Aliya Explains Chess Variants: KING OF THE HILL

Most chess players know that in chess, you should keep your king safe and try not to have it stuck in the middle of the board, but this chess variant is exciting because one of the goals of the game is to get your king to the center!

Dreamstime.com

BY ALIYA SALDANHA-SURI
NYC LAB MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR COLLABORATIVE STUDIES
COACH AND COLUMNIST

King of the Hill chess variant is the fourth of fifteen variants in our special article series focusing on other chess playing games. Chess variants are one of the most enjoyable parts of chess. Whether you’re goofing off with your friends, playing by yourself on a computer, or even competing in a chess variant tournament. Chess variants offer many different ways to have fun playing chess and improve in different aspects of the game.

Alamy

King of the hill

King of the Hill is a very well-known chess variant to most intermediate and advanced chess players. Most chess players know that in chess, you should keep your king safe and try not to have it stuck in the middle of the board, but this chess variant is exciting because one of the goals of the game is to get your king to the center! This means that while each side is trying to get to the “top of the hill”, both kings get into more and more dangerous positions.

How to win the game: The game ends when one of the players gets their king to one of the four center squares (e4, d4, e5, d5), or when one of the players checkmates their opponent.

Rules: All chess rules apply. You are still not allowed to move your king to the top of the hill if your opponent’s piece is defending those squares.