Triangular chess gameboard and starting position

Triangular chess is a chess variant for two players invented by George R. Dekle Sr. in 1986.[1][2] The game is played on a hexagon-shaped gameboard comprising 96 triangular cells. Each player commands a full set of chess pieces in addition to three extra pawns and a unicorn.

Triangular chess and its variation tri-chess were included in World Game Review No. 10 edited by Michael Keller.[3]

Game rules

The starting setup is as shown. As in chess, White moves first, and the object is checkmate. Other standard conventions apply as well, including castling, the pawn's initial two-step move, the en passant capture, and promotion at the last rank. The triangular geometry, however, implies special move patterns for the pieces.

Piece moves

  • Rook moves
    Rook moves
  • Bishop moves
    Bishop moves
  • Queen moves
    Queen moves
  • King moves
    King moves
  • Knight moves
    Knight moves
  • Unicorn moves
    Unicorn moves
  • The rook moves along cells in the diagram colored light gray; the bishop along cells colored dark gray; the black knight can move to green dots, or capture the rook; the white unicorn can move to yellow dots, or capture the bishop.
    The rook moves along cells in the diagram colored light gray; the bishop along cells colored dark gray; the black knight can move to green dots, or capture the rook; the white unicorn can move to yellow dots, or capture the bishop.
  • The white pawns can move to cells marked with green dots, or capture on red dots. The white pawn on f21[a] has no step straight forward, so advances one step at a time to promotion using its capture move, either moving or capturing. If the black pawn on g46 advances, the white pawn on e54 can capture it, for example: 1... e55 2. exf64 e.p.
    The white pawns can move to cells marked with green dots, or capture on red dots. The white pawn on f21[a] has no step straight forward, so advances one step at a time to promotion using its capture move, either moving or capturing. If the black pawn on g46 advances, the white pawn on e54 can capture it, for example: 1... e55 2. exf64 e.p.

Tri-chess

For the three-player variant by Dekle, see Tri-chess.

For three-player chess variants in general, see Three-player chess.

Tri-chess is a variation of triangular chess created by Dekle in the same year.[4][2] The game is for two players and is the same as triangular chess in all respects except the moves of the bishop, rook, queen, and king are increased.

The bishop moves along cells in the diagram colored dark gray.
The rook moves along cells in the diagram colored light gray.
The Tri-Chess king moves one step as a bishop (dark gray cells) or two steps as a rook (light gray cells).

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The notation system used identifies each cell by its horizontal rank (letter) and the intersection of two oblique files (two numbers).

References

  1. ^ Pritchard (1994), pp. 321–22
  2. ^ a b Pritchard (2007), p. 213
  3. ^ Keller (1991)
  4. ^ Pritchard (1994), p. 323

Bibliography

External links

Chess variants (list)
Categories