Shako is a chess variant played on a 10x10 board.

With this idea, there is the willingness to design a new and augmented game without directly disposing the large heritage of the classical game. All rules of orthodox chess are kept, and the way the pieces are placed in the opening setup allows players to follow practically all the openings used of standard chess. One new piece is borrowed from Chinese xiangqi, with the intention to join together the two branches of the chess family, west and east. The second new piece is derived from shatranj and medieval chess in order to bridge with a prestigious past.

The design of shako was completed in 1990.

Shako means “chess” in Esperanto, another kind of non-conformism and utopia. Shako was created by Jean-Louis Cazaux and described on his French books in the 2000’s, then on the Internet. Shako has an entry on Pritchard’s book (2nd edition, 2007).