How to Play Atomic chess
Chess where every capture is a blast — and a king cannot take anything.
Atomic chess is chess with explosions. Every capture blows up: the captured piece, the capturing piece, and every piece but a pawn on the eight squares around the capture are removed from the board. A king may never capture — it would be in the blast — and blowing up the other king wins the game at once, so a capture next to the enemy king is the whole point and a capture next to your own is illegal. Play it offline against the computer at three levels, or online on a clock, on any of the eight boards.
Ways to play Atomic chess
Against the computer
Pick your side and a level — Easy, Medium or Hard — and play Atomic chess offline. The game is kept in your browser, exactly where you left it.
Online, on a clock
Create a board, choose your color, set a clock from one minute to sixty — or none at all — and share the code. Only the side to move has their clock running.
In 2D or 3D
Lay the board flat or stand it up. Every piece rises onto its square, and you can flip between them mid-game.
Seven boards, seven sets
Classic felt, Renaissance marble, Stone Age sandstone, Ice Age glacier, Jurassic amber, a Crustacean tide pool and a medieval chamber — changed while you play.
🎯 Objective
Explode the other king, or checkmate it as in chess. Stalemate, threefold repetition and the fifty-move rule are draws; on a timed board, a flag that falls loses.
🎲 Atomic chess setup
- The board and the pieces are set exactly as in chess.
- Nothing else is added: the explosions come from the captures, not from any special piece.
- Remember before the first move that a king can never take a piece, and that two kings standing next to each other are safe from each other.
- Choose your side and the engine’s level — Easy, Medium or Hard — or create an online board and set the clock. White moves first.
▶ How to play Atomic chess
- Every piece moves as in chess; castling, en passant and promotion are unchanged.
- When a piece captures, the captured piece, the capturing piece and every piece on the eight squares round the capture are removed — except pawns, which only go when they are captured themselves.
- En passant explodes on the capturing pawn’s square, not on the square of the pawn it takes.
- A king may not capture anything: the capturer is always in the blast. And no move may explode your own king, so a capture on a square next to it is illegal.
- A capture next to the enemy king blows it up and wins the game on the spot, whether or not the king was in check.
- Two kings that touch are safe from each other: nothing can capture a king without exploding the capturer’s own king, so no check can be given by that capture.
- A king in check must still get out of it, by moving, by blocking, or by a capture that explodes the attacker — but not by capturing with the king.
🎬 Watch: How to Play Atomic chess
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📖 Detailed guide
The explosion
- The blast covers nine squares: the capture square and the eight around it. Both the taker and the taken go, and so does every piece on those eight squares except pawns.
- Pawns survive a neighboring blast. They are removed only when they are the piece captured, or the piece capturing.
- En passant explodes where the capturing pawn lands, so the captured pawn’s own square is at the edge of the blast, not its center.
- There is no way to capture quietly. Every capture is a sacrifice of the capturing piece.
Kings
- A king never captures — any capture it made would explode it. A square occupied by an enemy piece is simply not a square the king can move to.
- A move that would explode your own king is illegal, which is why a capture beside your king cannot be played even to escape check.
- A capture beside the enemy king wins immediately. It need not be check, and the rest of the board does not matter.
- Kings standing side by side are safe from one another. Nothing may capture a king without taking its own, so no capture-check exists between them.
How a game ends
- An exploded king — the capture next to it ends the game that instant.
- Checkmate, as in chess: the king is in check and nothing gets it out.
- Stalemate, the same position for a third time, and fifty moves by each side with no capture and no pawn move are draws.
- On a timed board, a clock that runs out loses.
Offline, online and the clock
- Offline, choose Atomic on the chess page’s rules picker, then your color and the level. The game is kept in your browser until you end it, and Undo takes back your move and the engine’s reply.
- Online you create an Atomic board, choose White, Black or a random draw, set a clock from one to sixty minutes — or none — and share the code or an invite link.
- Only the clock of the side to move runs. A clock that runs out loses the game.
- Atomic is rated and recorded as its own game, apart from chess, on the same eight boards with the same piece sets and 2D/3D switch.
🏁 How Atomic chess is won
Exploding the other king wins at once, and so does checkmate. It is a draw by stalemate, by the same position arising three times, or by fifty moves by each side with no capture and no pawn move. On a timed board, a player whose clock runs out loses — only the side to move has their clock running.
❓ Atomic chess — frequently asked questions
How many players do you need for Atomic chess?
Atomic chess is played by 2. Seats you do not fill are taken by the computer, so a game always starts.
Where can I play Atomic chess?
In your browser at play.vanikar.games, on a computer, a tablet or a phone. Sign in with the same Vanikar™ account you use for the card games.
Is Atomic chess included in my subscription?
Yes. One Card Games by Vanikar™ subscription covers the card games, Chess & Checkers and the board games, and every game released after them.
Does Atomic chess have ads?
No. No Vanikar™ game has ever carried advertising, and none ever will.
How is Atomic chess different from chess?
Every capture explodes: the captured piece, the capturing piece and every non-pawn piece on the 8 squares around the capture are removed. A king can never capture, no move may explode your own king, and exploding the other king wins at once. Everything else is chess.
Can a king capture in Atomic chess?
No. The capturing piece is always in the blast, so a king that captured would explode itself. A square with an enemy piece on it is a square the king simply cannot move to.
Why are two kings next to each other safe?
Because nothing may capture a king without exploding its own king, which is illegal. So a piece next to both kings cannot give check by capture, and the kings cannot be prised apart by taking something beside them.
Is Atomic chess included in my subscription?
Yes. Atomic chess is part of Chess & Checkers by Vanikar™, which a Card Games by Vanikar™ subscription includes. Play it in your browser at play.vanikar.games with the same account.