Cylinder Chess is a variant of standard Chess played on a regular 8×8 chessboard. It follows the same rules and uses the same pieces as standard Chess, with the only exception being the A and H columns. In this variant, the A and H columns are “connected,” meaning they wrap around the board as if they were adjacent to each other.
To illustrate this, let’s consider an example: If there is a bishop on the C1 square, it would have additional movement options compared to standard Chess. See the diagram:
Let’s go through a sample game from our database. I didn’t generate a video out of it yet, so I will use static diagrams to describe it.
1. b3 b6 2. ♘f3 ♞f6 3. ♗b2 ♝b7 4. g3 e6 5. e3 ♝e7 6. ♗e2 a5 7. a4 ♞a6 8. ♘a3 ♞g4
The initial phase of the game consisted of eight moves that were relatively simple and followed traditional Chess strategies. Neither player took full advantage of the cylindrical aspect of the game, although there were indirect indications of its influence. For instance, the a-pawns demonstrated their ability to attack the h-file, and the knights positioned at the edges of the board hinted at the possibility of crossing the boundary line in the future.
9. d4 ♞b4 10. ♘g1 ♝xh1
By retreating the knight to g1, White probably wanted to cover the square h3 and prevent the cylindrical move b4-h3 of the black knight. However, the rook at h1 became vulnerable, and Black immediately exploited that.
11. ♖xh1 (the rook crossed the vertical edge from a-file to h-file) ♞xh2
12. ♖xh2 ♝xa3 13. ♗xa3 ♛xa3
Another set of warped moves was performed by Black. Both bishop and queen moved through the h-file to the a-file.
14. ♖xh7 ♞xc2+ 15. ♔f1 ♛xb3 16. ♗d3 ♞xe3+
White resigned, as their queen is lost.
In summary, Cylinder Chess maintains the core mechanics of Chess but introduces the wrapping effect between the A and H columns, offering strategic opportunities and expanding the movement possibilities for certain pieces.