Chess 2: The Sequel create a more dynamic opening game, decrease the emphasis on openings memorization, and reduce draws. In "Chess 2", players may choose from six unique armies, such as an army with two kings and an army whose knights, bishops, and rooks may move like each other when adjacent. A new win condition has been added: a player wins if their king travels past the fourth rank. This was intended to prevent traditional "solved" chess endgames, which can be played by consulting a chess tablebase, and therefore does not require player skill. A third rule change from standard chess is the dueling
Almost Chess queen and chancellor having equal strengths. For example, bishops are stronger and knights are weaker. Betza commented that Almost Chess is a good introductory chess variant for players, due to its great similarity to standard chess and the naturalness of the change from queen to chancellor. Around 1994, Betza invented Sort of Almost Chess, a variation whereby one player owns a chancellor, and the opponent owns a queen. Betza considers the chances for both sides equal, even for advanced players, since the queen and chancellor have equal strengths. Sort of Almost Chess emerged from Betza's research on the values of