board with archbishop and chancellor.
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{{Chess diagram|tright||||||xx||||||||xx|||||||xo|xx|xo|||||xo||xx||xo||xx|xx|xx|xx|cl|xx|xx|xx|||xo||xx||xo|||||xo|xx|xo|||||||xx||||Maximum range of a chancellor (R+N) on an empty board}}
{{Chess diagram|tright||xx|||||||||xx||||||xx|||xx|xo||xo|xx||||xo|xx||xx|xo||||||al||||||xo|xx||xx|xo||||xx|xo||xo|xx|||xx||||||xx|Maximum range of an archbishop (B+N) on an empty board}}

In 1617, the [[Syracusan]] priest and chess player [[Pietro Carrera]] (1573-1647) published a book ''Il Gioco degli Scacchi'' (''The Game of Chess''), which contained a description of a chess variant played on an 8×10 board, which he appears to be using for the purpose of conserving the classical chess structure while inserting the new pieces.<ref>Cazaux & Knowlton (2017), p. 251.</ref> He placed new pieces between a rook and a knight. Carrera called them the campione ("champion", called the [[Empress (chess)|chancellor]] in Capablanca chess) and centauro ("centaur", [[Princess (chess)|archbishop]] in Capablanca chess). The "champion" combines the movement of the rook and knight while the centaur combines the bishop and knight movements.''<ref name=":1" />'' Of these, the new piece Chess ideally wants is the weaker centaur, having it that pawns are easier to get out of the way of diagonals than to get out of the way of files. 

The centaur was placed on the {{chessgloss|queenside}} and champion on the {{chessgloss|kingside}}, these being pieces which he appears to have invented for the purpose of the book, between which the centaur that combines the bishop and knight movements appears more clearly to be his invention, as he mentions previously odds where the weaker player’s king or queen has the knight’s move and it is logical to assume he might merely have overlooked the usage of odds where the weaker player’s (queen’s) rook has the knight’s move as a weaker version of the Amazon odds.<ref>“Del vantaggio del Recavallo”, “Del vantaggio della Donnacavallo” (Book 4, ch 12-13; “Of the odds of the King-Knight”, “Of the odds of the Queen-Knight”)

”del gioco nuovo, nel quale entrano due nuovi Pezzi ritrovati dall’Autore” (Tortelli, Mario; p.514; “of the new game into which enter two new Pieces recovered by the Author”)</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Pruen |first=Thomas |title=An Introduction to the History and Study of Chess |year=1804 |page=42 |quote=Carrera invented two new pieces, to be added to the eight original chess-men. That which he calls campione is placed between the king's knight and castle: its move is both that of the castle and of the knight. The other, named centaur, between the queen's knight and castle, has the move of the bishop and knight united. Each of these pieces has its pawn, and, of course, the board must contain two more squares on each side, which will augment their number to eighty. This invention appears to have died with the inventor.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Foster |first=Ben |title=Chancellor Chess, or The New Game of Chess |year=1889 |page=5 |quote=Carrera in 1617 inserted two new pieces, a Campione, having the moves of rook and knight, to be placed between the king's rook and the king's knight and a centaur, combining the moves of bishop and knight placed between the queen's rook and the queen's knight on a board 10×8 squares.}}</ref>

His likely primary motivation for the design was either the limitations of [[Chess theory|opening theory]] in this time or that he was just following the logic of [[Pedro Damiano]] and [[Ruy López de Segura]] that already assumed the logic of chess playing out to the game being about the second player’s response to the King’s or queen’s pawn opening, and even deeper, the first player’s response to the second’s immediate defense against them establishing the ideal pawn center, to its inevitable conclusion or that he considered it improper to play with a [[fairy piece]], specifically a royal crowned Knight, merely by way of handicap and he was not as concerned with avoiding structural weaknesses in the new game’s starting position created by a potential new piece standing on a given file, as with the archbishop between the knight and the rook leaving its own pawn unprotected.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Duniho |first1=Fergus |title=On Designing Good Chess Variants |url=https://www.chessvariants.com/opinions.dir/fergus/design.html |website=The Chess Variant Pages}}</ref>

Carrera used the names ''Centauro'' (centaur) instead of archbishop, and ''Campione'' (champion) instead of chancellor.<ref>{{cite book |last=Murray |first=H.J.R. |title=A History of Chess |page=827 |quote=In his last book he describes a new variety of chess of his own invention on a 10×8 board, with four extra pieces on each side, viz., two Pawns, a ''Centauro'' (b1, b8) with the moves of Rook and Knight, and a ''Campione'' (i1, i8) with the moves of Bishop and Knight. The game never got beyond the book stage.}} H.J.R. Murray incorrectly described the moves of the Centauro (actually, bishop + knight) and Campione (rook + knight).</ref> Coincidentally, he could have placed the doubleton of [[Italian draughts|Italian]] or Spanish Draughts, games which he even mentioned in passing in course of discussing the [[History of chess|origin of chess]],<ref>“quel gioco, che i siciliani chiamano marella, e gli spagnuoli el juego de las damas” (p.35, The game that the Sicilians call ''marella'' and the Spaniards ''el'' ''juego de las damas'')</ref> between the knight and the rook and left the new piece’s pawn unprotected from anything but itself, thus improving marginally upon placing the archbishop there. Though he was a good chess theoretician, he appears strangely unconcerned about the theoretical benefits and detriments of each possible setup, and the major theoretical detriment of the setup he chose is that the archbishop is thus mainly important to the opening theory of the game in the negative sense that it is necessary to get it out of the way of queenside castling, that is, when playing his variant adapted to modern rules.

