Paranoia Chess
“ Paranoia Chess ” is , according to Ken Larsen , the best variant he ever invented . In addition to a CS2 , this game requires that you have some means of secretly recording moves . This game plays like ordinary chess ( the goal is to deliver checkmate and leaving yourself in check is not allowed ) except that , before each move , a guess is made . For example , before White makes his first move , Black makes a guess as to what that move will be . Then White attempts to play his move . If Black guessed wrong , then nothing special happens — White ’ s move is played , and it becomes Black ’ s turn ( with White guessing ). However , if Black guessed correctly , then instead of getting to play his desired move , White loses the piece he was going to move . After this piece is removed , it is still White ’ s turn ( unless Black is thereby put in check ; if both Kings are put in check , the game is immediately drawn ), so Black makes another guess and the process is repeated . If you lose your King , you lose the game , and games normally end in this fashion ( ordinary checkmate being relatively uncommon ).
Since played moves must be legal in the Chess sense , delivering check can be very powerful as your opponent ’ s move options will be severely restricted ( and your chances of guessing correctly greatly enhanced ). Indeed , allowing your opponent to play a check is often disastrous , so it is probably a good strategy to guess such moves . Of course , your opponent may assume that you ’ re guessing such moves and refuse to play them , so it may be unnecessary for you to actually do so . A good strategy is to arrange lots of potential checks before finally attempting to play one . If you play this game , you will quickly become incredibly worried that , whatever you want to play , your opponent has guessed it ; it is this feeling that justifies the name .
This game emphasizes psychological toughness ( you can ’ t play scared ) as well as being on the lookout for all sorts of random checks . Each of these traits should serve you well in Chess .
Well , that ’ s enough variety for now . Hopefully you ’ ll enjoy these games as much as I have . What are your favorite variants ? Let me know and I ’ ll mention them in a future article . Until then , have fun !
The Chess Scholar Tactics Trove Solutions From Sept / Oct issue
1 . Fischer vs Antillo Di Camillo 1 . Bc7
2 . Fischer vs J Bennett 1 . Rd8 +
3 . Fischer vs Pal Benko 1 . Nh5 f5 2 . Nef6 +
4 . Fischer vs Reuben Fine 1 . Qg3 Qxg3 2 . Bf6 #
5 . Fischer vs . Borislav Ivkov 1 . f7
6 . Fischer vs . Lhamsuren Miagmasuren 1 . Qxh7 + Kxh7 2 . hxg6 + Kxh6 3 . Be4 #