La Misère des Pions

Connoisseurs of chess variants know well that the finest game in the Losing Chess family is The Marquis de Sade Chess, where the ability to lose is not merely a skill but a genuine pleasure. Nevertheless, many lovers of getting rid of chess material prefer to play AntiChess, where the dominant rule of compulsory capture governs almost every move players make. It dictates the paths by which they can achieve liberation from their pieces — and thereby attain victory through loss (in the classical chess sense).

For you, my dear lovers of blind submission to compulsory violence, I dare to propose the following AntiChess variant — La Misère des Pions.

The game follows all the rules of standard AntiChess, except for the starting setup. Instead of the classic position — only pawns: three solid pawn ranks on each side 

No kings, no queens, no other pieces at the start. They can only appear as a result of promotion.

If you are tired of AntiChess opening theory and well-studied positions, this game will bring you new, hitherto unexplored emotions.

You may ask: where can I play it online? Anywhere that offers AntiChess and allows you to change the starting position when creating a game. Just set the required FEN: 8/pppppppp/pppppppp/pppppppp/PPPPPPPP/PPPPPPPP/PPPPPPPP/8 w - - 0 1 in the game settings and you can plunge into the abyss of pawn misery.

But the best place to play La Misère des Pions is GridGrove.gg

Play live or by correspondence — against humans or bots of any difficulty level.

Special thanks to Nisticism for implementing the game on the website.