SIGN UP TODAY TO GET ACCESS TO YOUR FREE PRINTABLE BOARD DOWNLOADS AND
GET SUCKED INTO THE VORTEX!!
WELCOME TO THE WORLDS NEXT CHESS GAME
ABOUT VORCHESS
Vorchess™ is a truly remarkable game! It combines intrigue, suspense, and strategy. Having 81 total spaces compared to 64 in conventional chess, playing in a circular world, and having 2 different ways of winning means immeasurably more possible moves, new strategies, and outcomes. There has never been a chess game like this before!
I had a chance to play Vorchess and was quite impressed by the geometry of the board and the strategy required to play well. I would recommend Vorchess to anyone who enjoys strategy games since it is a fascinating conceptual change and an interesting challenge!
Leon David Piasetski- International Master (IM)
OFFICIAL RULES
RULES FOR VORCHESS
1. The objective in VorChess is to get your King into the Vortex (center) OR to checkmate your opponent.
2. All chess pieces are placed on the board in the same order as traditional chess.
3. The outer most ring is the Castle (safe ring), which is ring 1, and the inner most ring is ring 5. All pieces other than the pawns start in the Castle.
4. White plays first and moves a piece towards the center.
5. Because the Castle (ring 1) is the safe ring, no piece can be captured while located inside this ring. Conversely a piece located inside the Castle must make one move to rings 2-5 to get out of the Castle first in order to capture a piece located in any of the 2-5 rings. A piece can move freely within the Castle, and can move in and out of the Castle at any time. The exception is the King. Once the King leaves the Castle it cannot move back in.
6. Pawns can only move towards the center. They can move one or two spaces towards the center on their first move but only 1 space at a time after that and can only capture an opponent’s piece on the diagonal. Note that Pawns can be captured in ring 2, as this ring is not a safe zone and are not protected from pieces located in the Castle. Pawns can be promoted to any piece, but ONLY if both players have just their Kings and Pawns left on the board and the piece that they choose must start in the Castle and in the same row as where their pawn entered the center from. The en passant rule is not allowed.
7. A player's King can only enter the Vortex for the win if an opponent has no piece located in ring 5 and no Knight located in rings 4 or 5. The King cannot be in check when entering the Vortex.
8. Any piece other than the King can make a move into the Vortex but must be removed from the game.
9. Castling is not allowed.
10. If multiple games are being played such as in a tournament, a point system can be used. If a player wins by getting their King into the center, 2 points is scored. If a player wins by checkmate, 1 point is scored. Draws and stalemates are worth 0 points.
RULES FOR VORCHESS 3
1. Using the Vorchess 3 Game board, the 3 sets of pieces are set up the same as regular Vorchess with Rooks and Pawns beside opposing Rooks and Pawns.
2. All moves, rules, and objectives are the same as 2 player Vorchess but with 3 players. To choose who moves first, place the King from each team into a bag and have each player choose one King from the bag without looking. The order in which the Kings are chosen is the order in which the players start.
3. If one player is put in checkmate he/she is eliminated from the game and must remove their King from the board but leave all other pieces where they stand. These pieces cannot move or capture any other piece. They can however be captured and removed from the board by the remaining players.
4. Whichever player gets their King safely to the center first wins or if 2 players are checkmated, both players are eliminated and the remaining player is declared the winner.