=== Other early variants ===
Another early knighted chess variant was played in 18th century India. This "Hyderabad decimal chess" was first described in a 1790s manuscript from [[Hyderabad]]. It was later described in Murray’s 1913 ''History of Chess'' (pp. 346-347). The game included three new knighted pieces: one wazir (bishop+knight), one zurāfa (queen+knight) and two dabbābas (rook+knight) and was played on a 10x10 board.<ref name=":2">Markov, Georgi. (2022). [https://sciendo-parsed.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/6470d1eb71e4585e08aa64f1/10.2478_bgs-2022-0017.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=ASIA6AP2G7AKHX24CYZX%2F20251012%2Feu-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20251012T010626Z&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEHkaDGV1LWNlbnRyYWwtMSJHMEUCIQD2OD2FGCiTc37mlRYRP7J65XNHd9NGtBOtlVxvWs0b2QIgJPwoCb5cxjNhPaMSKJU%2BzfLHs7tfqxivPkzdM0VrrokqvQUIIhACGgw5NjMxMzQyODk5NDAiDH%2BYUOcgUFEWtNfAbiqaBWmn9Lqb%2F97wqs4%2Fhn4YVZMIjhqX6kXmYuG7GZoZ9HubRY7au7CoIhrGQIJDCPdEvlWqaQHziLsXpTFUvwoiRPLCiMabkKNzlLUyV3X%2FdwmC5ZPBdkjotKbMseMw5J8eILUei4r16bxP2FP4pnQrWUV0VspHt7NQfvr%2FWl8BGhYwkjbcUQwBbvcnMJn%2FPQLoIzEfD%2FOt5yhS9NROpHLn5rRsbwDvg9P6dYohB9f502O3hvTllGL2HqEJiXmL%2FgBbGG1UIkz1bbWskE4iVPCPV1FuK3syipAk8CH24ols4hWppfsqr0eoEOR5TlD%2F88ECuMjO8c9rKz1IZf5yWKR2FzFeV0hbEAHd7pw%2B3nys8Nt8IshKSTyTs462s%2BsWfYgwEgax6aNeR4%2BJEeAt0BZtTvp70YenMlQ4HcSbvfykNX%2F33P6yU94ZI81R7WPDphH39PgEpI6JtX1aViYV3vvYQPb79duEtEo9OfUymg6f91e%2BFPImUWqqZH%2FzW%2BmqQXxwuhrRMhyrPZDs7E4sCgexHeBOneAixqAYpXIRBqR5%2Faqsj3HtbtSdNZdJPP9WkpxckXAmvFPYzzfWM22F3y9C24a5RsNjQRY9C7BDtn%2FpHzoMjyvaU1nNaPReaPDeg7LCTZiLLVMf9nlTLWoPvJflg%2FFcKoHFWiwM04iHPbspkTCQ3T3XHoL%2BBV8pJXu2kz%2BUbS6Wa556yEmC8QpQACSp%2B%2F%2FPU%2FASG8NFb%2F6mZYsU3A7t9T73QdudYqXfK%2B%2FJXIjDDQNCAEpWczwtjRRnSJ6i%2BqEikqvWo3qByFJs2JsTcB3LMSrEeqezFQCoUfUtcINGAgVYCk7OSuHu1v4vM38bgrIX65dt8o6C%2FWEaz4h2Cn1A3eLPB6NggHynATDW%2BKvHBjqxASv5FyqK4lBgub57nJ4z5rBP9Jpl8J3%2BzfR4h%2BWy04E7iZamBjYcNnR8%2FJrtVSj4aEqgECjdQmxp6hUhTPM7Lq8fWqB6Pom48dl11qLq%2B1CS5yHszM5kvk4omImRw4iHj8eY8WzcZgQ4gTQTdFV9XoOoXyzOJgd6qA0BQxVLewl5Ivj6aEBhOvsalgli3f4Gm2AP0uvCDBAiCZmMlvO0wK4iceqw%2BRzG6%2FaI6Ooa7iW9hw%3D%3D&X-Amz-Signature=9a04fd4a1f1c1002cc3fdd608abb08c1f7964f7eae0219ee0d6f89cf3d4322e2&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject Three Large Chess Variants from India and Germany: a note on their rules.] Board Game Studies Journal. 16. 1-16. 10.2478/bgs-2022-0017. </ref>

