HYDRA

Chess for people who don’t love chess

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AREN’T SURE you’ll become a grandmaster by the age of twelve ?

…………Don’t believe you’ll ever have the slightest chance of beating a world chess champion?

All you want is some excitement – some intrigue – some FUN !?!!

WELCOME HOME!

HYDRA is for people who love a little strategy, mixed with a few daring risks, and the occasional thrill of a come-from-behind victory that makes you spontaneously jump to your feet and start dancing in front of your confused opponent. Even if you don’t know how to dance.

If you’re one of those above-average people who hopes to NEVER spend a decade of your life studying chess theory for 8 hours a day and memorizing opening sequences till your mind and body go numb…

If you just want to experience the FUN and SUSPENSE of shocking twists, and maybe a little luck going your way…

WELCOME HOME.

If you just want to feel your pulse race when you finally get the upper hand and move in for the kill…if you don’t mind losing as long as the game is so close that nobody has any idea who will strike the final blow first…if you find yourself turned on more by beating the odds than by starting another predictable, slow game with the same pieces in the same boring positions…if you love the thrill of making it up on the fly rather than hoping your opponent falls into that same old trap…if you aren’t afraid of sacrificing a piece or two in hopes of pulling off the greatest comeback since the “Immortal Game” then…

WELCOME to HYDRA.

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SIMPLE to learn. . .(SIMPLE does not equal boring – in fact, it’s quite the opposite)

Place 5 random pieces on each back row of a 5×5 board – one color per side.

Then: GO

Every time a piece moves off a back row, a random reserve piece (same color) immediately fills the empty spot.

SIMPLE and profound.

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WATCH a game >>>

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SHARPEN YOUR MIND

HYDRA

Quick, intense, random chess.

…Perfect for beginners Easy to learn / Exciting from the first move.

…Designed for people who always wanted to love chess .but just couldn’t get themselves to like it.

…Different starting setup every game

…Intrigue begins before the first move

…Random strategy evolution

…Average game time – 30 minutes

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Sure, it starts off simple enough…then suddenly you notice you’re in the middle of a frickin’ mind storm.

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Do you remember when chess was exciting?

How about the moment you won your first serious game?

Or the year the first (and last!) American handily beat the Russians to win the World Chess Championship? That victory is still widely considered the most famous chess event ever.

All over the United States chess games flew off store shelves, and chess instructors were booked for months in advance.

It was exciting.

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Having soundly defeated the best players on the world stage, new world chess champion Bobby Fischer found himself disillusioned. He decried chess (at the highest levels) as being dominated by “pre-arrangement and memorization” rather than creativity and talent. From then on he endorsed only one game:

Random Chess

He designed his own version (Fischer Random a.k.a. Chess960) specifically to render memorized openings obsolete.  Or, as he put it, to “level the playing field.”

His goal was to return “spontaneous talent and creativity” to the chess world — guaranteeing a dynamic, spirited battle of wits and courage.

Sound exciting?

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“You have to have the fighting spirit. You have to force moves and take chances.” ~ Bobby Fischer

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(We couldn’t agree more.)

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But Fischer knew it was unwise to leave everything to chance — he feared the “anarchy” of a fully randomized game.​

And for good reason . . .

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Disclaimer 1

HYDRA chess isn’t fully random, but we won’t lie –

It’s gonna scare you the first time you play.  Either before your first move, or near the middle of the game.  

But, if you don’t give up, and don’t back down, near the end you’ll start believing you just may pull off a victory.

Maybe even a shocking upset.

By game two, the fear will start feeling a bit more like excitement.

And by game three, well . . . let’s just say that during game three you’ll never wanna go back to who you were before.

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Disclaimer 2   

THIS GAME IS NOT “FAIR”

. . . unless you are bold enough to define fair as both players eventually receiving the same set of pieces – if they survive long enough.

It’s a roller coaster.

HYDRA chess is like life in that way. Those who demand fairness are doomed to perpetual disappointment.  The only way to win at life is to stay focused on your goal, and when something gets in your way outsmart it, overpower it, or outlast it (regardless of how “fair” it may be).

No need to be mean, just focused.

That’s the same attitude that wins at HYDRA chess. And, trust us, winning against the odds is sweet.

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Knightmare chess. That’s what I call it. You’ll see why.

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