Dark Chess - Rules

Rules

The goal of this chess variant is not to checkmate the king, but to capture it. A player isn't told if their king is in check. Failing to move out of check, or moving into check, are both legal, and can obviously result in a capture and loss of the game.

En passant capture is allowed, even if you do not see that it is possible. Unlike standard chess, castling is allowed even out of check, into check and through the positions attacked by opponent pieces.

This chess variant is best played on one of the online chess servers. For playing over-the-board, three chess sets and a referee are needed, just as in Kriegspiel.

There are some minor differences in the rules on different servers:

• BrainKing: pawn promotions remain unknown for the opponent.
• ItsYourTurn: the opponent knows that a pawn was promoted, but does not know where.
• SchemingMind: you do not see what is in front of your pawns, but know if the position is occupied or not.
• AjaxPlay.Com: En passant capture is not allowed; pawn promotions remain unknown for the opponent.