The 19th century saw further similar variants with extra pieces developed. ''Das Schachspiel, seine Gattungen und Abarten'' (''The Game of Chess, its Types and Varieties'', 1840) by Ludwig Tressau of Leipzig, the first modern book on chess variants, discusses two similar chess variants with knighted pieces: ''Kaiserspiel'' and ''Sultanspiel''. ''Kaiserspiel'' was played on a 10x10 board with two additional pieces, one commander (queen+knight) and one adjutant” (bishop+knight). ''Sultanspiel'' meanwhile expanded the board to 11x11 and added the marshal (rook+knight).<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":8">Cazaux & Knowlton (2017), p. 256.</ref>
{{Chess diagram 8x10
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|Bird's chess.{{sfnp|Cazaux|Knowlton|2017|p=256|ps=}} Second chess variant on 8×10 board with archbishop and chancellor.
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In 1874, the English chess player [[Henry Bird (chess player)|Henry Bird]] (known as the inventor of the f4 [[Bird's Opening]]) proposed a further variant on Carrera's game in an issue of the ''City of London Chess Magazine''.<ref name=":8" /> The only significant difference was the opening setup. The new pieces were now between the bishops and the royal pair, the archbishop close to the king, the chancellor close to the queen. The queen's bishop's pawn is not protected in the initial setup. Bird used the names ''equerry'' instead of archbishop, and ''guard'' instead of chancellor.<ref name=":8" /> The theoretical benefit of this setup is that the new pieces’ pawns are thus very important to the opening theory of the game, equally to the king’s and queen's pawns. This makes the chancellor‘s pawn a pair for the queen's pawn as leading to a more strategically oriented game from the nature of the chancellor.

There were also various other lesser known European chess variants that also slightly enlarged the board and introduced knighted pieces. One of these was a chess variant introduced by [[John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland]] (1696–1779), which used a 10x14 squares board with the following extra pieces: the ''concubine'' (combines [[Empress (chess)|rook and knight]]), two crowned rooks (rooks with the added power of taking a diagonal step), two extra bishops, an extra knight, and six extra pawns. This game became popular among several leading players of the time like [[François-André Danican Philidor|André Danican Philidor]] and [[Abraham Janssen (chess player)|Abraham Janssen]].<ref>Cazaux & Knowlton (2017), p. 253</ref> 

The chancellor piece also appeared in Benjamin R. Foster's chancellor chess variant played on a 9x9 board. First publicized in the [[St. Louis Globe-Democrat|St Louis Globe-Democrat]] (12 February 1887), which states that the invention "created a furore in the chess world heretofore unknown." Foster published a booklet promoting and explaining the game in 1889.<ref>Pritchard (2007), pp. 121-122.</ref>

== Capablanca chess ==
[[File:Capablanca playing Capablanca chess.jpg|thumb|[[José Raúl Capablanca|Capablanca]] demonstrating Capablanca chess on a 10x10 board as reported in a 1929 April issue of ''[[The Times]]'']]
The Cuban chess master [[José Raúl Capablanca]] (1888–1942) also promoted a his own "Capablanca chess" (or Capablanca's chess) variant in a series of talks, interviews and articles.<ref name=":4" /><ref>Pritchard (2007), p. 122.</ref>''<ref name=":11" />'' These suggestions appeared as early as an 1926 article in the Cuban ''Revista Bimestre'' ''Cubana''.<ref name=":11" /> Capablanca chess attracted some attention due to its promotion by one of the world's greatest chess players at the time, but it still failed to reach widespread popularity.<ref name=":4" />

The main impulse behind Capablanca's promotion of this variant was his belief that high level chess was becoming too reliant on memorization and "encyclopedic knowledge" of chess openings and positions. Capablanca feared that this would eventually lead to most high level games ending in forced draws or at least becoming too reliant on following prepared opening variations learned by rote.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2025-01-20 |title=Capablanca and the question of draws |url=https://en.chessbase.com/post/capablanca-and-the-question-of-draws |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=Chess News |language=en}}</ref> This concern was also shared by his friend Emmanuel Lasker according to Lasker's own ''Mein'' ''Wettkampf mit Capablanca''.<ref name=":11" />

Capablanca proposed two opening setups for Capablanca chess. His final revision placed the archbishop between the {{chessgloss|queen's knight}} and {{chessgloss|queen's bishop}}; the chancellor between the {{chessgloss|king's knight}} and {{chessgloss|king's bishop}}.{{sfnp|Gollon|1968|p=220|ps=}}{{sfnp|Schmittberger|1992|p=204|ps=}} 

{{Chess diagram 8x10 |size=25	
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 |Capablanca chess starting setup. The [[Princess (chess)|archbishop]]s are on c1/c8; the [[Empress (chess)|chancellor]]s are on h1/h8.{{sfnp|Gollon|1968|p=220|ps=}}{{sfnp|Schmittberger|1992|p=204|ps=}}	}} 

In Capablanca chess, the king moves three squares when [[castling]] instead of moving two squares as in standard chess. A pawn can [[Promotion (chess)|promote]] to archbishop or chancellor in addition to the regular promotion options in standard chess.{{sfnp|Schmittberger|1992|p=204|ps=}} Unlike orthodox chess, each king, instead of each queen, starts on a square of its own color (the white king on a light square; the black king on a dark square).

