Sep 01, 2026
Author's Commentary #914:
Time to talk about Chapter 914: Flash chess.
I've invented a new puzzle chess variant, and its name is flash chess. It's similar to how normal puzzles work, except this time, the whole game plays out before you and you're competing against other people. That said, there could be a solo version, or one where everyone starts at different times since ultimately the time it takes to complete the puzzle is what matters.
As for the rules, when the player has control, a clock with 60 seconds on it will begin ticking down. If it reaches 0 before a move is made, the player loses and is out of the game. If they make the wrong move, they also lose. A correct move results in the clock being reset to 60 seconds and the game continuing on. That said, the time it took you to find the correct move will be added to your total unless you fail to reach the end. Any moves you got correct will still display in your ranking though. Speaking of which, those that get a move right then a move wrong will place higher than those that failed on the first move and so forth.
In terms of what moves the player will get to make, for normal play, they'll be the only winning move where anything else results in either a drawn or lost position. When it's mate in a few moves, players will need to make a move that results in the fastest mate, otherwise they're handed a loss. For now, this would only trigger in instances where there's only one such move, not multiple different ones. Though in the future, I imagine that could be a thing. As for checkmates, if there is more than one possible mate, any one is good, though as Mimoko illustrated, the strat will be the move that can be made the fastest. That said, there would be bonuses that take off a few seconds on your final time if you pull off a stylish mate such as an en passant mate or a castling checkmate, but only if those aren't the only possible mates. Then, whoever has the fastest time wins.
As for the game featured, it's actually that game I mentioned back when I mentioned I played a few games against Chess.com's 1775-rated Odysseus bot that I considered using for Bai. Ultimately, I feel this was a much more creative way to make use of it. That said, Mimoko actually did have a point that the game didn't play out the fastest possible mating sequence. I feel like for variety, there should be some puzzles like this in the mix.
Finally, no, sadly there isn't anywhere you can actually play flash chess as it literally was just created by me around midnight on the day I uploaded this chapter, which was about an hour before it was uploaded if I had to estimate. I also don't have the know-how to program a game like that. That said, if anyone wants to make flash chess a thing anyone can play, feel free to.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
