---
title: "Petty Chess"
slug: "petty"
board: "5×6"
players: "2"
parent: "moddable-chess"
order: 44
win: "Checkmate"
special: "All piece types on a compact 5×6 board. Single copies of each."
---

## Petty Chess

All standard piece types on a 5-file, 6-rank board. Single copies of each piece make every loss devastating.


{{svg:petty-board.svg "Petty Chess — starting position (5×6)"}}

### Setup

**Board:** 5 files × 6 ranks.

**Setup (FEN):** `rnbqk/ppppp/5/5/PPPPP/RNBQK`

- Rank 6 (Black): r n b q k
- Rank 5 (Black pawns): p p p p p
- Ranks 4–3: empty
- Rank 2 (White pawns): P P P P P
- Rank 1 (White): R N B Q K

Each side has: King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight, 5 Pawns.

### Rules

- Standard chess movement for all pieces.
- Pawns move one square forward only (no double-step).
- No en passant.
- No castling (King is on the edge — no room to castle meaningfully).
- Pawns promote on the far rank to Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight.

### Win Condition

Checkmate.

### Strategy

Every piece is a single copy — losing any piece is devastating. The Queen is overwhelmingly powerful relative to the board size. The single Bishop is colour-bound, making half the board permanently inaccessible to it. Quick tactical strikes are the norm given the compressed space. Guard the Queen jealously; losing it is almost always decisive.

### Attribution

Traditional small chess variant. Public domain.