Kriegspiel (chess)

War game is a chess variant in 1890 by the Englishman Henry Michael Temple ( * 1860, † 1928) was invented and introduced by him in English chess circles. From there it spread and is still popular today. It is also known as phantom chess, chess spirits or wall bay.

It is played according to the rules of movement normal chess, but the two players use each have their own chess board and use it, only the figures of the same color. A referee who can see the only two boards and has its own board on which he performs the moves of both players, the player announces if he is on the train and if the last train was a capturing move. In shock trains is specified only on the field where the beating took place, but not the striking figure. The referee says to back a possible bid chess and gives the additional information, if it is ( seen from Kings ) of a knight on a line or on the given long or short diagonal. A player may only ask the referee whether a capturing move of a pawn is possible. If this is the case, the player must attempt such a train. If a proposed by the players train as by the Laws of Chess Sets illicitly out, rejects him, the referee without further comment. Players must therefore try to guess or be inferred from the few available information that the moves of the opponent.

Since it involves a gross errors by normal chess standards, the game for both the players as well as spectators has a great entertainment value. It is known that the later world chess champion Alexander Alekhine took an interest in the game and in 1926 won a tournament in Scarborough.

From 1938 to Gerald Frank Anderson wrote the first book on the war game that was 1958/59 published.