Chad (chess variant) Chad (chess variant) Chad is a chess variant for two players created by Christian Freeling in 1979. It is played on an uncheckered 12×12 gameboard with one king and eight rooks per side, where rooks are able to promote to queens. The inventor's aim was "to create a game of tactical and strategical depth that was both simple and elegant to express the concept of "mate"—the 'pure' chess game". The game was played for many years at the Fanaat games club in the Netherlands and was featured in the periodical "The Gamer" 6 in May–June 1982. Each player owns a
Hridayeshwar Singh Bhati can play. Bhati's multiplayer design employs all the standard chess pieces and their moves. Individual armies are distinguished by colour. Each player starts the game with the same number and types of pieces as in standard chess. Non-pawn pieces start in their normal positions on the (the 8×1 extensions at the board perimeter), with queens always placed to the left of kings. Pawns are placed on the rank in front of the pieces as in standard chess. Red squares cannot be occupied or passed through when moving or capturing. The multicoloured central area can be passed through but not occupied.