Golden Variant is a bi-weekly (twice a month) arena that aims to feature community-made custom variants on the chess.com variants server! This resource page will be periodically updated throughout 2026 as Golden Variants for each month have been decided on through CGA nomination and/or by voting by the community in forum votes. Your opinion matters!
If you got here from the variants server through a game chat link, please consider joining us here in the official Custom Variants club using the link below to learn how you can submit your own variants for review and for updates in the world of all things chess variants:
This page will be linked on most Golden Variant announcement posts and in Golden Variant arena game chats. It will also be pinned on the Forums page in this club for easy viewing and is also included in the Club Directory (newcomers to the club are highly encouraged to check it out!).
This page will contain all of the variants that are nominated for each section in 2026, and relevant announcement posts for voting will also be added below as they are released. Dates listed below are based off the PST/PDT time-zones and are in Month/Day format. Arenas generally start at 4 PM PST / 5 PM PDT on Fridays and 0 UTC on Saturdays.
ARENA FORMAT
Most Golden Variant arenas are voted on by the community in a monthly plurality (through chess.com forum reactions on the voting thread) or ranked-choice vote (through the usage of StrawPoll), although some may occasionally be pre-determined by the Custom Games Admins.
There are three main types of arenas: Golden Variant (regularly scheduled variants largely decided as described before through community vote), Emerald Variant (newly accepted variants which automatically gain an arena slot in order to feature them, previously known as "Golden Variant All Week"), and Platinum Variant (quarter-yearly overall vote winners out of all Golden Variants in a 3 month time period).
Previously, these arenas were generally 72 hours long, or 3 full days. The major change we (the CGAs) have decided to make this year to allow variants to get more activity is adjusting the length for most Golden Variant arenas to a longer duration. Golden Variant and Emerald Variant arenas will be 2 weeks long this year, and Platinum Variant will remain at its previous 1-week arena length.
Platinum Variant selections are decided every quarter year (about 3 months), voted upon out of all of the Golden and Emerald Variants of that quarter cycle (approximately 5 per quarter) in a winner-takes-all vote. These arenas are 168 hours long (1 week, as mentioned above), and also grant a membership prize, usually 1 month of diamond/platinum/gold, to the top 3 finishers respectively.
(There are currently NO plans to hold a " Diamond Variant " event. Platinum Variants are currently ineligible to be voted on and featured in future GV events in order to provide more exposure to lesser known and newer variants.)
Golden Fortune variant arenas will continue to be held this year, albeit not as frequently as last year due to the introduction of 2-week arena lengths for most scheduled arenas. Instead, during gaps without a standard arena (., during 5 weekend months or during the break after a Platinum Variant run), a Wheel of Fortune variant will be chosen (usually through CGA nomination) to have a week-long arena. These will replace the regularly scheduled rotating daily Wheel of Fortune cycle for that week and will also run through the weekends as they are 168 hours long. As the schedule below states, we may have Halloween- and Holiday-themed Fortune arenas in 2026, but it is not certain yet if there will be membership prizes.
The standard time control for any arena is 3|2, although 3|0 and 1|2 may be used for variants which work significantly better with a shorter time control (., Minihouse, Amazon Jungle, Cornered, etc.). The exception is that Golden Fortune will always use its creator-suggested time control rather than a standardized time control.
(This section may be subject to minor revisions throughout the year.)
2026 SCHEDULE
Week 1 (1/2):Rose (Emerald Variant)*
Week 2 (1/16):Stereo Jungleness (Golden Fortune)*
Week 3 (1/23):Rookmate
Week 4 (2/6):Cross Derby
Week 5 (2/20):Arena of Legends
Week 6 (3/6):Trapped Queens
Week 7 (3/20):Hors d'oeuvres (Golden Fortune)*
Week 8 (3/27):Rookmate (Platinum Variant Q1)
Week 9 (4/3):Torpedoes in a Lake (Emerald Variant)*
Week 10 (4/17): TBD
Week 11 (5/1): TBD
Week 12 (5/15): TBD
Week 13 (5/29):TBD (Golden Fortune)
Week 14 (6/5): TBD
Week 15 (6/19):TBD (Platinum Variant Q2)
Week 16 (6/26):TBD (Golden Fortune)
Week 17 (7/3): TBD
Week 18 (7/17): TBD
Week 19 (7/31):TBD (Golden Fortune)
Week 20 (8/7): TBD
Week 21 (8/21): TBD
Week 22 (9/4): TBD
Week 23 (9/18):TBD (Platinum Variant Q3)
Week 24 (9/26):TBD (Golden Fortune)
Week 25 (10/2): TBD
Week 26 (10/16): TBD
Week 27 (10/30):TBD (Halloween Hootenanny?)
Week 28 (11/6): TBD
Week 29 (11/20): TBD
Week 30 (12/4): TBD
Week 31 (12/18):TBD (Platinum Variant Q4)
Week 32 (12/25):TBD (Festive Fortune?)
Italics indicates a variant not eligible for the Platinum Variant vote, ., Golden WoFs.
Asterisks (*) denote a variant which was predetermined by the Custom Games Admin team.
Weeks with currently known arena types (Golden, Emerald, Platinum) are color-coded.
2025's Schedule & Info: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/2025-golden-variant-schedule
Welcome to Golden Variant 2026!
Golden Variant is a bi-weekly (twice a month) arena that aims to feature community-made custom variants on the chess.com variants server! This resource page will be periodically updated throughout 2026 as Golden Variants for each month have been decided on through CGA nomination and/or by voting by the community in forum votes. Your opinion matters!
