Chess Bughouse

Bughouse chess is a variation of chess that is fun to play! Bughouse is a team game, which is the best part of all. Two players are on a team against two players. Each player takes a different color and when one team player wins a piece he or she gets to give the piece to his team mate. Then the team mate gets to place the piece anywhere he wants on the board in lieu of his turn.

The exceptions are he can’t place the piece where his opponent is in checkmate, and he can’t place the piece on a square where one of his opponent’s pieces are and capture it, and if it’s a pawn he can’t place the piece on the eighth rank and claim another queen. But you can place a piece such that your opponent is in check. They call this “drop check” and it is allowed. The main thing about bughouse is to have fun and forget all the seriousness of the game. It is a great way to liven up a chess club, to make it a very social experience, the game of chess. Lots of kids love bughouse, and if you want to see things get really crazy, try “crazyhouse” where there are three team mates instead of two! Here’s a video to watch of what bughouse looks like.