What Is Atomic Chess?
Atomic chess is a variant where every capture causes an explosion: the captured piece, the capturing piece, and all non-pawn pieces on adjacent squares are destroyed. This creates a completely different game where captures have massive consequences.
Explosion rules
When a piece captures: both pieces involved are destroyed, plus all non-pawn pieces on adjacent squares (the 8 surrounding squares). Pawns survive explosions unless they are directly captured. If a king is caught in an explosion, that player loses.
Winning conditions
You win by: exploding the enemy king (capturing a piece adjacent to the king) OR traditional checkmate. You cannot capture a piece if it would explode your own king. Atomic games are often short and violent.
Strategy
The game revolves around king safety and explosive combinations. Early attacks targeting the f2/f7 squares (near the king) are common. Piece values change dramatically, a pawn next to the king can be worth more than a queen. Many games end in 5-10 moves.
Where to play
Atomic chess is available on Lichess and several variant chess servers. It has a dedicated community and regular tournaments.