Variants on Chess.com
To start a variant game, hover over 'Play' on the left-hand menu of any Chess.com page and select '4 Player & Variants.'
You’ll see a list of the available variants on the right-hand side of the screen—just scroll through and choose the one you'd like to play.
Most variants, except for Chess960, are only available on the Chess.com website. Want to play on mobile? Click here to learn how.
At the top of the variants list on the right-hand panel, you'll see the Variants menu. Below is a quick overview of each option to help you easily navigate this page:
Tab |
Description
|
Play | Here you can create your challenge! Select a time control using the drop-down menu. Enter a username in the opponent search bar or choose vs. Random to play against a random user. Click 'Play!' to send the challenge:
|
Lobby | This tab displays the current open challenges for the variant you selected. Use the buttons above the 'Open Challenges' section to refine your search:
 |
Arenas | Shows you all the open arenas for the variant you chose that you can join. You can use the buttons above the open arenas list to refine your search:
 |
Watch | Shows you the current games being played that you can watch. Use the buttons above the games list to refine your search:
 |
Leaders | Shows you the leaderboard for the variant you chose. You can choose to see the leaderboards for different time controls of the same variant:  |
Archive | Variant games are not stored in the regular archive like standard games. However, you can find them in this tab!
You can narrow your search and filter by variant, date, mode, and game title. Clicking on the 'Tournament' icon (helmet with crossed swords) will show you the tournament games you have played for the selected variant
The green 'More options' icon (arrow pointing down) will show you additional filters, allowing you to search by opponent's username, dates, and game results. You can also filter by time controls and whether the game was rated or not
 |
Friends | Shows a list of your friends. |
Types of variants
Below is a list of the most popular chess variants, along with a brief description.
If you’d like to unlock achievements for the variants listed below, be sure to create your challenge using the custom challenge option on the Play page rather than going through the Variants page as described at the beginning of this article.
Variant
|
Details |
| Bughouse is a chess variant played by four players on two chessboards. Captured pieces can be placed on an empty square by a partner on their turn. |
| Captured pieces reverse their color and are added to the capturing player's 'bank.'
On your turn, instead of making a move, you may choose to 'drop' a piece from your 'bank' onto any open square on the board. |
| King of the Hill or KOTH is an exciting variant in which the goal is to get your king to the center of the board or Top of the hill. |
| 3-Check is a simple variant with one clear task in mind: Check the king as many times as you can!
Normal rules apply, but you can also win or lose a game by checking or getting checked 3 times in total. |
| The rules of the game are the same as standard chess, but in an effort to reduce the impact of opening theory, the pieces have been randomly shuffled on each player's back rank. |
Check out this article to learn how to create a custom challenge: How do I start a game on Chess.com?
The variants listed below can be played on the Variants server, following the steps outlined at the beginning of this article:
Variant
|
Details
|
| In this variant, squares that your pieces can't move to are covered in fog. You won't know where your opponent's pieces are unless your pieces can see them!
|
| An ancient form of chess with no castling and different queen and bishop movements.
|
| Play chess without seeing any of the pieces!
|
| Like standard chess, except pawns can also move one square sideways!
|
| Send your pawns flying! Pawns can always move one or two squares forward in this variant.
|
| Standard chess with no castling allowed!
|
| Be the first to lose all your pieces, and win!
|
| Black has the normal setup, white has an army of 36 pawns! Can you defeat or lead the horde to victory?
|
| Capture your own pieces for strategic advantage or to escape otherwise lost positions!
|
| Captured pieces explode! Destroy the king in an explosion to win!
|
