By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
Last week, I asked a local chess player if he is familiar with chess infinitum.
He said, “is that something similar to, eat all you can or eat without limit in restaurant”? He meant, play unlimited chess until you don’t like it anymore! Because he was not sure of his probative question, he spiced it with a crackling laugh.
Chess infinitum or Infinitum chess, is one of the thousands or so variants (ancient and modern) of the chess game that we know today. Maybe it is the newest as it was developed only in the early 2000.
In ASEAN, there is a chess variant called Makruk in Thailand which is almost identical to Ouk chaktrang of Cambodia. A variant in Myanmar is named Sittuyen.
Incidentally, Ouk chaktrang was part of the 2023 ASEAN Games held in Cambodia. GM Torre was one of the Filipino participants. When I was in Cambodia some years earlier, I intently watched a game being played near a tourist hub. Players tried to explain to me how it is played but can’t comprehend their local language. I just bought a set that is available in a nearby store.
Some of the more popular ancient variants are Chaturanga (India), Shatranj or chatrang(Iran), Shogi (Japan) and Xiangqi (China). It is said that the above variants were actually spinoffs from Chaturanga.
Since India has a great cultural and economic influence in the ASEAN, it is no wonder, that variants of their old chess game are thriving in most member countries of the region. The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia has the same variant but its name escapes my mind at the moment. And obviously, most of us don’t even know it.
The most popular variant of modern chess at the moment, is called Fischerandom where the chess pieces can be arranged at random at the beginning in 960 ways. That’s why it is also called Chess 960. It was started by the eccentric former world champion, Bobby Fischer of the USA. When it was introduced in the world, Eugene Torre, the first Filipino and Asian chess grandmaster, actively helped as he was a close friend of Fischer.
There is now a world championship event for this. Our very own, Cavite-born GM Wesley So, was a former world champion of Chess 960. Sadly, he reached the summit of this event when he was no longer representing the Philippines. Instead, the US flag was already beside his name.
And now comes Chess Infinitum.It is not yet known worldwide but not so long from now, it will be, in all probability.
What is very, very interesting is that the inventor of the variant is a Filipino. And he is not even a master. He is a long time chess patron though. He is businessman, Boojie Lim of Cebu.
Chess infinitum utilizes not the usual 8×8 square board of chess but nearly a 10×10 board. All the four corner squares are out. The variant also uses all chess pieces of chess: a King, a Queen, 2 rooks, 2 bishops, 2 knights and pawns (but only 6 of them, not 8, are used) on each side. The pieces move similar to the modern, classic chess .
A big difference is the presence of 4 infinitum squares on both sides, where any major or minor piece can quadruple its power when it lands in such squares present on its flank. The addition of a wizard which move like a queen, but could not be disposed of by the opposing king, is another fascinating innovation. It is even more powerful than a queen. The wizard though may nor may not be used in the game.
As a chess player myself, I find the Filipino invention very challenging, interesting, and it makes a player to see more angles/possibilities before making a move. In short, it forces one to become more analytic. That is to say, it sharpens more our decision-making abilities which is very important in our every day struggles.
The variant is now very popular in Cebu. It is also gaining grounds in NCR since 2013. A number of tournaments in both places have been held where it was enthusiastically embraced by participants.
I heard about this earlier, but never paid attention to it until in late 2022 when a tournament, I guess in NCR, was highlighted in a news report.
Grandmaster Torre was so ebullient in explaining Chess 960 but even more so when de discusses Chess infinitum. He enthused, “Mas malupet ito.” Many of our chess masters are confident that it will eventually sweep the chessworld by storm.
How about a chess infinitum tournament very soon in Baguio? Calling interested local chess patrons!
Salute to the ingenuity of Mr. Boojie Lim, and the Filipino inventor in general.**
