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5asideCHESS

The Game

What

A mini version of the ancient game

Traditional chess has sixteen pieces a side and decades of theory attached to it. That's a wall. 5asideCHESS removes the wall: 5 main pieces, 5 pawns, a smaller board — and you're playing. All the same rules apply, even castling & en passant.

Board diagram with arrows pointing to every neighbouring square, showing that the King moves one square in any direction.
Board diagram with long arrows in all eight directions, showing that the Queen moves any distance in a straight line.
Board diagram with arrows up, down, left and right, showing that the Castle moves in straight lines only.
Board diagram with arrows toward each corner, showing that the Bishop moves along diagonals only.
Board diagram with L-shaped arrows, showing that the Knight moves two squares then one and can jump over other pieces.
Two board diagrams showing a Pawn moving one or two squares straight ahead from the start line, and taking one square diagonally.
Three children playing on a roll-up 5asideCHESS board in a classroom in Uganda
The board

It rolls up, so it travels

It has been played on beaches, in libraries, in hospital waiting rooms, on the top deck of buses and in a classroom in Uganda.

  • Instructions printed on the board itself — nobody has to feel lost.
  • Weighs almost nothing and survives a rucksack.
  • ‘Wanna play?’ in six languages on the table card.
  • No clock, no rating, no losing face.
Get a board