Capablanca initially experimented with a 10×10 board size with a different initial setup and where pawns could advance up to three squares on their first move. After some later [[Playtest|play-testing]] however, he also promoted a variant on a 10x8 board. [[Edward Lasker]] wrote:{{sfnp|Lasker|1959|p=39|ps=}} <blockquote>... I played many test games with Capablanca, and they rarely lasted more than twenty or twenty-five moves. We tried boards of 10×10 squares and 10×8 squares, and we concluded that the latter was preferable because hand-to-hand fights start earlier on it.</blockquote>

Lasker was one of the few supporters of this new variant and he helped play-test the game with Capablanca.<ref name=":3" /> Hungarian [[Grandmaster (chess)|grandmaster]] [[Géza Maróczy]] also played some games with Capablanca (who got the better of him). British champion [[William Winter (chess player)|William Winter]] thought that there were too many strong pieces, making the {{chessgloss|minor pieces}} less relevant. Capablanca's proposition was also criticized by other contemporary chess players in print, including [[Max Euwe]] and [[Siegbert Tarrasch]]''.'' The debate was carried out in newspapers like the ''[[Manchester Guardian]].<ref name=":11" />'' 

The new piece names ''[[archbishop]]'' (Spanish: ''arzobispo'', originally named chancellor) and ''[[chancellor]]'' (Spanish: ''canciller'', originally named marshall, followed by marshal) were introduced by Capablanca himself.{{sfnp|Pritchard|2007|p=122|ps=}} These names are still used in most modern variants of Capablanca Chess.

== Post-Capablanca variants ==
The knighted chess family continued to add new variants well into the late 20th century. There are different types of knighted chess variants. One class of variants use the regular 8x8 chessboard of 64 squares, while another category uses larger non-standard board sizes or types (10x10 or 10x8). Apart from these changes, most variants do not change the standard rules of [[chess]].

There have been numerous attempts to modify and improve on Capablanca chess. Most of these add relatively minor changes, such as changing the starting positions. Various game designers and chess players have commented on how the starting position of Capablanca's original variant leave the pawns on the i file undefended, creating a significant weakness that can be exploited.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Capablanca's Chess Flaws |url=https://gothicchess.info/capablanca_flaws_01.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241205033114/https://gothicchess.info/capablanca_flaws_01.shtml |archive-date=2024-12-05 |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=gothicchess.info}}</ref> Because of this, several chess variants postdating Capablanca chess were designed with initial arrangements where all pawns are protected by at least one piece; these include Universal chess, Grand Chess, Embassy chess, Trice's chess, Grotesque chess, Ladorean chess, Schoolbook chess, and Univers chess. The creators of these variants felt that leaving any pawn undefended in the initial setup created an easily exploitable weakness that needed to be resolved. 

=== List of standard board variants ===
{{#invoke:Chessboard mxn|board|tright|size = 26||cd|nd|bd|Ad|kd|qd|ad|rd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|pd|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|pl|cl|nl|bl|Al|kl|ql|al|rl|'''Tutti-Frutti Chess''', starting position}}
Variants which rely on the standard 8x8 chessboard include the following:<ref name=":6">Pritchard (2007), pp. 121-123.</ref><ref name=":7">Cazaux & Knowlton (2017), pp. 255-262.</ref>
* Neo-chess (1923) by Hugo Legler (on an 8x8 board), replaces the knight on b1/b8 with an archbishop, and the rook a1/a8 with the chancellor.
* Coronation chess created by Frank Maus in the 1920s added the knighted pieces by a specific move called coronation which consists of moving a basic piece (rook, bishop, or knight) into the square of another to merge them into a combined stronger piece that unified their powers. Maus coined the terms [[Empress (chess)|empress]] for rook+knight and [[Princess (chess)|princess]] for bishop+knight, names which were adopted by numerous later [[Chess problemist|chess problemists]].
* Wolf Chess by Von Wilpert (1959) which introduces replaces one rook with a "wolf" (R+N) and replaces both knights with a "fox" (B+N) and a [[Nightrider (chess)|nightrider]] (a knight slider). It also adds four extra powerful pawns ("sergeants").<ref name=":13">[https://www.mayhematics.com/v/vol1/vc06.pdf ''Variant Chess,'' Volume 6, April June 1991], pp 67-73.</ref> 
* [[Tutti-frutti chess]] (1978) by Ralph Betza and Philip Cohen which replaces queen's rooks with [[Empress (chess)|empresses]] (rook+knight), queens with [[Amazon (chess)|amazons]], king's bishops with queens and the king's knights with [[Princess (chess)|princesses]] (bishop+knight).
* Seirawan chess (or S-Chess) by [[Yasser Seirawan]] and Bruce Harper begins with the classic chess setup, and the extra pieces are retained in hand and introduced as the game progresses and back rank squares are vacated. 
* Superchess or Exchess (Dutch: ''Superschaak'') by Henk van Haeringen (1999), which introduces several new pieces, including empress, princess, and amazon, and the players agree before hand on the starting lineup by replacing some (or all) of the standard chess pieces with some of the new pieces. Pawns may also be replaced with new types of pawns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BookReview23 |url=https://www.abstractgames.org/bookreview23.html |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=THE NEW ABSTRACT GAMES |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Wayback Machine |url=https://superschaak.nl/indexengels.htm |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240309064600/https://superschaak.nl/indexengels.htm |archive-date=2024-03-09 |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=www.superschaak.nl}}</ref> 
* Musketeer chess, which expands on Seirawan chess by allowing players to select two extra pieces from an expanded pool of fairy chess pieces.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-12 |title=Modernize The Chess Game |url=https://musketeerchess.net/site/chess-revolution/ |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=Musketeer Chess Games}}</ref>

