External Link: VERO Chess

Please note the game board design is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office,
All Rights Reserved.

VERO chess is traditional chess played on a round chess board that has the same attributes of the standard
square chess board, with sixty-four alternating light and dark squares arranged in eight rows and eight
columns. It uses the identical 32-piece chess set, records and describes moves in the same algebraic chess
notation system and is governed by same rules maintained by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).

What makes VERO chess so fun and challenging is its novel board design. It virtually changes the
customary perspective how chess is played. Everything else remains the same.

At the start of a game, white and black pieces occupy comparable rank and file positions. At the first row,
in white, from left to right, are a rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, and rook. At the second
row, there are eight white pawns and at the seventh row, there are eight black pawns. At the last row, in
black, from left to right, are a rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, and rook.

By reason of VERO’s annular design, the start and end of six rows are distinguished by the addition of a
horizontal black line on the left and right side of its board. Such markings also serve as a reminder to
prevent the appearance of any move that is not allowed under the rules of standard chess.

The queens start on squares of their own color, with a white square to each player’s right-hand side. There
are no different rules for capture, move order, game objective, etc., and no addition or elimination of any
pieces. All the varied and permitted moves taken by each of the six different kinds of pieces are physically
identical to every standard chess move allowed – up, down, to the sides, diagonally – including castling,
en passant pawn capture and pawn promotion.

Player familiarity with chess piece movement and stability is taken into account with the VERO design.
Its graphic content is arranged and proportioned to accommodate the placement of standard symbols
representing chess pieces positioned anywhere on its unique field of battle.

Every one of VERO’s squares share sides that are concomitant with another square of a different color and
whose corners form a ninety degree angle, allowing for the horizontal, vertical and diagonal movement
legally allowed each piece. This guarantees that the same move and flow inherent on a square board is
achieved on the round VERO game board.

An unintended and notable consequence of the VERO design requires greater attention to play located
outside the center of the board. At its core, VERO adds a centrifugal (outward from the center) emphasis
to the game’s usual centripetal (toward the center) emphasis. The result is added possibilities for effective
flanking attacks and greater emphasis on the edges of the board, thus strengthening the strategic positions
of major and minor pieces, particularly for opportunities of covert action.

VERO Chess tests levels of talent for memory, spatial relationship and deductive logic, and require a high
degree of tactical and strategic skill, more mental intensity and agility to achieve the ultimate goal of checkmate .

It is currently available as an Android game app for phone or tablet, and is featured on its website:

Broken Link: Search for http://www.verochess.com/ on Archive.org

Last revised by Fergus Duniho.