1. Standard memberGrampy Bobby
    Boston Lad
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    18 Jul '14 05:57
    Suicide Chess By Edward Scimia, Chess Expert

    "Try to think back to the days when you first started playing chess. You'll likely remember games where you virtually gave your pieces away to your opponent; before you knew it, your opponent had all your pieces, and your poor king was left all alone (and was likely soon checkmated).

    In suicide chess, this nightmare situation is actually the goal of the game! The object is to lose all of your pieces, leaving yourself with nothing left on the board. It's easy to understand why this game is often called "antichess," as all of the normal rules of strategy and tactics are turned on their head. Suicide chess is one of the most popular family of chess variants around, with several different versions of the game being played around the world and on online chess servers.

    In suicide chess, your pieces will move and capture just as they do in a regular chess game. However, there is one critical rule that drastically changes how the game is played: if a capture is available to you, then you must capture one of your opponent's pieces. It is often the case that you'll have the option to capture more than one of your opponent's pieces; in that case, you can choose to capture any piece you like.

    Another critical change in suicide chess involves the king. Obviously, if you must lose all of your pieces to win the game, you'll need to lose your king at some point as well. As such, in most versions of Suicide chess,check and checkmate simply do not exist. Your king functions as a normal piece, and can be captured and traded like any other piece on the board. In addition, there are often other rule changes; in some versions of the game, castling isn't allowed, and pawns are sometimes allowed to promote to kings as well.

    The winner of the game is the first player to lose all of their pieces. However, there are several situations in which a draw is possible. Namely, if it is impossible to capture the final pieces (such as when opposite-colored bishops remain on the board), the game will end in a draw. Other draws in Suicide chess mirror those in standard chess, such as agreed draws, repetition of position, and so forth.

    One interesting possibility is that of stalemate. If either player cannot make a legal move, the game is clearly over, but rules vary on how to determine the outcome. In some rule sets, the game is a draw; others give the win to the stalemated player or to the player with fewer pieces remaining.

    Suicide Chess Strategy

    Believe it or not, suicide chess actually has a rich heritage of strategic knowledge, and a lot of effort has been put into finding the best openings and general principles of play for this variant. The following are just a few of the many strategic insights that have been developed for suicide chess!

    First, keep in mind that many openings for white lose on the spot against correct play - sometimes, even as early as the first move! For example, known losing first moves for white include 1.d4, 1.e4, 1.Nf3, 1.Nc3, 1.d3, 1.f4, 1.b4, 1.h4 and 1.h3. If you'd prefer not to lose right off the bat, 1.e3 is a good choice, with e6 being an excellent reply for black.

    As the game continues, some of the strategy employed by strong suicide chess players may seem counter-intuitive. For instance, it's often correct to capture the opponent's pieces in order to gain a material advantage, even though that would seem to suggest that you're "losing" the game! This is due to the fact that having more pieces will allow you to have more "safe" moves that don't lead to disaster (particularly true when you have your king). Once a player is down to just one or two pieces, their options are heavily restricted, and it is often the case that they can't escape a string of captures that allows the other player to win the game."

    Related Articles: •Five Key Ideas for New Chess Players to Work On •Atomic Chess •Popular Chess Variants
    •A Quick Guide of the Rules for Playing Chess •7 Easy Tips for Beating Your Friends at Chess
    http://chess.about.com/od/chessvariants/a/Suicide-Chess.html

    >Has anyone here ever played online correspondence Suicide Chess? If so, I'd appreciate any tips on strategy and tactics.
  2. Joined
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    20 Jul '14 20:38
    I never heard of it Bobby but i wish we could play it on RHP!
  3. Joined
    22 Feb '10
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    81850
    20 Jul '14 21:28
    I played it while in high school, but that was years ago. It's a fun way to blow off a little steam without having to think too hard.
  4. Standard memberGrampy Bobby
    Boston Lad
    USA
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    20 Jul '14 22:27
    Originally posted by Flower04
    I never heard of it Bobby but i wish we could play it on RHP!
    Hi, Flower. Please ask any questions you may have. I'll answer them here
    before we begin for the benefit of others who may be interested. Ok?
  5. Standard memberGrampy Bobby
    Boston Lad
    USA
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    20 Jul '14 22:28
    Originally posted by jertamev
    I played it while in high school, but that was years ago. It's a fun way to blow off a little steam without having to think too hard.
    Please message me if you'd care for a game?
  6. Joined
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    20 Jul '14 23:35
    Bobby, is it possible to setup that kind of game on RHP? To keep our usual profile stats intact.
  7. Standard memberGrampy Bobby
    Boston Lad
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    21 Jul '14 00:21
    Originally posted by Flower04
    Bobby, is it possible to setup that kind of game on RHP? To keep our usual profile stats intact.
    Yes. We play Unrated Games with a few specialized rules which Red Hot Pawn's Interface will permit.
  8. Standard membervivify
    rain
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    21 Jul '14 01:191 edit
    Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
    Yes. We play Unrated Games with a few specialized rules which Red Hot Pawn's Interface will permit.
    Can you send me an invite?
  9. Standard memberGrampy Bobby
    Boston Lad
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    21 Jul '14 01:30
    Originally posted by vivify
    Can you send me an invite?
    Sure. However, it's important that all of us are in agreement with the rules. Questions and answers here is the best format.
  10. Joined
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    31160
    21 Jul '14 01:35
    I can only guess right now but please what would you suggest for
    - castling; optional like in regular chess? No matter if the king will end up automatically in a check position?
    - en passant; optional like in regular chess?
    - advancing; still able to choose which figure we want?
  11. Standard memberGrampy Bobby
    Boston Lad
    USA
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    21 Jul '14 06:58
    Originally posted by Flower04
    I can only guess right now but please what would you suggest for
    - castling; optional like in regular chess? No matter if the king will end up automatically in a check position?
    - en passant; optional like in regular chess?
    - advancing; still able to choose which figure we want?
    Thanks for your questions. I'll answer them as soon as jertamev and vivify post any they may have (Tuesday latest).
  12. Joined
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    23 Jul '14 00:15
    I'm willing to try, if you can set up an unrated game with those special rules.
  13. SubscriberPonderable
    chemist
    Linkenheim
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    23 Jul '14 09:23
    There are sites on the net for playing all kinds of variants.
  14. Standard memberSchlecter
    The King of Board
    Solar System
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    23 Jul '14 13:19
    Originally posted by Ponderable
    There are sites on the net for playing all kinds of variants.
    Itsyourturn.com has many variants.... and suicide chess is one of them....

    but why we have to play "chess variants" if the classical chess is better????
  15. SubscriberPonderable
    chemist
    Linkenheim
    Joined
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    23 Jul '14 14:03
    Originally posted by Schlecter
    Itsyourturn.com has many variants.... and suicide chess is one of them....

    but why we have to play "chess variants" if the classical chess is better????
    We don't have to. It was just to add to the discussion about how to.
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