=== List of larger board variants ===
Variants which use larger boards include:<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /> 

*Universal chess (1928) by Dr. Bruno Violet (on 10×10 board). He proposed two starting army arrangements.
* Supercapablanca chess (Savio Cagliostro, 1973), played on a 12x8 board, the extra pieces are two archbishops, a chancellor and a General (queen+knight)
* [[Janus Chess]] (1978) by Werner Schöndorf a commercial game using a 10x8 board with extra pieces called januses (bishop+knight); extra pieces are Januses (B+N). Originally marketed as "Super-Chess".
* [[Grand Chess|Grand chess]] (1984) by [[Christian Freeling]] which uses a 10×10 board and moves the starting line for most of the armies one rank forward (except the rooks). There is no castling. 
* [[Modern chess]] by Gabriel Vicente Maura (9x9 board)
* Trice's chess (2000, previously called Gothic chess) by Edward A. Trice, which uses 10x8 board
* Aberg's variation (2003) by Hans Aberg (10x8)
* Grotesque chess (2004) by Fergus Duniho
* Capablanca Chess, Paulowich Variant (2004) by David Paulovich, which was included in the computer program [[ChessV]]. This setup was also reinvented independently by John K. Lewis as Victorian chess (2007).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Chess Variant Pages: Victorian Chess |url=https://ftp.chessvariants.com/rules/victorian-chess |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=The Chess Variant Pages}}</ref>
* Ladorean chess (2005) by Bernhard U. Hermes
* [[Embassy chess]] (2005) by Kevin Hill which uses a starting position identical to Grand Chess on a 10×8 board
* Univers chess (2006) by Fergus Duniho adopts the starting lineup of Universal chess on a 10×8 board
* Schoolbook chess (2006) by Sam Trenholme
* Capablanca random chess (2004) by Reinhard Scharnagl
* Modern Capablanca random chess (2008) by José Carrillo
* Gliński–Capablanca Chess, which combines [[Hexagonal chess|Gliński's hexagonal chess]] with Capablanca chess<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gliński–Capablanca Chess – Green Chess |url=https://greenchess.net/rules.php?v=glinski-capablanca |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=greenchess.net}}</ref> 

Some variants of knighted chess only adopt one knighted piece, not both. One example of this is [[Chancellor chess]], which only uses knighted rook (chancellor) and is played on a 9x9 board. Another example is Puerto Rican chess player Gabriel Vicente Maura's [[modern chess]] (c. 1968) which only uses the [[Princess (chess)|prime minister]] ([[Bishop (chess)|bishop]]+[[Knight (chess)|knight]]).<ref>Pritchard (2007), pp. 121-123.</ref>

=== Large board variants ===
{{#invoke:chessboard mxn|board|cols=10|rows=1|letters=no|numbers=no|tright||rl|bl|ql|nl|kl|cl|nl|al|bl|rl|Grotesque chess opening setup}}
{{#invoke:chessboard mxn|board|cols=10|rows=1|letters=no|numbers=no|tright||rl|bl|nl|cl|ql|kl|al|nl|bl|rl|Univers chess opening setup}}
{{#invoke:chessboard mxn|board|cols=10|rows=1|letters=no|numbers=no|tright||rl|bl|ql|nl|kl|al|nl|cl|bl|rl|Ladorean chess setup}}
{{#invoke:chessboard mxn|board|cols=10|rows=1|letters=no|numbers=no|tright||rl|nl|bl|ql|kl|cl|al|bl|nl|rl|Embassy chess setup}}
{{#invoke:chessboard mxn|board|cols=10|rows=1|letters=no|numbers=no|tright||rl|ql|nl|bl|al|kl|bl|nl|cl|rl|Schoolbook Chess}}
{{#invoke:chessboard mxn|board|cols=10|rows=1|letters=no|numbers=no|tright||rl|nl|bl|ql|cl|kl|al|bl|nl|rl|Gothic Chess}}

