Chessplus
Commercial chess variant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chessplus is a commercial chess variant developed by the Australian family business Chessplus Team.[1]
| |
| Publishers | Chessplus Team |
|---|---|
| Years active | c. 21st century to present |
| Genres | Board game Abstract strategy game Mind sport Chess variant |
| Players | 2 |
| Playing time | 5–55 minutes[citation needed] |
| Chance | None |
| Skills | Strategy, tactics |
Appearance
Gameplay
Chessplus gameplay is similar to that of regular chess, but pieces can merge. The only piece that can't be merged with is the king.[4] Pieces can only merge with other pieces of their own color. Only 2 pieces can be merged at a time. Pieces may split, in which they use their original move to get away from the merged piece, separating them.
Castling
Castling may be done with a combined rook. Just like in regular chess, the rook must not have previously moved. In other words, if a knight moved to combine with a rook, castling is possible, but if that rook moved to combine with the knight, then castling is no longer allowed for that rook.
En passant
Similar to the castling rules, en passant can only be used on a combination of 2 pawns.[5] If the combination is, for example, a biawn, the combination of a bishop and a pawn, then en passant is not allowed.
Inspiration
The game was inspired by an illegal move made by Aimee Simpson, one of the members of the Chessplus Team, when she was playing chess with her father, Christian Simpson. Aimee had moved her rook onto the same square as one of her pawns, confusing him. On Aimee's next move, she promoted her fusion of pieces to a queen while exclaiming that she was going to beat Christian.[6]
Reception
Steam release
In 2025, the Chessplus team announced that Chessplus would be released on Steam as "Chessplus: Combine and Conquer".[citation needed]