Fog of War Chess

TL;DR

This paper provides the first theoretical analysis of endgames in Fog of War chess, revealing how partial information affects winning strategies and outcomes in specific king and piece configurations.

Contribution

It introduces the first formal analysis of Fog of War chess endgames, highlighting differences from classical chess and establishing winning conditions for various piece setups.

Findings

King and queen always win against a lone king.

King and rook cannot guarantee a win, unlike classical chess.

Adding an extra rook guarantees a win.

Abstract

Fog of War chess is a popular variant of classical chess, in which both players have only partial information about the position of the opponent's pieces. This study provides the first theoretical analysis of endgames in Fog of War chess. In particular, we analyze the setups king and queen versus king, king and rook versus king, and king and two rooks versus king. We show that a king and queen can always guarantee a win against a lone king. In contrast to classical chess, a king and a rook cannot guarantee a win against a lone king. However, adding one more rook guarantees a win.