{{Chess diagram 10x10|align=tright|fen=r8r/1nbqkcabn1/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/1NBQKCABN1/R8R|footer=Grand Chess starting setup. [[Empress (chess)|Marshals]] are on f2/f9; [[Princess (chess)|cardinals]] are on g2/g9.}}

Chess variants played on larger boards have a long history. Examples include the Arabic ''[[shatranj]] al-tamma'' (10x10) and [[Courier chess]] (12x8). Numerous knighted chess variants adopt larger boards following Capablanca's lead. One of these adaptations, Trice's chess (initially patented as Gothic chess) was promoted by American chess player Ed Trice and saw some commercial development in the early 2000s. Specialized chess sets were created and several international tournaments were organized. In 2004, the Gothic Chess Computer World Championship was held. After extensive testing, Trice claimed to have found the ideal starting position which avoided several flaws in previous variants of Capablanca chess.<ref name=":9">Cazaux & Knowlton (2017), p. 263</ref>

Hungarian-American grandmaster [[Susan Polgar]] played some Trice chess matches, and in 2006 there was an attempt to arrange a match between [[Bobby Fischer|Fischer]] and [[Anatoly Karpov]] in this variant, but this never took place. Fischer was reportedly interested in the game according to Ed Trice.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-10-29 |title=BOBBY, TOLYA MAYBE GAME FOR GOTHIC |url=https://nypost.com/2006/10/29/bobby-tolya-maybe-game-for-gothic/ |access-date=2025-10-12 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |author1=Peter Mucha |author2=Robert Moran |author3=Lea Sitton Stanley |title=Fischer started reign with a win in Phila |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/homepage/20080119_Fischer_started_reign_with_a_win_in_Phila_.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714150722/https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/homepage/20080119_Fischer_started_reign_with_a_win_in_Phila_.html |archive-date=2022-07-14 |access-date=2025-10-12 |work=www.inquirer.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":9" /> 

A few other variants have also seen some wider play. For example, [[Christian Freeling]]'s [[Grand Chess|Grand chess]] was played in a 1996 tournament in [[Armenia]]. It was also a common feature of American magazine ''Abstract Games'' in the early 2000s.<ref name=":9" /> Grand chess is also discussed in Schmittberger's ''New Rules for Classic Games'' (1992)'','' and in ''Pritchard's Encyclopedia of Chess Variants.'' 

=== Maura's Modern chess ===
Maura's modern chess which was introduced in his 1980 ''Evolución del Ajedrez'' attracted a significant following in the Spanish speaking world, especially in [[Puerto Rico]] (where a club dedicated to it was opened), as well as in Latin America and in Spain. Chess sets for this variant were manufactured and various events were organized. The first international match was held in 1972 between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.<ref name=":5">Pritchard (2007), p. 123.</ref> 

An organization for the game was also founded, the Federación Mundial de Ajedrez Moderno (FEMDAM), which had delegates from 16 countries.<ref name=":5" /> Tournaments were held throughout the 70s, but events ceased in 1983 and FEMDAM was eventually dissolved when Maura fell ill.<ref>Cazaux & Knowlton (2017), p. 260</ref><ref name=":5" />

=== Seirawan chess ===
{{multiple image
| width             = 140
| image1            = Hawk Chess Piece.jpg
| class1            = bg-transparent
| alt1              = 
| image2            = Seirawan Elephant.jpg
| class2            = bg-transparent
| alt2              = 
| footer            = [[Staunton chess set|Staunton]] style designs for the hawk and elephant
}}

Seirawan chess (or S-Chess) is a Capablanca chess variant by [[Yasser Seirawan]] and Bruce Harper that uses a standard 8x8 chess board. The initial position is that of standard [[chess]]. Each side has the additional two knighted pieces in hand, which are called a hawk ([[Empress (chess)|chancellor]][[File:Chess alt45.svg|Hawk|26px]] ) and an elephant ([[Princess (chess)|archbishop]] [[File:Chess clt45.svg|Elephant|26px]]) in Seirawan Chess.<ref name=":10">Cazaux & Knowlton (2017), p. 264.</ref> 

