King Of The Hill - An Introduction

Many people think that all variants are extremely different from classical chess. They think that one must study new openings, learn new traps and develop new calculation methods in order to play the variant well. Because of this, players often shy away from variants thinking that it will harm their abilities to play regular chess.

This is true for almost all variants except one - King of the Hill. It is the simplest of all variants, because there is only one extra rule. A player can also win if they get their king to any of the central squares (e4, d4, e5, or d5). This rule doesn't require you to find the best squares to drop your pieces or count the number of checks you can make. No, it simply introduces another way of winning.

Think about it. In a regular chess game, both sides make an effort to control the center and develop their pieces to the most efficient squares. If played correctly, King of the Hill should follow the same rules as regular chess - develop, control the center, find good plans, etc.

That's the boring way to play it.

For me, the key to this variant is to always keep the game sharp and full of possibilities. You want to make a position so that you can always rush the center any time. This usually means that

a) You have full control over the center, or

b) There are central squares that your opponent has a hard time defending.

For example, this is a dream position for Black, as he can easily break down White's center.

Also, if you didn't know, King of the Hill will train you to recognize certain tactical ideas. What you just saw was an example of removing the defender. It is one of the most common game-winning tactics in this variant, along with interference, clearance and deflection.

For example, here is a game in which I was able to utilize all four tactics!

But best of all, King of the Hill is extremely fun! There is an even greater possibility of winning from a lost position, and the overall variant is very similar to the classical game. In the future, I will be posting more about the different tactics, strategies and formations that are ideal in the game if you want to adopt the same strategy I do.

This is a disclaimer - I am not the very best at this, and my approach is definitely not going to always bring home the point. However, there will always come a time when the KOTH player needs to find certain moves or tactics, and I hope that my writings can help you improve in the game in general.

Until next time, keep on climbing!

--- @HillsideDrift AKA @FlashyFerrari ---