💥 Atomic Chess: rules and free online play

Every capture detonates: the capturing piece, the captured piece and all non-pawn pieces around it disappear.

Win: Explode the king
Pawns: Survive nearby blasts
King: Cannot capture

Rules

After a capture, the capturing piece and the captured one vanish together with every neighbouring piece except pawns. Pawns are only removed when they take part in the capture themselves.

Exploding the enemy king wins the game. A king cannot capture, because it would be blown up too, and you may not make a capture that destroys only your own king.

Try the rules

Pick a position and press a button to see the rule in action.

How it differs from classic chess

A single trade can wipe out several pieces, so tactics rule. Squares next to a king are dangerous even without any check, and a knight landing on f7 or f2 early often ends the game.

Tips for beginners

Keep your king away from pieces that your opponent can capture next to it.
Think twice before capturing with the queen — it always disappears.
Use pawns as a shield: they survive explosions.

Play and practise

Choose “Atomic Chess” in the game window and play against the Fairy-Stockfish engine or send a link to a friend. Ratings are kept separately for every mode. The site interface is currently in Russian; this page explains the rules in English.