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This page is written by the game's inventor, Doug Chatham.

Sudden Death Chess

by Doug Chatham - entry for "The 32-Turn Challenge"


This game is an entry in the 32 Turn Challenge.  Note that this variant is Modest, as defined recently by Tony Paletta.

1. The rules of FIDE chess apply, except where contradicted below.

2. Whenever a player makes a non-capturing move, he must sacrifice one of his pieces immediately after that non-capturing move. Thus each move results in the removal of a piece, either by capture or by sacrifice.

3.  A player loses by (a) any method described in the FIDE chess rules (e.g. checkmate or resignation) or  (b) sacrificing his king.

4.  Notation: The notation for a non-capturing move is the standard notation for the piece move, then an "S" (for 'sacrifice'), and then the location of the sacrificed piece.  For example, if White's first move were to move the pawn at d2 to d4 and then to sacrifice the pawn at a2, the notation would be 1. d4Sa2 ..

If you really want a nasty, brutish and short game, use Extinction Chess as the base game rather than standard chess (so Rule 1 would say that Extinction Chess rules apply except where contradicted, and Rule 3(b) would say "sacrificing his king, queen, or his last pawn, rook, knight, or bishop".)


A file for playing this with Zillions-of-Games is available: download suddendeath.zip.
This game is an entry in the 32 Turn Challenge.
Written by Doug Chatham. 
WWW page created: April 6, 2000. Last modified (zrf added): October 24, 2000.