Relative Chess

How to Play Relative Chess

The Core Idea

Relative Chess is played like standard chess, but with one twist: when you move a piece, it stays where it is and all the other pieces shift in the opposite direction. The result is relatively the same as a normal chess move, but the board itself moves around.

The Boards

The game is played on two boards:

• The enlarged outer board (dark squares) — a larger grid (default 16×16, configurable) that sets the absolute boundaries of the game.
• The inner conventional board (light/brown squares with gold border) — the standard 8×8 chess board, which shifts around within the outer board as moves are made.

How Movement Works

Click a piece, then click a target square. Instead of the piece moving to that square:

1. The piece you selected stays exactly where it is.
2. Every other piece on the board shifts in the opposite direction by the same amount.
3. The inner board boundary also shifts with the other pieces.

For example, if you tell a knight to move 2 up and 1 right, the knight stays put and everything else moves 2 down and 1 left.

Captures

Captures work just like normal chess in relative terms. If the square you target contains an enemy piece, that piece is captured (removed from the board).

Death by Edge

When other pieces are shifted, some may be pushed off the edge of the outer board. Any piece that falls off the outer board is immediately captured — regardless of colour. This is called death by edge.

Board Boundary Rule

A move is illegal if it would push the inner 8×8 board past the edge of the outer board. This limits how far pieces can move in any given direction, depending on where the inner board currently sits.

Leave Inner Board Setting

• Yes — Pieces can be pushed outside the inner board onto the outer board. They survive there but risk death by edge on future moves.
• Sides only — Pieces can leave the inner board to the left or right, but any piece pushed off the top or bottom of the inner board dies.
• No — Any piece pushed outside the inner board dies immediately.

Special Moves

• Castling — Works as in standard chess. The king moves 2 squares toward a rook. The rook is repositioned to the other side of the king. Neither piece may have moved, the path must be clear, and the king cannot be in or pass through check.
• En passant — Supported, using relative positions.
• Pawn promotion — Pawns that reach the back rank of the inner board are automatically promoted to a queen.

Check, Checkmate & Stalemate

These work exactly as in standard chess, using the relative positions of pieces. The board boundary constraint means some escape moves may be illegal — making checkmate easier near the edges.

Chess Clocks

Optional time controls are available: Bullet (1 min), Blitz (3+2), Rapid (10+5), and Classical (30+20). The clock starts when the game begins and switches after each move. Running out of time loses the game.

Controls

• Click a piece to select it (legal moves shown as dots).
• Click a highlighted square to make the move.
• Click a different friendly piece to reselect.
• Click an empty/invalid square to deselect.