Los Alamos Vierschach

Los Alamos Vierschach

Los Alamos Vierschach is a 4-player chess variant by Jörg Knappen combining Los Alamos Chess (the famous 6×6 variant developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the 1950s) with the Vierschach 4-player format. It was submitted as a non-competing entry to the 84 Squares Contest.

The Board

The board consists of a 6×6 checkered grid extended by 2×6 squares on each of the four sides. This gives:

• Central 6×6 area: 36 squares
• Four 2×6 arms (one per side): 4 × 12 = 48 squares
• Total: 84 squares

This board is identical to the one used in Quintessential Chess. The lower-left corner is a dark square.

Teams and Armies

Four armies, two allied teams — arranged as in Vierschach: allies play from adjacent sides (not opposite sides). Each player commands a Los Alamos Chess army.

Los Alamos Chess piece set (per player):

• 1 King
• 1 Queen
• 2 Rooks
• 2 Knights
• 6 Pawns
• No Bishops (Los Alamos Chess omits Bishops)

Players are notionally: North, East, South, West. Adjacent pairs are allied per Vierschach convention.

Starting Position

Each player’s army is set up in their arm of the cross-shaped board, as in Vierschach:

• Back rank (innermost row of the arm): Rook, Knight, Queen, King, Knight, Rook
• Front rank: 6 Pawns

Pawns advance toward the centre of the board.

Rules

All Vierschach rules apply, combined with Los Alamos Chess rules:

From Los Alamos Chess:

• No Bishops
• No castling
• Standard FIDE movement for all other pieces

From Vierschach:

• 4 players take turns in sequence
• Allied teams: checkmating one of the two opposing Kings does not immediately end the game — both opposing Kings must be checkmated for a team to win
• A player whose King is checkmated is eliminated

Modified for the extended board:

• Pawns have an initial double-step move (the path to promotion is longer than in 2-player Los Alamos Chess, so the double-step is added to compensate)
• En passant is possible

Win Condition

A team wins by checkmating both opposing Kings.

Notes

The combination is natural: Los Alamos Chess provides a compact, fast-playing piece set well suited to the extended 84-square cross board; Vierschach provides the 4-player relay format. The cross-shaped board accommodates 4 armies without requiring an unusually large grid.

Attribution

Los Alamos Vierschach was designed by Jörg Knappen as a non-competing entry to the 84 Squares Contest. HTML by Hans Bodlaender. Source: chessvariants.com/large.dir/contest84/losalamos4.html