When notating games in [[Algebraic notation (chess)|algebraic notation]], the letter '''E''' is used for the elephant and '''H''' for the hawk. If the player places one of the two pieces on the board, it is written after a [[Slash (punctuation)|slash]]. For example, '''1. Nc3/E''' means that the player moved his knight from '''b1''' to '''c3''' and placed the elephant on '''b1'''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Winther |first1=Mats |title=Seirawan Chess |url=https://www.chessvariants.com/play/seirawanchess_ |publisher=[[The Chess Variant Pages]]}}</ref>
[[File:Wsb_525x511_phase3_3d.jpg|thumb|Musketeer chess is an expanded S-chess with several more fairy pieces available for pre-game selection that can be introduced into the game from a storage row.]]
The elephant and the hawk are introduced to the game in the following way: whenever the player moves a [[Chess piece|piece]] (king, queen, knight, bishop or rook) from its starting position (that hasn't already been moved), one of the pieces in hand may be placed immediately on the square just vacated. One cannot use the placing of an elephant or hawk to block [[check (chess)|check]]. If the player moves all his pieces from the first {{chessgloss|rank}} without placing one or both in hand pieces, he forfeits the right to do so. After [[castling]], the player may put one of the pieces in hand on either the [[king (chess)|king's]] or the rook's square, but he may not place both pieces in hand in the same turn. Pawns may [[promotion (chess)|promote]] to a hawk or an elephant in this game (in addition to the normal chess pieces).<ref name=":10" />

=== Capablanca variants with different rules ===
Capablanca random chess applies the concept of [[Chess960]] / Fischerandom to Capablanca chess.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Capablanca Random Chess |url=http://ftp.chessvariants.com/play/pbm/presets/capablanca_random_chess.html |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=ftp.chessvariants.com}}</ref> The starting setup is arranged as per [[Chess960]] rules, but also includes the following additional restrictions:
* All pawns in the starting positions must be protected by at least one piece.
* Bishops cannot start on neighboring squares.
* The queen and the archbishop must start on opposite-colored squares.
* The starting position cannot be that of Gothic chess.

In total, there are 12,118 starting positions in Capablanca random chess.

"Capahouse" similarly applies the drop rule from [[crazyhouse]] to Capablanca chess. The rules are as in Capablanca chess except the following new rules:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Variants • PyChess |url=https://www.pychess.org/variants/capahouse |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250910190236/https://www.pychess.org/variants/capahouse |archive-date=2025-09-10 |access-date=2025-10-12 |website=www.pychess.org}}</ref> 

* Drops resulting in immediate checkmate are permitted. This includes pawn drops.
* Pawns may not be dropped on the 1st or 8th ranks.
* Pawns that have been promoted and later captured must dropped as normal pawns.
* Dropped white and black pawns on the 2nd and 7th ranks, respectively, may make a two-square move as their first move after the drop.
* Dropped rooks cannot castle.

== Strategy ==

Seirawan and Harper wrote the following regarding the changes in strategy in their Seirawan chess:<blockquote>the placement of the pieces on squares vacated by the existing pieces changes the game and creates innumerable possibilities which render all existing opening theory open to reexamination and opens up many new possibilities as well. Players who understand the principles of opening play will do well, while players who rely primarily on memorizing variations will find themselves in trouble.<ref name=":10" /></blockquote>Ed Thrice and his colleagues in the Gothic chess community pioneered various theories and openings for this Capablanca variant in the 2000s. According to Thrice, <blockquote>Initially, we played many games by opening with 1. f4 which is the functional equivalent of 1. e4 in older 8x8 chess. Later, 1. d4 become more fashionable, but not for the corresponding reason to the liaison opening in regular chess. It is more flexible, tends not to "hem in" either Bishop, and allows White the opportunity to initiate the first real threat in the game. Lately, National Master John Vehre and Ed Trice pioneered the 1. g4 line, referred to as The Spike opening. That opening is the most aggressive, offers the greatest scope for original play, and is one of the most complicated ways to create middlegame tactical shootouts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interesting Games of Trice's Chess |url=https://gothicchess.info/articles_03.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002183755/https://gothicchess.info/articles_03.shtml |archive-date=2023-10-02 |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=gothicchess.info}}</ref></blockquote>

== Piece values ==
H. G. Muller suggested the following estimated piece values for Capablanca chess pieces:<ref name="level">{{cite web|url=https://www.chessvariants.com/index/listcomments.php?id=43673|title=Grand Chess|quote=For Capablanca Chess the values are Q=950, C=900, A=875, R=500, B=350, B-pair bonus=50, N=300, P=100}}</ref> 
{| class="wikitable"
| pawn
| 1
|-
| knight
| 3
|-
| bishop
| 3.5 (+0.5 for the {{chessgloss|bishop pair}})
|-
| rook
| 5
|-
| archbishop
| 8.75
|-
| chancellor
| 9
|-
| queen
| 9.5
|}

Edward Trice meanwhile gives the following values for the pieces in his Trice's chess:<ref>{{Cite web |title=The New Piece Values |url=https://gothicchess.info/articles_01.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240617111744/https://gothicchess.info/articles_01.shtml |archive-date=2024-06-17 |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=gothicchess.info}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
| pawn
| 1.00
|-
| knight
| 2.50
|-
| bishop
| 3.00
|-
| rook
| 4.75
|-
| archbishop
| 6.75
|-
| chancellor
| 8.25
|-
| queen
| 8.75
|}

