Goal
Capture the opponent’s King. There is no check, no checkmate, and no draws.
Board & Pieces
Played on an 8×8 board with a standard chess set (16 pieces per side).
Setup (Drafting Phase)
- Players place pieces alternately, starting with Light.
- Dark places the final piece.
- Pieces may be placed only on the player’s own side (ranks 1–3 or 6–8).
- No pieces may be placed on ranks 4 or 5.
- After setup, Light moves first.
General Rules
- All pieces capture exactly as they move.
- Kings may be captured directly at any time.
Piece Movement
- Pawn: Moves and captures 1 square forward, backward, left, or right. No diagonal movement. No double move. No promotion.
- Bishop: Moves and captures diagonally 1 or 2 squares.
- Rook: Moves and captures straight 1–3 squares.
- Knight: Jumps exactly 2 squares straight (vertical or horizontal), skipping the middle square. It may capture the jumped piece and/or the landing piece in one move.
- Queen: Moves and captures 1 square in any direction.
- Queen’s Shield: Any piece that captures (or jumps over) a Queen is destroyed. A Pawn of the Queen’s color appears on that square.
- Queen vs Queen: both Queens are destroyed; a Pawn of the attacker’s color appears.
- King: Moves and captures like a Pawn (1 square, no diagonals). Kings may stand adjacent and capture each other.
- If a King captures a Queen, the Queen’s Shield kills the King and the player immediately loses.
Fivefold Repetition Rule
If a player starts their turn with the exact same piece positions for the fifth time, that player loses.
Game End
The game ends immediately when a King is captured, a King dies to the Queen’s Shield, or the fivefold repetition rule is triggered.