Almost Chess Almost Chess Almost Chess is a chess variant invented by Ralph Betza in 1977. The game is played using a standard chessboard and pieces, except the players' queens are replaced by chancellors, which combine the moves of a rook and a knight. Almost Chess was featured in NOST magazine "Nost-algia", beginning with issue 205. Other than the replacement of queens by chancellors (notated "C"), the game follows all the rules and conventions of standard chess. The Fool's mate in Almost Chess begins 1.Cc3. Replacing queens with chancellors imparts a radical change to the nature of the chess game, despite the
Seirawan chess the elephant on b1 (see diagram). Seirawan has expressed dissatisfaction with the name "Seirawan chess", noting that the variant was a joint development with friend Bruce Harper. The name SHARPER chess (a combination of the names Seirawan and Harper) has been suggested. Seirawan has also used the term S-Chess when discussing the game. Seirawan chess Seirawan chess (also SHARPER chess or S-Chess), is a chess variant invented by American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan and Bruce Harper in 2007. It is played on the standard 8×8 board and uses two new pieces, the "hawk" (which moves like a knight or a bishop)