Fairy chess: variants, pieces and problem culture

Fairy chess

Definition

Fairy chess is an umbrella term for chess compositions and variants that depart from orthodox chess rules by introducing new pieces, boards, goals, or conditions. In a fairy composition the task is usually given in the traditional problem-setting language—e.g., “White to move and mate in two”—but the solver must work under altered rules that are specified in the diagram legend. In over-the-board play, “fairy chess” refers to any variant (progressive chess, Atomic, Three-check, etc.) that modifies how the game is won, how pieces move, or even how the board is connected.

Origin and Historical Background

Although experimental forms of chess date back centuries, the organized study of fairy chess began in the early 20th century. The English composer T. R. Dawson (1889–1951) coined the term and edited the influential column “Fairy Chess” in the British Chess Magazine starting in 1919. Dawson and contemporaries such as Sam Loyd used fairy conditions to escape the constraints of orthodox composition and to explore new tactical ideas.

1922 – The first dedicated book, Fairy Problems, is published by Dawson.
1956 – The German “Feenschach” (Fairy Chess) magazine begins, becoming the longest-running fairy-only periodical.
Late 1990s – Online servers (e.g., GamesByEmail) popularize live fairy variants.

Common Categories of Fairy Elements

Fairy pieces – New units with non-classical moves.
Examples: Grasshopper (leaps over exactly one piece and lands behind it on the same line), Nightrider (any number of knight steps in the same direction), Amazon (queen + knight power).
Fairy conditions – Special rules applied to captures, rebirth, checks, or board topology.
Examples: Circe (a captured piece is “reborn” on its starting square), Anticirce, Koeko, Patrol chess.
Fairy boards – Non-standard geometry, such as 8×10, cylindrical, or even graphs.
Winning objectives – Goals other than mating the opponent’s king.
Example: Losing Chess (also called “Give-away”; first to lose all pieces wins).

Usage in Chess

• Problem composition: The majority of published fairy material appears in problem magazines and specialized tournaments run by the WFCC (World Federation for Chess Composition). Judges evaluate originality, economy, and aesthetic appeal, just as in orthodox studies.
• Didactic tool: Coaches occasionally use fairy pieces to help beginners understand line control (e.g., a Grasshopper illustrates how a rook’s line can be both an asset and a danger).
• Entertainment & online play: Servers such as Lichess and Chess.com host streamlined variants—Atomic, Horde, Racing Kings—that trace their roots to the fairy tradition.
• Computational research: Programmers test search algorithms on fairy pieces to benchmark general-game AI (Gothic Chess, 10×8 Capablanca Chess, etc.).

Illustrative Examples

1. Circe Mate in Two (Dawson, 1925)

Diagram (White: Kc1 Qh1 Rd3 Bf1 Ng5 Pg2, Black: Ke8 Rc7 Be5 Pg7).
Circe rule: A captured piece immediately reappears on its home square if that square is empty.
Task: White to move and mate in two.
Solution: 1. Rd8+! Bxd8{^{♝ reborn on c8}} 2. Qh8# – The reborn bishop blocks the king’s escape on c8, enabling a swift mate.

2. Grasshopper Skewer

Place a White Grasshopper on d1, king on e1; Black king on e8, queen on h5.
The Grasshopper moves along the d-file: 1. Gd8+ (hops over the black king on e8 and lands on d8) winning the queen by discovered attack—an idea impossible with orthodox pieces.

Strategic and Educational Significance

• Creativity: By removing conventional constraints, composers can highlight tactical motifs (switchbacks, dual avoidance, battery play) in purer form.
• Pattern recognition: Solving fairy problems trains flexibility, encouraging players to look for non-standard resources in orthodox endgames.
• Theory testing: Some variant boards (e.g., 10×8 with added Chancellors) have been proposed as potential successors to FIDE chess should draws become too frequent at elite level.

Interesting Facts and Anecdotes

T. R. Dawson famously wrote that fairy chess is “the outpost for the pioneers of thought.”
Grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen admitted on a podcast that he prepares for Chess960 by studying fairy compositions to unshackle his opening biases.
The first computer program to solve mate-in-x problems was tested on fairy pieces because the reduced branching factor made debugging easier.
World Champion Max Euwe once served as judge for a fairy tourney in 1937, lending orthodox credibility to the movement.
Because no universal rule set exists, the Fairies Chess Club in London keeps a “variant logbook” where players must enter the exact rules before a game starts—failure to do so voids the result!