3 Way Chess initial setup; White moves first, play proceeds counterclockwise
3 Way Chess
is a game for three players, played on a hexagonal-shaped board
containing 96 squares of alternating colors.
Each player owns the same
16 pieces as in normal chess. The game is played where players compete independently (not in teams).
As in
normal chess, check is a direct attack by an enemy piece on a king, and
checkmate is a condition of check that a king cannot escape.
Unlike
normal chess however, checkmate does not win or end the game.
(When a
player is in checkmate he loses his turn to move. If that player is
later freed from the checkmate, he may move again.)
The game ends by the
capture of a king: the first player to capture an enemy king wins the
game.
Starting a game
At the beginning of the game the
chessboard is laid out so that each player has a white (or light)
colored square at his lower, right-hand side. The pieces are arranged
the same way for each game: the queen goes to the left of the player's
king, next are the bishops, then knights, then rooks in the corners. The
second row (rank) is filled with pawns.
Players choose colors by
any agreed method. White moves first, followed by Green, then Black,
then White again, in a counterclockwise direction.
Play continues to
alternate in this manner for the entire game.
Rules
Check, checkmate and capture
As in normal chess there are only three ways a king can get out of check:
- move to a safe square (except castling out of check is not permitted);
- block the check with another piece;
- capture the checking piece.
If
a player has no legal move to escape check, that player is checkmated
and must pass his turn and wait. Meanwhile, another player may save the
checkmated player with a move that removes the checkmate condition. (A
likely try, since otherwise the opponent who gave checkmate may simply
capture the king next move to end and win the game.)
