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Chess Derivatives
These chess derivatives are great games to get started with chess while also providing an intersting study for seasoned players. By keeping the objective simple and reducing the number of types of pieces involved (2 per game), these games are easy to learn even for complete beginners without having to learn all the chess rules. Try them an let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for improvements!
The games are in order of difficulty to master:
- The Straight Shooter
- A Queen Sweep
- Line Men
- Jumping Jacks
- new (6/30/05) No_Name_Yet
For white, the objective for all four of these games is to promote a pawn by attaining the 8th rank. While for black, the objective is to prevent any pawns from being promoted. Otherwise all normal chess rules apply.
The Straight Shooter
In this game the black rooks will take on the white pawns.
Starting Position:
- All of these pieces start in their normal chess starting positions
- White pawns, move first
This game, plays well for both sides. The rooks will eventually dominate the game if they play correctly, but the pawns can put up a very good fight to keep it interesting even for advanced players.
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| White: Pawns on a2, b2, c2, d2, e2, f2, g2 and h2 |
| Black: Rooks on a8 and h8 |
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A Queen Sweep
In this game the black queen takes on the white pawns.
Starting Position:
- All of these pieces start in their normal chess starting positions
- For beginners, white pawns can move first but later to even it out a little more, let the queen move first
While it may be fairly easy for the pawns to win in this game, it still makes a good learning game and it is somewhat interesting to advanced players.
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| White: Pawns on a2, b2, c2, d2, e2, f2, g2 and h2 |
| Black: Queen on d8 |
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Line Men
In this game the black bishops will take on the white pawns.
Starting Position:
- All of these pieces start in their normal chess starting positions
- For beginners it is probably better to start with only 4 center pawns while slowly working up to 6 pawns
- Six pawns should provide a very good challenge for advanced players until they develop the proper technique
This game is much more difficult for black than the previous 2 games. It is very hard for the bishops to win with 8 pawns, but I am not sure that they can't. This is a very good game for advanced players.
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| Beginners Setup |
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| White: Pawns on c2, d2, e2 and f2 |
| Black: Bishops on c8, f8 |
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| Advanced Setup |
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| White: Pawns on b2, c2, d2, e2, f2 and g2 |
| Black: Bishops on c8, f8 |
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Jumping Jacks
In this game the black knights will take on the white pawns.
Starting Position:
- All of these pieces start in their normal chess starting positions
- Starting with 4 center pawns is probably a good game for beginners, but it is easily mastered by advanced players
- Bumping it up to 5 pawns makes it nearly impossible for the knights to win but provides a good challenge
I think that this game is impossible for the knights and I have several ideas on how to improve it, but I do not think that I have found the right balance yet. Reducing the pawn count is not very affective since 5 pawns is still to tough for the knights. Another suggestion to balance things out is to start the knights at their normal development squares, c6 and f6. How many pawns should be used then?
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| Beginners Setup | Advanced Setup | Alternative Setup |
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| White: Pawns on c2, d2, e2 and f2 | White: Pawns on b2, c2, d2, e2 and f2 | White: Pawns on a2, b2, c2, d2, e2, f2, g2 and h2 |
| Black: Kinghts on b8, g8 | Black: Kinghts on b8, g8 | Black: Kinghts on c6, f6 |
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No_Name_Yet
(Maybe should replace jumping jacks.)
In this game the knights from both sidea attempt to cherrypick the opponent's pawns freeing up their own pawns for promotion which wins the game.
Starting Position:
- The knights start in their normal chess starting positions
- The pawns start off spread around the board deadlocked by opposing pawns
- White moves first
This game, plays well for both sides. It has a more game like feel as opposed to the original Jumping Jack which has the feel of a puzzle. While deviating more from likely chess situations, it does a better job emphasizing the jumping / forking nature of the knight while allowing a player to manage the knights limited range as opposed to being overwhelmed by it. The deadlocked pawns make it a good knights game, not a pawn melee.
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| White: Pawns on a6, b2, c6, d2, e6, f2, g6 and h2 |
| White: Knights on b1 and g1 |
| Black: Pawns on a7, b3, c7, d3, e7, f3, g7 and h3 |
| Black: Knights on b8 and g8 |
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Create your own chess boards illustrations easily here.
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