r/chessvariants is a subreddit with 14k members. The most common kinds of discussions are ideas and solution requests, and the community frequently discusses chess, variant, chess variant, stockfish, and drawless chess.
A subreddit dedicated to sharing and discovering different styles of chess.
1. No promotion of the same app/site/event/channel more than once every two weeks.
2. A variant is defined as "chess, but with modifications". Not a different game entirely, but with elements of chess.
3. When discussing a particular variant, put its name clearly in the title of the post.
4. Discord links are by default not trusted.
5. No AI slop.
6. Rules must immediately visible and easily accessible.
Popular Themes in r/chessvariants
#1
Ideas
: "I made a website where bots have weird rules - and you can build your own!"
9 posts
#2
Solution Requests
: "Check out my blindfold chess training website — looking for a few people to test it"
1 post
#3
Advice Requests
: "Would you choose a handcrafted wooden chess set or a standard plastic one?"
1 post
Popular Topics in r/chessvariants
#1
Chess
: "I made a three handed Decimal Chess board"
34 posts
#2
Variant
: "Middle Chess — Get your king across the center line to win!"
7 posts
#3
Chess Variant
: "NNUE from scratch for a Chess Variant where pieces evolve mid-game"
6 posts
#4
Stockfish
: "Proxess: Stockfish vs Stockfish. Both players bait their engine into 3-Check by deploying pieces."
2 posts
#5
Drawless Chess
: "I invented a Drawless Chess variant: Cusp Chess. now the Python GUI is available on GitHub. It is great to play chess engine games."
2 posts
#6
Guards Chess
: "Guards Chess"
2 posts
#7
Chess Set
: "I designed a 40 cm folding dragon Chess Set with 125 printable parts"
2 posts
#8
Dragon Chess
: "I designed a 40 cm folding Dragon Chess set with 125 printable parts"
2 posts
#9
Websites
1 post
#10
Variants
1 post
Flair Used in r/chessvariants
#1
New Variant
: "Queen’s Castle"
62 posts
#2
Discussion
: "I may have found the first surviving image of "Khaki Modern Chess" by E. L. Perry"
12 posts
#3
others
: "Hello everyone. I have an odd request, wondering if anyone might know information or could help me with finding something out. (ChessWhizTV)"
11 posts
#4
Puzzle
: "Chesstris: Chess + Teris. Playable."
9 posts
#5
Theory Discussion
: "Standard or common heights of certain pieces"
1 post
Member Growth in r/chessvariants
Yearly
+4k members(39.8%)
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About
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Last updated: August 23, 2026