Mark's Chess Designs - Three Player Chess (rendition a)

Three Player Chess (rendition a) . . .

Chess for three involves a different approach to board design, as well as playing technique and strategies.

Particular attention should also be applied to the center of the board, where knights tend to get tangled in a rather intricate web. The most difficult concept to get accustomed to, is the introduction of another player, thus, the 'extra' move by the third player. The moves in the center of the board may tend to be confusing also, so, we'll discuss some of the possibilities of plays at the board's center. Because the board for three players is made up of three halves, angled appropriately, the Queen and bishop have the ability to traverse the board across the center on the diagonal. The Queen may not, however, travel straight across from black to white in a diagonal move through the center.

Late in the fall of 1975, I was looking for a chess set in the BX of the air base I was stationed at. I was amazed to discover an inexpensive, plastic and carboard rendition, of a three player chess game! I do not remember the manufacturer or designer of the game. I do, however, enjoy a still burning inspiration to explore the new dimensionability this three player board presented to me.

I did not buy the three player game, rather, I built my own of ebony and ash on an oak back-plane. Presenting the finished set to several friends, we tried many variations of center-board methodology. After several months of play and experimentation, we came up with two working sets of rules to manage the diagonal movement of the bishop and queen through the center of the board.

Pass - Through
Moving diagonally, the queen or bishop pass through the center of the board unhindered and can reach to either opponent's R1 position in one move.

Stop-and-Go
Before passing diagonally thru the center, the queen or bishop must first stop before passing into another tri-section, thus completing that move.

End-Game
The first player to be check-mated is out of play, but the player who put the first player in check-mate has one of three options:
1 - Leave the check-mated pieces as a "dead forest"
2 - Remove the check-mated pieces from the board
3 - Use the check-mated pieces as their own, using a move to actually capture and remove the check-mated King before any of those pieces can be used.