One-Dimensional Chess: How to Play This Curious Variant

Some believe everything has already been invented in chess. Others think we've barely scratched the surface. Either way, anything that brings us closer to this fabulous game is welcome, even if it means simplifying its rules. Today we came across the "one-dimensional chess" by Doctor Popular, which limits the playing field to a column of 16 squares, and players control only one piece of each type, with modified rules for their movements. Would you like to give it a try?

Many grandmasters don't have a positive opinion about the main chess variants that exist, but they have also explored the possibility of altering the basic rules to create something different and more challenging (an example would be Bobby Fischer's Chess960). Changing chess is not necessarily bad: while there are circuits where seriousness and absolute concentration are required, at the end of the day it's still a game, and people try to have fun.

With that in mind, we arrive at the "one-dimensional chess" designed by Doctor Popular, based on other variants dating back to the 1970s, and puzzles that are almost a century old. What happens when we remove a dimension from chess? The result is a 'board' in the form of a column, with only 16 squares. Players must do battle controlling a total of six pieces, one of each type, arranged in the same starting position: King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight, and Pawn.

The movement of pawns follows their classic rules: one square at a time (or two on their opening, as long as the squares are unoccupied).

Knights can move two or three squares in both directions, jumping over one or two pieces at a time. With a reduced board, that makes them even more dangerous.

Bishops only move according to the color of their starting square. Furthermore, both bishops start with opposite colors, so they cannot attack each other.

The movement of rooks is in a straight line across the entire board, but just like in traditional chess, they are forbidden to jump over other pieces.

The queen behaves essentially as both a bishop and a rook, imitating their movements.

And as expected, the king moves one square at a time, with the condition that it cannot move into check. In the sample image, it is only allowed to move to the left, otherwise it would be exposed to the knight's attack.

If space is a problem or you want to complicate things even more (!), Doctor Popular recommends printing the board in a worm shape. Its license is CC 4.0 non-commercial, meaning you can download the PDF, share, and reproduce the one-dimensional chess to your heart's content (just not sell it). It might even make it to Kickstarter if the interest is big enough, but it's so easy to make that you'll have it ready in minutes. Enjoy!

Official site and download: Click here