Dunsany's chess explained

Dunsany's chess, also known as Dunsany's game,[1] is an asymmetric chess variant in which Black has the standard chess army and White has 32 pawns. This game was invented by Lord Dunsany in 1942. It was published the same year in Fairy Chess Review (August issue) and in Joseph Boyer's Nouveaux Jeux d'Echecs Non-orthodoxes.[2]

A similar game is Horde chess.

Game rules

Black's setup is the same in regular chess; White's army consists of 32 pawns, filling one through four, as shown in the diagram. Rules are the same as in regular chess, with the following exceptions:

As in regular chess, pawns promote on the, and stalemate occurs if White's pawns run out of moves.

Horde chess

Horde chess, by Filip Rachunek in 2002, is similar to Dunsany's chess but with the following differences:[3] [4]

Horde chess is one of the few chess variants to have a full theory book written about it.[5]

Horde variant

A Horde variant uses the opening setup shown in the diagram.[6] In this variant, White's pawns on the first and second ranks may advance one or two steps, provided that the path on the file is free. Unlike in regular chess, this does not have to be the pawn's first move.[7]

Both Lichess and Chess.com have support for this variant.

External links

(Java)

Notes and References

  1. Book: Pritchard, D. B. . David Pritchard (chess player)

    . David Pritchard (chess player) . The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants . Games & Puzzles Publications . 1994 . Dunsany's Game . 97 . 0-9524142-0-1 .

  2. Keller . Michael . A Panorama of Chess Variants . Michael Keller . World Game Review . June 1991 . 10 . 1041-0546 .
  3. Book: Pritchard, D. B. . David Pritchard (chess player)

    . David Pritchard (chess player) . Beasley . John . The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants . John Beasley . 2007 . Horde Chess . 90 . 978-0-9555168-0-1 .

  4. Web site: BrainKing – Game rules (Horde Chess) . brainking.com . 27 June 2015.
  5. Book: The Definitive Guide to Horde Chess: Openings, strategies and tactics for White and Black . Enigma Chess . 2021 . 979-8737259457.
  6. Web site: Horde on Lichess . 2 July 2015.
  7. Web site: Lichess Blog - New features: kid mode, simuls, and more . 9 July 2015.