Chex Chex

Chex is a hexagonal chess variant that I developed many years ago. It must have been some time during the 1980s. The name is of course a frankenword made out of "chess" and "hex". It is an awful name, but that is what I called it.

Chex er en heksagonal skakvariant som jeg udviklede for mange år siden. Det må have været engang i 1980erne. Navnet er selvfølgelig en krydsning mellem "chess" og "hex". Det er et elendigt navn, men det er hvad jeg kaldte det.

The goal was to make a small chess-like game. Really, it was just creative exploration of an idea. The result might not be magnificent, but it is indeed small and quick to play. It can feel claustrophobic in a good way, and you easily get into some intense positions. At the time I thought it was a unique idea to play chess on a hexagonal board. But, as anyone can see on the internet now, chex is just one of many such variants.

Målet var at lave et lille skak-agtigt spil. Det var sådan set bare kreativ udforskning af en idé. Det kan godt være resultatet ikke er storslået, men det er et lille og hurtigt spil. Det kan føles klaustrofobisk på en god måde, og man havner nemt i nogle intense positioner. Dengang troede jeg at idéen med at spille skak på et heksagonalt brædt var enestående. Men som enhver kan se på internet nu, så er chex bare en af mange sådanne varianter.

The rules are very simple if you already know chess.

Reglerne er meget simple hvis man allerede kender skak.

The idea is that you use the start position shown above while learning the game. But soon add three dice and start playing Chex72. It is the same game, but with random start positions. Similar to what Bobby Fischers Chess960 is to chess.

Idéen er at man bruger startpositionen, som man ser foroven, mens man lærer spillet. Men derefter tilføjer tre terninger og begynder at spille Chex72. Det er det samme spil, men med tilfældige startpositioner. Det svarer til hvad Bobby Fischers Chess960 er for skak.

At the time chex was made, chess had become such a serious game. It was a game to analyze in depth, a game requiring education and lots of studying for one to even start playing for real. Chess had become part of the geopolitical rivalry between the two superpowers. It was also seen as the mental battleground where humans and computers should prove who were the smartest. Chess was serious stuff. Since then chess culture has reinvented itself, and chess is now a more approachable game.

Dengang chex blev lavet var skak blevet sådan et alvorligt spil. Det var et spil som skulle analyseres, et spil som krævede uddannelse og studier før man kunne begynde at spille rigtigt. Skak var blevet en del af den geopolitiske rivalisering mellem de to supermagter. Spillet blev osse set som den mentale boksering hvor mennesker og computere skulle afgøre hvem der var de smarteste. Skak var en alvorlig sag. Siden da har skak kulturen genopfundet sig selv, og skak er nu et mere imødekommende spil.

The point of chex was to be both something new and something familiar. An opportunity for one to play chess-like moves with fresh eyes. A more casual game. No education or studying required, as there is nothing that you can read up on. I think it turned out interesting and not a bad game. But I would love to hear if anyone has any improvements.

Chex skulle være både noget nyt og noget velkendt. En mulighed for at spille skak-lignende træk med friske øjne. Et mere uformelt spil. Uddanelse og studier ikke nødvendige, da der ikke findes noget man kan læse op på. Jeg synes spillet blev interessant og ikke dårligt. Men jeg vil meget gerne høre hvis der er nogen der har forbedringer.

For those that are curious and want to try the game, here are the necessary downloads.

Til dem der er nysgerrige og har lyst til at prøve spillet, er her de nødvendige downloads.