Moddable Chess · Variant 47 of 54

Rifle Chess

8×8Board 2Players

Rifle Chess

Capturing pieces stay on their original square — they “shoot” the target from a distance.

Rifle Chess — starting position a b c d e f g h 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Rifle Chess — starting position

Setup

Board: Standard 8×8.

Setup: Standard chess setup.

FEN: rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1

Rules

All standard chess rules apply except:

  • When a piece captures, it does NOT move to the captured piece’s square. Instead, the captured piece is removed and the capturing piece stays where it is.
  • En passant: the capturing pawn stays on its current square; the enemy pawn is removed.
  • Castling: unchanged (no capture involved).
  • Pawn promotion: a pawn can only promote by moving to the last rank WITHOUT capturing. If it captures a piece on the last rank, it stays on its current rank (since it doesn’t move to the capture square).

Win Condition

Checkmate (adjusted for rifle mechanics — a piece threatens the King from its current position without needing to occupy the King’s square).

Strategy

Pieces become much harder to dislodge since capturing doesn’t occupy their square. Batteries (multiple pieces lined up) are devastating because a front piece can “shoot” without opening the line. The value of centralisation increases enormously.

Attribution

Traditional variant. Also known as “Stationary Capture Chess.” Public domain.