History Main / VariantChess

* A particularly irksome moment in the ''ComicBook/{{Storm}}'' comics has the protagonist teaching a whole city to abandon their bloody gladiatorial games because chess is so much more fun.

* In-universe in ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', Momiji Inubashiri of the Youkai Mountain Patrol is a fan of shogi. She and the other patrolmen came up with an extremely complex variant, Dai Tengu Shogi. She was quite annoyed to find out the outside world had also developed different pieces and alternate rules.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'': The FramingDevice involves a vaguely chess-like game between Xehanort and Eraqus during their youth. Unbeknownst to them, their moves just happen to correspond to the battle between Sora's allies and Xehanort's various incarnations. [[spoiler: In the epilogue, Eraqus starts up a new game, resembling the coming conflict between Sora and the Foretellers.]]
* "Auto Chess" games are the latest fad to take over videogames in 2019 (following the end of the BattleRoyaleGame [[FollowTheLeader gold rush]]), starting out as a mod for ''VideoGame/Dota2'' called ''Dota Auto Chess,'' which rapidly exploded in popularity, leading to both Creator/{{Valve}} creating a standalone version called ''Dota Underlords'' and Riot Games making their own version based on their ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' called ''Team Fight Tactics.'' It's a bit of a NonindicativeName even by the trope's standards, as the games have little to nothing to do with chess beyond putting a range of different units (that you buy with currency, upgrade and equip with items) on either side of a gridded board to fight each other (even the fighting is all done automatically, as the name suggests).
* There have been several video game implementations of Laser Chess. While the exact rules were different in different versions the basic premise was the same. Each side had a [[EnergyWeapon Laser Cannon]] and the other pieces are equipped with mirrors allowing players to [[ReflectingLaser bounce the laser beam]] around to take out enemy pieces. Since the mirrors are directional players have to be concerned with the orientation of their pieces as well as the position.
* ''[[VideoGame/FiveDChessWithMultiverseTimeTravel 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel]]'' is technically [=4D=] (2 spatial dimension and 2 temporal), but it's basically normal chess with the ability to move pieces and attack back into the past, which generates an alternate timeline when it's done so. Winning is usual by getting a checkmate, but that can also be done through time and alternate timelines in addition to on the normal board.

* 3-D Chess is so important to ''Franchise/StarTrek'', that an aversion of it actually managed to a case of {{Foreshadowing}} in ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''. Kahn has a regular chess board, highlighting his intelligence and WickedCultured nature; but also showing a flaw: he thinks in 2-D terms.

** Another such game featured on ''Voyager'' is ''kadis-kot''. Naomi, Neelix, and Seven are fond of playing it.

"Fantastic Chess", "Wizard Chess", and "Future" or "[[SpaceNoun Space Chess]]" are more specific terms based on setting. HumanChess is a subtrope (so see that page for those examples). Also see SmartPeoplePlayChess. HouseRules can act as a [[JustifiedTrope Justification]] depending on the circumstances.

* Triplicate Girl from the ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperheroes'' sometimes splits in three and plays against herself in a game of chess. The chess board is, of course, in two of her colours (orange and purple), and the pieces float above the board. One wonders, though, how she tells the difference between the identical, triangular pieces.

* Basic variants include ones played on nonstandard boards, which include larger, doubled, hexagonal, circular, and ring-shaped variants.

Any of these deliberate variants could be mistaken as ArtisticLicenseChess.

* Singleplayer chess, played something like solitaire on a small board, also exists.

Any of these variants could be mistaken as ArtisticLicenseChess.

* Nonstandard piece layouts are another common way to vary games. Widespread variants include the Charge of the Light Brigade (one side has the regular layout, the other has a king, three queens, and a line of pawns), Dunsany's Chess (a regular layout against thirty-two pawns), Endgame Chess (each payer has a king, a line of pawns, and nothing else), the Peasants' Revolt (a king and a line of pawns versus a king, a pawn, and four knights), and Sixteen Pawns (one side trades in its queen for eight more pawns, placed where the player wants them).

* The scene in ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars: A New Hope]]'', where R2-D2 and Chewie are playing some ([[strike:holographic?]]{{claymation}}) version of chess, and Han advising R2-D2 to lose...

* ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers1973'' - animal pieces.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stealth_chess stealth chess]].

** Another Creator/TerryPratchett book, ''Literature/TheDarkSideOfTheSun'', briefly features a chess-like game with living pieces.