The Racing Kings, a chess variant created by Vernon R. Parton in 1961, has gained widespread popularity. In this game, the objective is to maneuver your king to the final row faster than your opponent. It’s an excellent option for players who are well-versed in traditional chess rules but want to engage in a faster-paced and more competitive game. While the game is not solely based on strategic thinking, a certain level of strategy is still required to win.
The objective is to utilize standard Chess moves and piece captures to be the initial player to advance their own king to the last rank (8), subject to certain alterations and limitations:
- It is not allowed to attack the opponent’s king. It means that no player can make a move which would, in classic Chess, give a check to the enemy king. For example (at the start position), White cannot capture the black bishop at C1 by the E2 white knight because this move would attack the black king at A2.
- A king cannot make a move to a square which is attacked by an opponent’s piece, just like in normal Chess.
The game concludes once a player successfully maneuvers their king to the final rank. Nevertheless, if the white player reaches the last rank first and the black player subsequently moves their king to the same rank, the game ends in a draw. This rule is implemented to even out the playing field, compensating for the inherent advantage of the white player’s first move.
Okay, enough theory. Do you want to see a real game in action? Watch the following video. If you find certain moves a bit weird, just remember the basic rule – it is not allowed to check the opponent king, which makes many “obvious” captures impossible.