If you got here from the variants server through a game chat link, please consider joining us here in the official Custom Variants club using the link below to learn how you can submit your own variants for review and for updates in the world of all things chess variants:
https://www.chess.com/club/custom-variants/join
GENERAL INFO
This page will be linked on most Golden Variant announcement posts and in Golden Variant arena game chats. It will also be pinned on the Forums page in this club for easy viewing and is also included in the Club Directory (newcomers to the club are highly encouraged to check it out!).
This page will contain all of the variants that are nominated for each section in 2026, and relevant announcement posts for voting will also be added below as they are released. Dates listed below are based off the PST/PDT time-zones and are in Month/Day format. Arenas generally start at 4 PM PST / 5 PM PDT on Fridays and 0 UTC on Saturdays.
ARENA FORMAT
Most Golden Variant arenas are voted on by the community in a monthly plurality (through chess.com forum reactions on the voting thread) or ranked-choice vote (through the usage of StrawPoll), although some may occasionally be pre-determined by the Custom Games Admins.
There are three main types of arenas: Golden Variant (regularly scheduled variants largely decided as described before through community vote), Emerald Variant (newly accepted variants which automatically gain an arena slot in order to feature them, previously known as "Golden Variant All Week"), and Platinum Variant (quarter-yearly overall vote winners out of all Golden Variants in a 3 month time period).
Previously, these arenas were generally 72 hours long, or 3 full days. The major change we (the CGAs) have decided to make this year to allow variants to get more activity is adjusting the length for most Golden Variant arenas to a longer duration. Golden Variant and Emerald Variant arenas will be 2 weeks long this year, and Platinum Variant will remain at its previous 1-week arena length.
Platinum Variant selections are decided every quarter year (about 3 months), voted upon out of all of the Golden and Emerald Variants of that quarter cycle (approximately 5 per quarter) in a winner-takes-all vote. These arenas are 168 hours long (1 week, as mentioned above), and also grant a membership prize, usually 1 month of diamond/platinum/gold, to the top 3 finishers respectively.
(There are currently NO plans to hold a " Diamond Variant " event. Platinum Variants are currently ineligible to be voted on and featured in future GV events in order to provide more exposure to lesser known and newer variants.)
Golden Fortune variant arenas will continue to be held this year, albeit not as frequently as last year due to the introduction of 2-week arena lengths for most scheduled arenas. Instead, during gaps without a standard arena (., during 5 weekend months or during the break after a Platinum Variant run), a Wheel of Fortune variant will be chosen (usually through CGA nomination) to have a week-long arena. These will replace the regularly scheduled rotating daily Wheel of Fortune cycle for that week and will also run through the weekends as they are 168 hours long. As the schedule below states, we may have Halloween- and Holiday-themed Fortune arenas in 2026, but it is not certain yet if there will be membership prizes.
The standard time control for any arena is 3|2, although 3|0 and 1|2 may be used for variants which work significantly better with a shorter time control (., Minihouse, Amazon Jungle, Cornered, etc.). The exception is that Golden Fortune will always use its creator-suggested time control rather than a standardized time control.
(This section may be subject to minor revisions throughout the year.)
2026 SCHEDULE
Week 1 (1/2): Rose (Emerald Variant)*
Week 2 (1/16): Stereo Jungleness (Golden Fortune)*
Week 3 (1/23): Rookmate
Week 4 (2/6): Cross Derby
Week 5 (2/20): Arena of Legends
Week 6 (3/6): Trapped Queens
Week 7 (3/20): Hors d'oeuvres (Golden Fortune)*
Week 8 (3/27): Rookmate (Platinum Variant Q1)
Week 9 (4/3): Torpedoes in a Lake (Emerald Variant)*
Week 10 (4/17): TBD
Week 11 (5/1): TBD
Week 12 (5/15): TBD
Week 13 (5/29): TBD (Golden Fortune)
Week 14 (6/5): TBD
Week 15 (6/19): TBD (Platinum Variant Q2)
Week 16 (6/26): TBD (Golden Fortune)
Week 17 (7/3): TBD
Week 18 (7/17): TBD
Week 19 (7/31): TBD (Golden Fortune)
Week 20 (8/7): TBD
Week 21 (8/21): TBD
Week 22 (9/4): TBD
Week 23 (9/18): TBD (Platinum Variant Q3)
Week 24 (9/26): TBD (Golden Fortune)
Week 25 (10/2): TBD
Week 26 (10/16): TBD
Week 27 (10/30): TBD (Halloween Hootenanny?)
Week 28 (11/6): TBD
Week 29 (11/20): TBD
Week 30 (12/4): TBD
Week 31 (12/18): TBD (Platinum Variant Q4)
Week 32 (12/25): TBD (Festive Fortune?)
Italics indicates a variant not eligible for the Platinum Variant vote, ., Golden WoFs.
Asterisks (*) denote a variant which was predetermined by the Custom Games Admin team.
Weeks with currently known arena types (Golden, Emerald, Platinum) are color-coded.
ANNOUNCEMENT POSTS
January: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/vote-for-januarys-golden-variants-2026
February: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/vote-for-februarys-golden-variants-2026
March: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/vote-for-marchs-golden-variants-2026
April: COMING VERY SOON...
May: TBA
June: TBA
July: TBA
August: TBA
September: TBA
October: TBA
November: TBA
December: TBA
The currently active / upcoming soon voting thread has been bolded .