Contamination chess

♟️ Contamination Chess – Rules Overview 
♞ Core Mechanics:
Decay Trail: Every square a piece moves from disappears after the move — like contamination disintegrating the ground.
The game board decays over time, with a maximum of 32 moves total before there are no viable squares left.
Squares that disappear become impassable, like holes — no pieces can land on them.
Long-range pieces (bishops, rooks, queens) can still pass through these gaps when moving in a straight line, but cannot stop on them.
♟ Standard Setup:
Normal chessboard and starting positions (unless you want to tweak it).
All traditional movement rules apply (including check/checkmate), but adapted for decay and gaps.
♜ Special Strategic Elements:
Positional Risk: Moving aggressively early may strand your pieces later as the board crumbles.
Board Control is Temporal: You can't rely on holding territory — it vanishes as you use it.
Sacrifices become more meaningful — one move can open or close pathways for entire pieces.
King safety is dynamic — fortresses crumble with time; castling may even be risky!
 
🧠 Strategy Implications:
Early queen/bishop development becomes riskier — paths vanish fast.
Central control is double-edged: powerful early, but it decays quickly.
Endgames will be chaotic — imagine trying to mate with 5 remaining squares!
Coordination is vital. One careless move can isolate your rook or trap your king.
 
🛠️ Optional Additions or Tweaks:
Decay Toggle Variant – Instead of every move causing decay, maybe every odd-numbered move causes it. That would make 64 total moves possible, adding more depth.
Decay Delay – The square vanishes after your next move, giving you a bit more time to reposition.
Rotting Zone – Instead of disappearing, the squares become “rot zones” where a piece takes 1 damage if standing on it at end of turn (good for health-based variants).
Multiplayer or King of the Hill variant on a custom board?
 
♚ Example Scenario:
Imagine your bishop goes from c1 to g5. Now c1 disappears, and g5 is safe.
Later, your queen wants to move from d1 to h5. If f3 (in her path) has decayed, she can move over it, but cannot land there.
Your king is boxed in by holes — your rook sacrifices itself to open a new path!

#2, absolutely correct in a chatgpt way

I feel like this would end in a stalemate most of the time

I seeee

Id add a rule that if u premove on a void square, u will lose that piece bc it fell into the void