King of the Hill

Get your king to one of the four central squares and you win instantly.

The rules

Standard chess with one addition: if your king reaches d4, e4, d5 or e5 and is not in check, you win immediately. Checkmate and all normal rules still apply.

Why it is worth playing

King of the Hill turns the safest piece on the board into the most aggressive one. Every plan you have ever had about king safety is now in tension with a second plan about king activity, and holding both in your head at once is the whole game.

Four plans that win games

Control the four squares, not just your king's path

d4, e4, d5 and e5 are the only squares that matter. A knight covering two of them is worth more than a rook on an open file.

Trade pieces when your king is closer

This is an endgame race disguised as a middlegame. The fewer pieces on the board, the safer your king's march becomes.

Use the king as an attacker in the middlegame

Genuinely — a king on e3 supported by pawns is both a winning threat and a strong piece. It feels wrong. It is correct.

Block, do not chase

You cannot usually catch an advancing king. You can put a pawn or a knight on the square he needs.

Mistakes that lose games

What it teaches you about standard chess

The king is a piece

Standard chess teaches you to hide the king for forty moves and then suddenly use him. King of the Hill collapses that into one game, and the instinct it builds — that the king has a value and a job — is exactly what wins endgames.

That is the argument for variants generally, and it is worth stating plainly: a variant removes part of chess so that what remains gets your full attention. Played casually they are a pleasant break. Played deliberately — naming the skill first, then going back to a standard game and finding the same idea — they are the most efficient training available, because you are practising one thing at a time instead of everything at once.

Who it suits

Players who want a completely fresh win condition without learning new piece movements. The easiest variant to pick up in five minutes.

You can play it right now on any device, in a browser, against a full engine — no download and no account. If you have never tried a variant before, give it three games rather than one: the first is spent learning the rules, and the second is where it starts being chess.

Common questions

What are the rules of King of the Hill?

Standard chess with one addition: if your king reaches d4, e4, d5 or e5 and is not in check, you win immediately. Checkmate and all normal rules still apply.

Is King of the Hill hard to learn?

The rules take about two minutes. Players who want a completely fresh win condition without learning new piece movements. The easiest variant to pick up in five minutes.

What is the best strategy in King of the Hill?

Control the four squares, not just your king's path. d4, e4, d5 and e5 are the only squares that matter. A knight covering two of them is worth more than a rook on an open file.

Where can I play King of the Hill free?

Grandmaster Gains has King of the Hill playable in the browser against a full engine, free and with no sign-up, alongside nineteen other variants.

Will playing King of the Hill improve my normal chess?

The king is a piece. Standard chess teaches you to hide the king for forty moves and then suddenly use him. King of the Hill collapses that into one game, and the instinct it builds — that the king has a value and a job — is exactly what wins endgames.

What is the biggest mistake beginners make in King of the Hill?

Do not race blindly. Count the moves. If they arrive first, you have lost — there is no consolation prize for being close.

More variants

• Three-Check Chess — Check your opponent three times and you win — checkmate optional.
• Horde Chess — White has 36 pawns and no other pieces. Black has a normal army.
• Racing Kings — Both kings race for the eighth rank. No checks allowed, ever.
• Antichess (Losing Chess) — Capturing is compulsory and losing all your pieces wins the game.