Black hole chess is any one of several
chess variants in which there are one or more 'black holes' on the
board. In some
variants, any piece that lands in a black hole is removed from the board, where it may or may not be
recovered depending on the game. In other types of black hole chess, no piece may enter or travel across a black hole (although
knights may still jump over it).
One type of black hole chess that is available
online was
invented by Karl Scherer in May 2000. There are four black holes at e4, e5, d4, and d5, and any piece that lands in one may be
recovered and placed anywhere on the board in exchange for a turn. This game is available for
download from
zillionsofgames.com. The other widely known
internet variation was invented by David Short for the ChessVariants.com "Hundred Squares Chess" contest, in which it did not place. It includes one black hole in the center of a 9x11 board, and an additional square behind each
king to fulfill the 100
square requirement.