Variant idea: Ends Meet

I have a variant idea. Although the name is quite dramatic, it is not actually as dramatic as you may think:

• You still have the same pieces
• You still have the same goal (to checkmate your opponent)
• You still have the same starting position... Or do you?

Below, are 2 positions:

Both those positions are both the exact same starting position, because in this variant, the board is curved (there will be a scroller at the bottom so that you can move the leftmost or rightmost files around to see the position in a different way).

Well, the board is curved (only with file meeting file), but how does it work? Below shows what the range of pieces may look like (assuming you have not shifted the files along):

Basically, if you were to continue a diagonal until it reaches the first or last rank, it would be able to move like in the B diagram. Also, as shown with the R, pieces are able to attack like that. Easiest way to think of this variant is like a map of the world.

Reasons for this variant

Of course it does complicate positions significantly with the fact that pieces movement is harder to visualise, but it also significantly changes strategies as it means that there is no true centre (changing the principle of many openings). Without a true centre means your K is always "in the centre" (less that it is "not in the centre" because if it wasn't in the centre, it would be close to the rim of the board which has been, well, removed. Because of the removal of this, it means pieces can still attack the K from the "queenside" if your K is in the "kingside"), leading to more aggressive and tactical play. The variant also changes endgames too as in the puzzle below:

Also many  drawn endgames become wins as "Rook pawns" are now just the same as regular pawns.

Tell me what you think of the variant!

lol, I accidentally put the same 2 starting positions. 

It is basically the regular starting position

thats the point, it is the regular starting position, but looped around

It’s certainly an intriguing concept. It would be hard to do online, but it would be interesting to see in an actual physical cylinder. I also wonder it instead of having 4 rooks each player should only have 2 (i.e. bishop, knight, rook, knight, bishop), especially since each player will also have two queens.

I actually love this idea xd
I loved this idea so much it ended up becoming the inspiration for my own "Loop" Chess (check forums). Unfortunately, this idea has been done before and its called "Cylinder" Chess.
Here is a wiki link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylinder_chess
Keep going though, you basically came up with one of the most noteworthy chess variants out there completely independently :v

Huh, I knew cylinder chess was a thing, but I thought it was the other way, where the pieces are lined up the same direction as the axis of rotation, and each player has two rows of pawns.

Aww...

I hope chess.com make it though (don't show cylinder, but can use a scroller at the bottom to shift files along)

You know that you can make a different forum thread instead of hijacking an existing one?

Do you mean some variant of horizontal cylinder chess?

I suppose. I haven't looked into it very much.

cylinder chess already exists.

I'd say more: several types of cylinder chess already exist...

...but which of them is popular?