Atomic chess

[3] An indirect threat occurs when a player threatens to explode the king by capturing an adjacent piece.

This possibility is often used by a losing player to defensively position his king next to his opponent's at endgame, hoping for a draw.

In variations that require a response to being checked, it is possible to checkmate an opponent to win the game, creating a situation in which a king is directly threatened and cannot make a legal move.

When typical rules of check are not enforced, victory is only attained via the explosion of the enemy king.

In 1995 the German Internet Chess Server (GICS) introduced the game, based on rules one of its users collected from friends who played offline.

[9] Lichess also hosts 24-hour tournaments called "Atomic Revolution" with cash prizes where 8 thousand people participated in the 2022 edition.

[10] It has garnered serious attention from chess grandmasters with Andrew Tang reaching quarterfinals and Jeffery Xiong reaching semifinals of Atomic Chess Championship 2017 hosted on Lichess, where both got knocked out by GM Arka50 who has won the championship in 2017, 2018 and 2020 whereas he did not participate in 2019 and 2021 editions.

Several common traps begin with 1.Nf3 followed by Ng5 or Ne5, forcing Black to start with 1..f6 to maintain rough equality.

[6] Games between experienced players follow more traditional opening principles, such as piece development, controlling space, and winning material.