Reformers have tried to refresh chess for as long as the game has existed — from world champions like José Raúl Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker to Bobby Fischer, whose Chess960 shuffled the back rank to blunt opening preparation. In the age of engines and databases, the classical game can feel close to exhausted.
Consulchess is one answer. Its inventor, Tibor Nagy — Hungarian-born and living in Germany — conceived a new piece after watching a television documentary about military hardware. The idea became the Consul: a piece that moves like the queen but reaches only three squares, and that can vault over its neighbours.
To make room for two Consuls and their pawns, Nagy widened the board to 10 × 8. And for the first time since castling was invented, he let the king and a rook trade places along almost the entire back rank — the 65 free-castling variations (30 kingside, 35 queenside) that give the opening enormous fresh scope.
Consulchess was patented under the name “German/Hungarian chess.” To try it yourself, head to the Rules & FAQ.