Rules / Vanish
Vanish chess: rules and how to use the forecast
In Vanish, the board itself attacks both players. Every few moves, a handful of squares is emptied. Any piece on them is gone, and the game tells you exactly which squares and when. The surprise isn't the event, it's what your opponent does about it.
The rules
- After the first move of the game, a forecast appears, showing target squares and a countdown.
- The vanish happens 4 to 10 moves after the forecast appears. Each single move by either player counts as one.
- Between 2 and 5 squares are targeted. Two is the most common and five is rare.
- Every piece on a target square disappears, whichever side it belongs to, except for Kings, which never vanish.
- If a Rook that hasn't castled vanishes, you can no longer castle on that side.
- Straight after a vanish, the next forecast appears.
What the numbers say
The squares are drawn at random across the board. With about two and a half squares per event, a given square is targeted a little under 4% of the time. The gap between events averages seven moves. In a typical game, that means a steady trickle of losses rather than a massacre. The forecast is what makes it matter: you can always see what's coming, so you lose a piece mainly when something more urgent is going on.
Who moves last
Count the countdown as moves, not as turns. The vanish takes effect right after the final counted move, before the next player replies. So you can work out who gets the last move before it happens.
If your opponent has the last move, they can step off a target square at the final moment. If you have it, they have to solve the problem one move sooner. This matters most when both sides have pieces on target squares and only one can be saved in time.
Using the forecast as a weapon
Make them choose
The best moment for a threat is when your opponent also has a piece on a target square. If you attack something else, they can only answer one problem per move. With the countdown near zero, one extra threat can win a piece, because the vanish takes the other one for free.
Pin a piece on a doomed square
A piece on a target square that's pinned to the King usually can't step away. If you can arrange a pin on such a piece before the countdown ends, it will disappear without you spending anything.
Don't capture onto a target late
A capture onto a target square that lands near the end of the countdown may give the piece straight back. Sometimes the right recapture is not to recapture at all. Equally, when the countdown is about to reach zero, you can leave a piece attacked on a target square, because taking it would cost your opponent the capturing piece.
Watch the lines that open
When a pawn or piece disappears, every line through its square opens. A blocked bishop may suddenly point at your King, and a pawn shield can get a hole in it. Look at the position as it will be after the vanish, not as it is now.
Reading the screen
The forecast line shows the moves remaining and the target squares, which are also marked on the board. Room settings can hide part of the forecast. On narrow screens it scrolls sideways. Kings on target squares are safe.
Next: Must Capture