Bluff Chess

Chess, but your back rank is face-down.

Your rooks, knights, bishops and queen start as hidden cards in an order only you know. Move one and you claim what it is. The move must be legal for the piece you claim, not the piece it really is.

Your opponent can let it go, or bet a chip and call your bluff.

• Caught lying? The move is undone, the piece is removed, and you pay a chip.
• Telling the truth? The card flips face-up, the move stands, and the caller pays you.

Run out of chips and you lose. Get checkmated and you can still call a showdown: expose a lying piece to break the mate.

How it plays

Chess players bring their positional thinking. Poker players bring reads, nerve and chip management. A one-square diagonal could be a bishop or a queen. That "knight" that has never moved might be the rook you need. A check is a real check until someone calls it.