A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways.
A three-player chess variant which uses a hexagonal board
Models for the fairy chess pieces used in Capablanca chess
Chess is a board game for two players, each controlling a set of chess pieces. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games such as xiangqi and shogi. The recorded history of chess goes back at least to the emergence of a similar game, chaturanga, in seventh-century India. The rules of chess as they are known today emerged in Europe at the end of the 15th century, with standardization and universal acceptance by the end of the 19th century. Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games, and is played by millions of people worldwide.
Part of a Staunton chess setLeft to right: white king, black rook, black queen, white pawn, black knight, white bishop
Setup at the start of a chess game
A digital chess clock
Public chess tables in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris