Fog of War: Chess.com's Most Popular Variant

Hello everyone! As you may know, chess.com recently released a beta version of variants. These variants include Chaturanga, Blindfold Chess, Sideways Pawns, Automate, and more. Go check out these cool variants at chess.com/variants, as they are really fun to play!

However, while the other variants may be popular, Fog of War has attracted the most attention on chess.com. While most variants have 2-10 people playing at once, Fog of War has reportedly reached up to 120 people playing at the same time!

A screenshot showing just how popular Fog of War is. And 66 is on a bad day!

So... you're probably wondering: "What is Fog of War?" Here are the rules in a nutshell:

1. In Fog of War, vision is limited. You can only see the squares that your pieces occupy as well as they control. For instance:

2. Instead of checkmating the king, the goal is to capture it. Obviously, there's no check in Fog of War because there's no guarantee that you can see the piece that's checking your king!

With that in mind, here are some general tips for playing fog of war:

1. Generally, fianchettoing your bishops or putting them on long diagonals is a good idea. Here's why:

2. In Fog of War, vision is the most important resource. Therefore, in addition to putting your bishops on long diagonals, try to push your pawns forward. They'll control more squares, giving you more vision!

3. Keep your pieces protected. If all of your pieces are protected, then your opponent has a harder time of winning them.

The last thing I have for you is a video of me (@EnergeticHay) playing a game of Fog of War! I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this blog post (and the video, too!). Make sure to comment down below what your favorite chess.com variant is. Until next time!