What Is ‘All The King’s Men’ Chess?

Being one of the oldest games still played, chess has thousands of variations which are the result of so many centuries of being played in so many different cultures from pretty much every part of the world.

One of the most famous variations in the Western portion of the globe is called All the King’s Men, or ATKM, and it is largely played, mostly by children, pretty much in every country.

All The King’s Men Chess

ATKM is more commonly played by kids that haven’t learned how to play chess yet, due to its simpler nature. Normally, once kids learn how dynamic chess is and become able to grasp its complexity, ATKM tends to become too basic.

All the King’s Men is a two-player game published in 1979 and is also known as “Smess” or “Take the Brain” because, in the latter, the piece that corresponds to the king is called the ‘Brain’.

With matches that rarely take more than thirty minutes, the game becomes more interesting for kids, especially the ones who have shorter attention spans.

There are no queens, pawns, bishops, or rooks, and each side of the board begins with one king, four knights, and seven archers.

As for the movements of pieces, the archers and the king can only move one square per turn. However, the knights can move as many squares as they want as long as it is in the same direction.

ATKM Chess Board

The board is highly decorated with medieval war themes, and the files and ranks don’t normally have numbers or letters that identify them.

The board in ATKM also holds a few more differences from the official chessboard. The first is the number of squares, which in chess amounts to 64 in an eight-by-eight disposition and in ATKM amounts to 56 in an eight ranks per seven files disposition.

Also, in ATKM boards, the squares have arrows that point where the pieces may move next. The direction arrows on the squares can also be used for strategic matters.

More experienced players can use the arrows to lure their opponents into thinking their pieces are going to move a certain way, which gives a particular strategical aspect to this seemingly more basic version of chess.

Pieces Can’t Jump Over Another

In ATKM, no piece can jump over another, and any piece can capture any of the opponent’s ones by simply stepping into the square in which the opponent’s piece is.

How To Win

When the opponent’s king is open for capture, it is in threat, and the player has three options: put a piece between the threatening piece and the king, capture the threatening piece, or move the king away. Just like in chess, once the king is captured, the game is over.

ATKM is an introductory strategy game and is used as a first step by many parents who want their children to learn chess. Due to the more basic and more ‘chill’ aspects of ATKM, children normally enjoy it more than the formal requirements usually present in chess.