Kriegspiel (chess)
Kriegspiel is a chess variant invented by Henry Michael Temple in 1899 and based upon the original Kriegsspiel (German for war game) developed by Georg von Reiswitz in 1812. In this game, each player can see their own pieces but not those of their opponent. For this reason, it is necessary to have a third person (or computer) act as an umpire, with full information about the progress of the game. Players attempt to move on their turns, and the umpire declares their attempts 'legal' or 'illegal'. If the move is illegal, the player tries again; if it is legal, that move stands. Each player is given information about checks and captures. They may also ask the umpire if there are any legal captures with a pawn. Since the position of the opponent's pieces is unknown, Kriegspiel is a game of imperfect information.
A game in progress; position as seen by White | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | Since 1899 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Genres | Board game Chess variant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Players | 2, plus an umpire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Setup time | ~1 min | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing time | 30–90 min | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Skills | Strategy, tactics, memory | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Synonyms | blind chess Screen Chess War-Chess Commando Chess | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On the Internet Chess Club, Kriegspiel is called Wild 16.