NILES — With the release of one card game Dec. 16, the cultural lore behind a Roman nymph, Caïssa, and the potential to introduce chess to new players expanded.

Caïssa, the patron mythical being of chess, was first introduced in 16th and 18th century poems about her game. In 1974, the first computer to win the World Computer Chess Championship was named Kaissa.

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov then referred to the nymph when fortune befell someone in a chess match.

Now, Niles resident Martin Klubeck has released his card game, Caissa’s Revenge, a chess-inspired card game that costs $12.95 with $5 shipping that can be purchased at caissas-revenge.square.site.

Similar to Kasparov having introduced Caïssa as a symbol for good luck, Caissa’s Revenge introduces luck into the realm of chess.

“Chess is one of the very few games where there is absolutely no luck involved,” Klubeck, a player since he was eight, said.

There are no coin flips, card draws or tile shuffling in chess, he said. There is only strategy, the billions of possible moves from 16 pieces laid out before one of two players in a game. The only luck available in chess, Klubeck said, is when an opponent makes a mistake.

Caissa’s Revenge, involves luck in the form of card draws.

The two-person game Klubeck designed has many of the same principles as chess. A player starts out with a king card, which their opponent must surround, similar to a checkmate. This is done by playing and flipping cards that resemble and have similar moves as chess pieces.

Klubeck said the format is quick to learn, fun to play and is much less daunting than chess to people who have never played the board game before.

“I believe it’s a good tool to teach concepts dealing with chess,” he said.

While playing Caissa’s Revenge to prep for chess is by no means a requirement, Klubeck said he is proud of its ability to teach and entertain.

“One of the things that I love about teaching chess and chess as a whole is that it’s a great non-discriminator,” he said.

Chess, he said, can be played regardless of age and ability, and anyone can win. New advancements in technology allow mobility-limited people to play, too.

The no-luck, all-inclusive nature of the game is why Klubeck teaches the game he loves to others. Aside from his full-time jobs as a strategy and planning consultant and as a father, the entrepreneur also organizes a chess club hosted at the Niles District Library. It is the library’s longest-running external program. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, the nearly two-decade-old group will host a chess tournament.

Klubeck is also a proponent of bringing chess into schools not only as the basis for a club, but a varsity letter.

He recently had the opportunity to work with St. Joseph Grade School’s chess club’s tournament, providing one of his 1,071 sets of Caissa’s Revenge as a prize. Shortly after children played the game in between chess matches, the tournament winner chose the card game as his prize.

Other outreach into the local community extended into Niles, too. Apothica Teas, 222 E. Main St., Niles, now sells a few sets from its downtown shop.

1st Source Bank, of Niles, also helped him with his business banking needs.

So, too, did Delano Games, of Battle Creek, Michigan. It produced his card game.

Then, there was the community that extended past geography, his friends, family and fellow chess players. Whether through his online Kickstarter campaign, his chess lessons, his chess club or an ad in the U.S. Chess Federation’s magazine, Chess Life, Klubeck said he was helped. People gave him advice before and after prototyping, remained patient as he learned the ropes of entrepreneurship and gave support when his product was released.

Now, through Caissa’s Revenge and his teaching, Klubeck hopes to expand the chess community he has been with for decades.