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Ponderchess / Chess variants

Racing Kings

No checks allowed: both kings race up the board, and the first to reach the eighth rank wins.
Created
1961
Creator
V. R. Parton
Where
United Kingdom
Board
8×8
What changes
A race to the last rank

Where it came from

Commonly attributed; details vary between sources

Racing Kings is credited to Vernon Rylands Parton, a prolific British inventor of variants who also created Alice Chess. It is usually dated to 1961.

Both armies start side by side on the first two ranks, and checking is forbidden entirely. That makes the game a pure race in which pieces mostly block and harass the other king.

Why it was made: To turn the king from the piece you protect into the piece that wins the game.

How it differs from chess

  • Side by sideBoth armies start on ranks 1 and 2, White on the right half of the board and Black on the left. There are no pawns.
  • No checksNo move may give check, and no king may move into check.
  • The finishThe first king to reach the eighth rank wins. If White gets there first and Black can also reach it on the very next move, the game is a draw.
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The start: both kings on the second rank, racing for the finish line.

Your first game

  • Every tempo counts: count how many moves each king needs to reach the eighth rank.
  • Use your pieces to control squares in front of the enemy king rather than chasing captures.

Questions

Why is it a draw if both kings arrive?
White moves first, so the draw rule gives Black an equal number of moves.

Sources