To the people reading this, feel free to add on ideas.

To Chess.com: Here are some additions!

TheGrandMaster90s

Updated: May 3, 2026, 7:07 AM | 8

Have you ever had a brilliant variant/ special move idea for chess.com? Well, here are my ideas!

Variants:

1. Mirror Chess

Every move you play, the piece on the other side mirrors it. The pieces will be paired forever! If there is a piece (say a pawn) obstructing the piece you are trying to move (say a bishop), the bishop will just "hop" over the pawn to the designated square. When capturing with pawns, the pawn that isn't capturing will still move at a diagonal. The king and queen i haven't completely figured out but i guess they could be the pieces that have no mirror? OR, you could have 2 kings and queens! To win, checkmate the king (or the 2 kings, still haven't completely figured this one out yet )

2. Moving Pawns Chess

This will be similar to a special move mentioned later but basically, the pawns can move like a king! And they can capture in all 8 directions but unlike the king, there is no "check" and they are free to move! Aim of this variant is to be careful where you put your pieces!

3. Shrinking Chess

After every 5 (or 10, giving a rough idea here, chess.com!) moves, the outer ring shrinks, including the pieces on it. So after 5 (we'll just say 5 here for the benefit of it) moves, the a8-h8 file disappears. If any piece is on it, too bad! That piece will disappear! You win the game if you manage to checkmate your opponent with the remaining pieces you have (typical rules) or if your opponent's king is on the file that is to be disappeared!

4. Quadruple Chess

Similar to Mirror Chess, except that you're playing 4 games with your opponent! This takes some form of 960 degrees chess (couldn't find the degrees symbol lol) as the pieces are all jumbled up, even the position! So on one board, you could have the king on c2 and a pawn on h1! On another board your queen might be on a1 and your bishop on f2! You might decide to focus on one game or two! You win when you manage to checkmate your opponent the most, so if you win one game on a board, that board becomes "frozen". The person that wins the most games wins the whole thing! If each person wins 2 games, it's a draw.

4. Portal Chess

At the start of the game, each opponent chooses a square to be able to teleport to and back from (for example d5 can teleport you to g3). Or if chess.com prefers, the computer chooses the teleporters. What do you guys think? Let me know below! That's kinda the game really and to win, you checkmate the opponent.

5. Gravity Chess

Think of the board as having a gravitational pull. IDK if u guys can see the picture, but basically, white moved their h pawn "up" then it slides to the bottom. I'm not entirely sure how to describe this but once you play, it'll all make sense (hopefully ). Key point: when you move a piece, it slides down, unless there is something blocking it.

6. Exhaustion Chess

At the start of the game, each piece has a limited amount of moves that only you can see. You will also receive 5 energy boosts that allow a piece to have 10 extra moves. The king, however, can move as many times as it needs to. You win if a, your opponent's pieces ALL become exhausted (except the king) or b, if you manage to checkmate them.

7. Imposter King

At the start of the game, you choose to swap your king with a piece, so it appears to be for example, a knight instead of a king. Be careful, however! If your opponent attacks your pieces and you don't move in the way it should, the game's up!

8. Shifting Chess

A bit similar to Shrinking chess, but instead of shrinking, the board moves one place up, down, left, or right. The computer can choose or (if chess.com prefers) the losing opponent chooses which side it moves to. This is a great advantage as you might be able to get a checkmate with this advantage on your side!

9. Rotating Board Chess

Every 12 moves, the entire board rotates 90° clockwise! The pieces stay on the same squares, but now their movement directions change with the rotation. Pawns suddenly move sideways instead of forward, so be careful where you place them! Castling direction changes too, so you might have to rethink your king safety. Diagonals for bishops and queens realign, which can completely change attack lines. Basically, the board is the same, but everything you thought you planned… isn’t anymore. Total chaos, but structured enough that clever moves still win the game. I haven’t completely figured out whether to do this every 12 moves for both players together, or after each player’s 12 moves individually- both could be fun! To win, you still checkmate the opponent’s king as usual, but now positioning and stuff like that becomes tricky.

10. 67 Chess

Every time a piece reaches the 6th or 7th rank, it gains a special ability for one turn! Pawns can suddenly move like a knight. Knights can suddenly move like a bishop. Bishops can suddenly move like a rook. Rooks can suddenly move like a queen. Queens can move twice in one turn (but not capturing the same piece twice). Kings can “castle” with any rook on the board, even if it’s moved before. The effect only happens once per piece when it reaches the 6th or 7th rank, so timing is super important! You still win by checkmate as usual, but now planning pawn advancement and piece positioning becomes way more chaotic and fun.

P.S.es & P.P.es

P.S. I'm sorry if the ideas at the end got a bit boring because I was losing my mind with typing and I had a brain block lol.

P.P.S. If you guys aren't the "brainrot kids" then please ignore the last one because that was just me being me so...