These values would be different in variants with different board sizes and configurations however. On larger boards, bishops gain in value, because both of its forward moves become likely to attack the enemy camp. Thus in Capablanca chess, two bishops are clearly superior to two knights, and closer in value to two knights plus pawn.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chessvariants.org/index/listcomments.php?id=35103|title=Capablanca's chess}}</ref> 

There is in addition a strong "leveling effect": the strong pieces (archbishop, chancellor, and queen) cannot display their superiority against a large number of weaker pieces, because the weaker pieces can restrict them. For example, a queen attacked by a knight must usually move to avoid capture, and cannot rely on being defended; but a knight attacked by a queen need not fear. Thus sacrificing a strong piece for rook and minor, or three minor pieces, can give significant compensation (greater than a pawn) because it increases the value of one's remaining strong pieces relative to the opponent's.<ref name="level" />

== Programs that play knighted chess variants ==
* [[Chess.com]]
* [[ChessV]] 
* [[Fairy-Max]]
* EvoChess<ref>{{cite web |title=EvoChess - Play Chess and Chess Variants Online |url=https://www.evochess.com/ |website=www.evochess.com}}</ref>
* Fairy Stockfish<ref>{{cite web |title=fairy-stockfish/Fairy-Stockfish |url=https://github.com/ianfab/Fairy-Stockfish |publisher=Fairy-Stockfish |date=10 October 2025}}</ref>
* Chess Remix<ref>{{cite web |title=Chess Remix - Chess variants |url=https://chessremix.app/ |website=chessremix.app}}</ref>
* Green Chess<ref>{{cite web |title=Chess variants with different initial positions – Green Chess |url=https://greenchess.net/variants.php?cat=1 |website=greenchess.net}}</ref>
* Musketeer chess<ref>{{cite web |title=Online Gaming Zone |url=https://musketeerchess.net/site/games/ |website=Musketeer Chess Games |date=12 January 2020}}</ref>
* Pychess<ref>{{cite web |title=PyChess • Free Online Chess Variants |url=https://www.pychess.org/ |website=www.pychess.org}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|35em}}

'''Bibliography'''
*{{Cite book|title=A World of Chess: Its Development and Variations Through Centuries and Civilizations|last=Cazaux|first=Jean-Louis|last2=Knowlton|first2=Rick|publisher=McFarland|year=2017|isbn=978-0786494279}}
*{{cite book
 |last=Gollon
 |first=John
 |title=Chess Variations &bull; Ancient, Regional, and Modern
 |publisher=[[Tuttle Publishing|Charles E. Tuttle Company Inc]] 
 |year=1968
 |contribution=Capablanca's Chess
 |pages=219–22
 |lccn=06811975
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZQnAQAAMAAJ
 |isbn=9780804811224}}
*{{cite book
 |last=Lasker
 |first=Edward
 |author-link=Edward Lasker
 |year=1959
 |title=The Adventure of Chess
 |isbn=0-486-20510-X}}
*{{cite book
 |last=Pritchard 
 |first=D. B. 
 |author-link=David Pritchard (chess player)
 |editor-last=Beasley
 |editor-first=John
 |title=The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants
 |publisher=John Beasley 
 |year=2007
 |isbn=978-0-9555168-0-1}}
*{{cite book
 |last=Schmittberger
 |first=R. Wayne
 |title=New Rules for Classic Games
 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons Inc
 |year=1992
 |isbn=978-0471536215
 |url-access=registration
 |url=https://archive.org/details/newrulesforclass00rway
 }}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book
 |last=Pritchard
 |first=D. B.
 |author-link=David Pritchard (chess player)
 |title=The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants
 |publisher=Games & Puzzles Publications
 |year=1994
 |pages=38–40
 |contribution=Capablanca Chess
 |isbn=0-9524142-0-1}} (extensive history)
* Vehre, John (2024). ''Adventures in Capablanca Land: My 35 Year Journey Exploring Variants, the Dark Side of Chess''

==External links==
*[http://chessvariants.org/large.dir/capablanca.html "Capablanca's chess"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613054744/http://chessvariants.org/large.dir/capablanca.html |date=2010-06-13 }} by [[Hans Bodlaender]], ''[[The Chess Variant Pages]]''
* {{bgg|35575|Capablanca Chess}}
* [http://www.pathguy.com/chess/Capablan.htm Capablanca Chess] a simple program by Ed Friedlander <span style="font-size:0.95em; font-weight:bold;">([[Java (programming language)|Java]])</span>
* [https://pychess-variants.herokuapp.com/ PyChess Website] online play (real time with digital clocks)

{{Chess variants|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Board games introduced in the 1920s]]
[[Category:Chess variants]]
[[Category:Capablanca Chess variants| ]]