Really Bad Chess

Randomised armies of equal value. You might get three queens while your opponent gets five knights, placed across the back two ranks, with kings and pawns as normal. Nobody knows the position, so the player who evaluates faster wins. It separates knowing chess from knowing your opening, and it tells you quickly which of the two you have.

Start a free game of Really Bad Chess in the browser while you read; no sign-up.

The rules

Both sides get randomly generated armies of the same total value, placed on the back two ranks. Kings and pawns are normal. Everything else is chance.

Why it is worth playing

Really Bad Chess separates two skills that normally travel together: knowing chess, and knowing your opening. Here nobody knows the position, so the player who evaluates faster wins. It is the fastest way to find out whether you understand piece coordination or just remember it.

Four plans that win games

Inventory both armies before move one

Count what each side has. Three knights and no bishops is a completely different game from two bishops and a rook.

Play to your army's strength

Knights want a closed position with outposts. Bishops want it open. Rooks want files. Decide what your army is, then create that position.

Trade off your opponent's best piece

With unequal armies there is usually one dominant piece on each side. Removing theirs is worth more than developing yours.

Do not assume a queen is winning

Five knights can beat two queens if the position is closed. Evaluate the position, not the material chart.

Mistakes that lose games

What it teaches you about standard chess

Evaluating a position from nothing

No theory, no familiar structures, just an army and a board. It isolates the single skill that separates strong players from prepared ones: looking at an unfamiliar position and working out what matters.

Really Bad Chess does what every good variant does: it removes part of chess so that what is left gets your full attention, and the habit comes back with you to the standard game. The full argument, and which variant trains what, is in the coach's guide to variants.

Who it suits

Improving players who want to find out how much of their rating is understanding and how much is memorisation.

You can play it right now on any device, in a browser, against a full engine, with 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 Really Bad Chess?

Both sides get randomly generated armies of the same total value, placed on the back two ranks. Kings and pawns are normal. Everything else is chance.

Is Really Bad Chess hard to learn?

The rules take about two minutes. Improving players who want to find out how much of their rating is understanding and how much is memorisation.

What is the best strategy in Really Bad Chess?

Inventory both armies before move one. Count what each side has. Three knights and no bishops is a completely different game from two bishops and a rook.

Where can I play Really Bad Chess free?

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

Will playing Really Bad Chess improve my normal chess?

Evaluating a position from nothing. No theory, no familiar structures, just an army and a board. It isolates the single skill that separates strong players from prepared ones: looking at an unfamiliar position and working out what matters.

What is the biggest mistake beginners make in Really Bad Chess?

Do not develop on autopilot. There is no opening theory here and standard developing moves may be actively bad given your army.

More variants

• No-Castling Chess: Everything is standard except castling is illegal. Proposed by Vladimir Kramnik.
• Pawn Battle: Pawns and kings only. First to promote wins.
• Upside-Down Chess: The pieces and pawns swap ranks: pawns on the back, pieces in front.
• Knight Odds: White plays without a knight. The classic teaching handicap.