King of the Hill
King of the Hill is a chess variant in which a player wins immediately by moving their king onto one of the four central squares, d4, d5, e4 or e5.
King of the Hill follows all the normal rules of chess, with one extra way to win. If your king reaches any of the four central squares, d4, d5, e4 or e5, you win the game on the spot. Checkmate still works as normal, so there are two goals to balance at once.
The change makes the king an active piece much earlier. In standard chess, the king hides on the wing in the opening and middlegame. Here, a king that is safe can walk toward the center, and the opponent must watch for that threat all the time. Players often keep pieces near the middle to guard the four squares, and a trade that clears the board can suddenly give a king a free run.
King of the Hill is a popular online variant and an easy one to learn, because the new rule is simple. It teaches that the king is a strong piece in the ending, which is also true in normal chess, where an active king often decides the result. It is not played in standard rated competitions.
A neighboring idea is Antichess. Antichess is a variant that turns the aim upside down: you must capture whenever you can, and you win by giving away every piece you own or by being left with no legal move.
A neighboring idea is Atomic chess. Atomic chess is a variant in which every capture causes an explosion that removes the capturing piece and all non-pawn pieces on the squares around the captured piece.
Also worth reading is Horde chess. Horde chess is a variant in which White has a large mass of pawns instead of the usual army, while Black plays with the normal set of pieces, and Black tries to capture them all.
Time controls change what a player should practice, and the improvement plans by rating band show how the habits behind "King of the Hill" differ across rating ranges.
Related terms
A chess variant is a game played on a chessboard with pieces that move as in chess but with at least one changed rule, setup or goal, such as Chess960, Crazyhouse or Three-check.
Three-check chess uses the normal rules with one added way to win: the first player to put the opposing king in check three times wins at once, in addition to winning by checkmate.
Atomic chess is a variant in which every capture causes an explosion that removes the capturing piece and all non-pawn pieces on the squares around the captured piece.
Horde chess is a variant in which White has a large mass of pawns instead of the usual army, while Black plays with the normal set of pieces, and Black tries to capture them all.
Crazyhouse is a chess variant in which a captured piece changes sides and joins your reserve, and on any later turn you may drop it onto an empty square instead of moving.
Chess960 is a variant that begins from one of 960 randomly chosen back-rank setups, with the king between the rooks and the bishops on opposite colors, and is otherwise played with the usual rules.
Guides that go further
See whether a base time and increment counts as bullet, blitz, rapid or classical.
Average chess rating and a good chess rating
What share of active Lichess players are rated above 800, 1200, 1500, 1800 or 2000, by time control.
What a rating measures, how FIDE, Lichess, US Chess and chess.com compute theirs, and why the numbers differ.
Want to spot this in your own games?
A first lesson starts with your games: George reviews them and builds a study plan around what he finds.