King of the Hill

How King of the Hill is played

King of the Hill is chess where the centre is a goal: a king that gets there wins.

The hill

The four centre squares, d4, d5, e4 and e5, are marked on the board. A king that steps onto one of them with a legal move wins at once. It may not step there into check, so the square must be safe.

Winning and draws

Checkmate wins too. Stalemate, the same position three times and fifty moves without a capture or a pawn move are draws; there is no draw for too little material, since a lone king can still walk to the centre.

The story

Chess clubs, later online · an old club game, online today

When and where

No one knows who invented King of the Hill, or when. A page of chessvariants.org describes the same game as Center of Attention, and its author remembers playing it as a child at a chess club.

How it changed

All the laws of chess still apply; a king that reaches one of the four centre squares, d4, d5, e4 or e5, with a legal move wins at once. So a king may not run there into check.

Today

Lichess and Chess.com play it. Its centre rule turns the king, usually hidden behind its pawns, into an attacking piece.

Did you know?

Chess.com’s guide puts the whole difference from chess in one line: only the way a game can end has changed.

Sources: Lichess · chessvariants.org · Chess.com

More games

Chess and variants

• Chess · Classic chess or Chess960 with a shuffled back rank, against a bot.
• Chess960 · Fischer random chess: the back rank starts in one of 960 setups.
• Antichess · Losing chess: give away all your pieces, captures are compulsory.
• Atomic chess · Every capture is an explosion that clears the pieces around it.
• Crazyhouse · Captured pieces change sides and can be dropped back onto the board.
• Three-check · Chess where the third check wins, so every check counts.
• Racing Kings · No pawns, no checks: the first king on the far rank wins.
• Horde · 36 white pawns storm a full black army.
• Duck chess · After every move you move the duck, which blocks everyone. No check.
• Fog of War · You only see where your pieces can move. Capture the king to win.
• Kriegspiel · Only your own pieces in sight; an umpire judges every move.
• Friendly Chess · Nothing is captured: pieces unite and set off chain reactions.

The chess family

• Chaturanga · India’s ancient chess, the root of the family: take the king to win.
• Shatranj · The medieval ancestor of chess, with a weak ferz and a jumping alfil.
• Medieval chess · Europe’s chess before 1475: the ferz and the king may leap on their first move.
• Courier chess · Medieval Germany’s chess on a 12 × 8 board, with the courier, the man and the schleich.
• Makruk · Thai chess: a slow, strategic game with a counting rule.
• Ouk Chatrang · Cambodian chess: Makruk with a leap for the king and the met.
• Sittuyin · Burmese chess: set up your pieces, then promote on the diagonals.
• Kar Ouk · Ouk Chatrang where the first check wins: guard your king.
• Xiangqi · Chinese chess: a river, palaces and a cannon that jumps to capture.
• Janggi · Korean chess: no river, palace diagonals and a cannon that always jumps.
• Shogi · Japanese chess: captured pieces return to the board on your side.
• Minishogi · Shogi on a 5 × 5 board: six pieces a side, short and sharp games.

More players

• Chaturaji · India’s four-handed chess: kings can be captured, captures score.
• Four Seasons Chess · Alfonso X’s chess for four from 1283: four seasons, the last king wins.
• Three-player chess · Three armies on a hexagonal board: you against two bots.
• Four-player chess · Four armies on a cross-shaped board: in teams or all against all.
• Verney’s four-handed chess · Verney’s game of 1881: two against two, mate both enemy kings.
• Bughouse · Two boards, two teams: what you capture goes to your partner's hand.
• Eight-player chess · Eight armies on a board of 516 squares: all against all, in pairs or four against four.