How to Play Extinction Chess

The game of Extinction Chess was invented by Wayne Schmittberger in 1985. This game is played like regular Orthodox Chess except that there is no check or checkmate involved. The game's main object is to have all of one type of piece eliminated from your opponent's pieces. The following steps will show you how to play Extinction Chess.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 players
• A chessboard
• Black and white chess pieces

1. Set up your game board as you typically would for the regular game of chess, with the Rook, Knight, Bishop, King, Queen, Bishop, Knight and Rook on the back row and all the pawns on the second to back row on each side.

2. Ask the player with the white pieces to go first and the player with the black pieces to go second.

3. Take turns moving your pieces in their individual ways and capturing each other's pieces as you go.

4. Progress your Pawn if you succeed in reaching the eighth row, or the row closest to your opponent. You may trade your Pawn for any piece you have lost to your opponent once you reach the back row.

5. Win the game by capturing all of any of one type of your opponent's pieces. In other words if you capture any of the following from your opponent's pieces, you win the game: King, Queen, both Rooks, both Bishops, both Knights or all eight Pawns.

Tips & Warnings

• It is legal to castle when in check in the game of Extinction Chess since the King is not considered a special piece in the game.
• Castling is a special chess move when you simultaneously move your King and a Rook. The King moves two spaces toward the Rook and the Rook moves to the square on the other side of your King.

[acey18]

on 10/4/2008 Thanks! Great game, I'll teach it to my students!!