P.P.S. I'm happy for you guys to add on to my ideas but please don't take them and make them your own! Also, just so you guys know, these ideas were all my own and no, i didn't use chatgpt, before some of you guys ask.

Now, we move on to the special moves!

Special Moves:

1. Octopus Pawns

Like I mentioned before, the pawns can move like kings! If you had read post number 2, then you'll probably understand but here is a brief summery anyway. Pawns can move one square in any direction, so they can go sideways, backwards, or diagonally, not just forwards. This makes them way trickier to block, lets you sneak attacks, escape danger, and control the board in unexpected ways, but they still promote normally at the end.

2. En passent Only!

If you know what en passent is, this should be pretty easy for you guys. But for those who don't know, en passent means "in passing". In chess, if a pawn moves two squares forward from its starting spot and lands next to your pawn, you can capture it like it only moved one square-but only on your very next move! However, in this special move, you have to capture en passent, whether that's to pawns or to other pieces. Don't worry though! You don't have to be restricted to capturing en passent at the start, you can do it anytime, as long as the pawn is next to a piece.

3. Teleport Swap

Once per game, you can pick any two friendly pieces and swap them instantly, no matter where they are on the board. Maybe a trapped rook suddenly escapes, or a pawn jumps right into an attacking position. You can use it to save a piece, set up a surprise attack, or completely mess with your opponent’s plans. It only works once per game, so choosing the perfect moment is everything!

4. Wall Breaker

Once per game, a piece can move through one friendly piece as if it wasn’t there. That means your rook, bishop, or queen can suddenly sneak past a blocking piece to reach a square it normally couldn’t. It’s perfect for bypassing crowded lines, setting up surprise attacks, or getting out of tight spots. You only get to do it once per piece per game, so timing it right is everything!

5. Puppet Pawn

This is similar to the Wall Breaker move. Once per game, a pawn can drag an adjacent friendly piece one square in any direction as part of its move. That means if your rook is trapped behind a pawn, you can sneak it out, or you can pull a bishop into a perfect attacking position. You could even drag a pawn to block an enemy or protect your king! It works for any friendly piece next to the pawn, but only one piece per move, and only once per pawn per game. Timing is everything-use it too early and you might waste your advantage, use it too late and your opponent might already have the upper hand. Puppet Pawns turn the humble pawn into a strategic manipulator, letting your pieces reach places they normally couldn’t and creating chaos your opponent won’t see coming.

6. King Capture

Have you ever had a king and a knight and felt gutted because it turned out to be a draw? Well, in this special move, your kings can touch! So, imagine your king on b7, your opponent's king on b8 and your knight on d6. CHECK-MATE! BTW, I haven't really thought through this one so if you guys have any alterations, feel free to let me know!

7. Chain Capture

Whenever a piece captures an enemy, if it can legally capture another piece immediately after, it must continue capturing. This can create wild combos where a single move sweeps through multiple enemy pieces, especially with knights, pawns, or rooks. It’s tricky because if you’re not careful, you could accidentally trap your own piece, but the payoff can be massive. Timing and positioning are key, and it turns ordinary captures into potentially chaotic, unstoppable chains of destruction!

8. Wild Promotion

In this special move, any piece (except the king) can promote to whatever they want at the final files. Usually, you would promote to the queen, but don't forget about stalemates! So, knights could = queens or if you wanted to trap your opponent, knights could equal pawns, even!

9. Mirror Move

Once per game, you can pick a piece and copy the movement of another friendly piece for one turn. That means a bishop could suddenly move like a rook, a knight like a bishop, or even a pawn like a knight! It’s perfect for surprise attacks, sneaky escapes, or setting up combos your opponent won’t expect. You only get to do it once per piece, so choosing the right moment is everything, and it can totally turn the tide of the game.

10. Magician's Hex

Once per game, you can pick any enemy piece and cast the Magician’s Hex on it. For one turn, that piece is forced to move like a pawn instead of its normal movement-so a queen suddenly shuffles forward slowly, a rook can’t slide across the board, and a knight just awkwardly steps like a pawn. It’s wickedly sneaky, perfect for ruining your opponent’s plans, and a little “for good” because you’re using their own power against them! Timing is everything- use it at the right moment and watch chaos unfold.

P.S.es & P.P.es

P.S. Once again, my ideas lowkey kinda failed at the end so please don't judge!

P.P.S. For those hard-core Wicked fans out there, did u guys spot any references?

P.P.P.S. Like I mentioned previously, please don't take these ideas as your own but please add on to them! Again, these ideas were all my own so no, I didn't use chatgpt.

P.P.P.P.S. This was my first ever blog and I really hope you guys liked it! Please support me in the future as well!

P.P.P.P.P.S. Please help me blow this up so hopefully chess.com can see it one day!

That's all guys but please support me on this mission! Thank you so much! And one more thing just for fun:

To Chess.com: Here are some additions!

New additions to Chess.com