Flag Chess

The Flag fights for itself.

Flag Chess is a chess variant that replaces the king with the Flag, and adds two Sentinels to each side. The Flag moves as the king did and carries one burst; each starting Sentinel carries one of its own. Each burst can be used only once. Everything else is chess. The objective is flagmate.

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A Flag Chess set in its starting position on a black-and-white board, seen low from the White side, with all four Sentinels visible, the Flag’s pennant in profile at the center, and a forested ridgeline and clouds behind
The first tournament-size set, north Georgia, October 2026.

Three things change.
Everything else follows from them.

Flag Chess is played on a standard 8×8 board. Except where these rules say otherwise, every rule of standard chess applies, and in those rules the Flag takes the place of the king.

The Flag

Begins on e1 for White and e8 for Black. Moves and captures one square in any direction. Flagmate occurs when a player’s Flag is in check and that player has no legal move that removes the check.

The Sentinel

Begins on b2 and g2 for White and b7 and g7 for Black, in place of those pawns. Moves and captures one square diagonally in any direction, staying on its color for the whole game. A pawn may also promote to a Sentinel, without a burst.

The burst

A one-time move of exactly two squares along a clear path, with no jumping and no capturing. The Flag may burst in any straight line, but never into, out of, or through check. A Sentinel may burst only as its first move of the game: forward, diagonally inward, or horizontally inward. While your Flag is in check, no piece on your side may burst, Flag or Sentinel. Once the check is resolved, any suspended bursts are restored.

Two board diagrams. Left: each Sentinel's three burst squares — two forward, two diagonally inward, two horizontally inward. Right: a Flag on e4 and its eight burst squares, two away in every straight line.
Burst options, from the Official Rules v1.1.

Spend it, or save it.

Each burst can be used only once. A Sentinel can burst only as its first move; move it any other way first and its burst is gone. The Flag’s burst can wait until the last move of the game. Spend a burst early and you gain position but play on without it. Save it and you hold an option your opponent has to respect, though you may never get to use it. Every game now opens with a question chess never asked: burst now, or keep it?

The rules

Version 1.1, October 2026. Three documents, free to read and print. The Quick Guide fits on two pages; the Official Rules are the authority if anything differs.

A Flag Chess set in its starting position, seen at an angle from the White side, with the Flag and Sentinels among the white pieces and the black army behind Close-up of the white Flag between the white queen and bishop, against clouds over a forested ridgeline A black Flag and a white Flag facing each other on the edge of a high stone ledge, with forest far below and clouds overhead

Until sets are available, you can play with any standard set: mark the b- and g-pawns as Sentinels and treat the king as the Flag. If you enjoy it, join the waitlist.

Flag Chess endgames are their own theory.

In standard chess, king-and-pawn endings are often decided by the opposition: whoever has to move first loses the square. A player holding an unused Flag burst can change the opposition in a single move. Positions that are textbook draws in chess can be wins in Flag Chess for the side that saved its burst. Each side starts with one Flag burst, and it can only be spent once.

On an otherwise empty board, a white Flag between two white Sentinels faces a black Flag between two black Sentinels, with clouds and a ridgeline behind

Still in development.

The pieces shown here are prototypes.

Be the first to know when Flag Chess is available to order.