Chess on a cylinder

Circular ranks

The classical cylinder chess uses a setup where the ranks are wrapped around a cylinder, such that the left and right side of the board are connected.

h8 a8 b8 c8 d8 e8 f8 g8 h8 a8
h7 a7 b7 c7 d7 e7 f7 g7 h7 a7
h6 a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 h6 a6
h5 a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 h5 a5
h4 a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 g4 h4 a4
h3 a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3 a3
h2 a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2 g2 h2 a2
h1 a1 b1 c1 d1 e1 f1 g1 h1 a1

Pieces are set up as in standard chess.

a b c d e f g h
8 ♜ ♞ ♝ ♛ ♚ ♝ ♞ ♜
7 ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟
6
5
4
3
2 ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙
1 ♖ ♘ ♗ ♕ ♔ ♗ ♘ ♖

Circular files

An alternative construction for a cylinder is to wrap around the files. Since this would put both kings into check in the standard setup, this variant doubles the six ranks from 2 to 7 before connecting the upper and lower edges.

a12 b12 c12 d12 e12 f12 g12 h12
a11 b11 c11 d11 e11 f11 g11 h11
a10 b10 c10 d10 e10 f10 g10 h10
a9 b9 c9 d9 e9 f9 g9 h9
a8 b8 c8 d8 e8 f8 g8 h8
a7 b7 c7 d7 e7 f7 g7 h7
a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 h6
a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 h5
a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 g4 h4
a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3
a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2 g2 h2
a1 b1 c1 d1 e1 f1 g1 h1
a14 b14 c14 d14 e14 f14 g14 h14
a13 b13 c13 d13 e13 f13 g13 h13
a12 b12 c12 d12 e12 f12 g12 h12
a11 b11 c11 d11 e11 f11 g11 h11

Here the pieces of each player are flanked by a line of pawns on either side. Pawns always move away from their friendly pieces towards the opponent, where they are promoted.

a b c d e f g h
11
10
9 ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟
8 ♜ ♞ ♝ ♛ ♚ ♝ ♞ ♜
7 ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟ ♟
6
5
4
3
2 ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙
1 ♖ ♘ ♗ ♕ ♔ ♗ ♘ ♖
14 ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙ ♙
13
12