Hexagonal chess (also known as Hexchess; Hungarian: Hexasakk) is a group of chess variants played on boards composed of hexagoncells .[1] Since each hexagonal cell not on a board edge has six neighbor cells, there is generally increased mobility for pieces (that cannot move diagonally) compared to a standard chessboard. For example, a rook on a hexboard usually has six natural directions for movement instead of four in the standard 8X8 board. Three colours are typically used on a hexboard so that no two neighboring cells are the same colour, and a colour-restricted game piece such as the orthodox chess bishop usually comes in sets of three per player in order to maintain the game's balance.
The opening in hexagonal chess has a level of complexity that in traditional chess only emerges in the middlegame. In square-board chess, White’s first move has 20 different possibilities to which Black can give 20 different replies, thus leading to 400 opening possibilities in the first two moves. In hexagonal chess, White has 51 possible opening moves, thus the same calculation yields 2600 possibilities in the first two opening moves.[2]
The first hexagonal chess was developed by Thomas Hanmer Croughton in 1853.[1] In 1864, London firm John Jacques & Son published the first commercial hexagonal chess game as Hexagonia.[3][1] These versions did not gain a wide following. More chess-like games for hexagon-based boards started appearing at the beginning of the 20th century. The best known and most successful is Gliński's hexagonal chess (1936), also known as Polish hexagonal chess (P: Polskie Szachy Heksagonalne), which is played on a symmetric 91-cell hexagonal board with an extra bishop and an extra pawn per side.[3] This variant saw the development of an International Hexagonal Chess Federation (1980), which promoted tournament play in late 20th century Europe. Today, tournaments are still held in some European countries. The game is particularly popular in Hungary, whose Hungarian Hexasakk Federation continues to hold national championships since 1982.[1] Other Eastern European and Post-Soviet states also have Hexchess communities.[4]
There are numerous alternative variants of Hexchess, some of which use hexagon-based boards of different sizes and shapes (irregular hexagons, rhombuses). The nature of the game is also affected by the 30° orientation of the board's cells; the board can be horizontally oriented (Wellisch's, de Vasa's, Brusky's) or vertically oriented (Gliński's, Shafran's, McCooey's). When the sides of hexagonal cells face the players, pawns typically have one straightforward move direction. If a variant's gameboard has cell vertices facing the players, pawns typically have two oblique-forward move directions. The possibility of a hexagon-based board with three-fold rotational symmetry has also resulted in a number of three-player variants. Because the six edges and six vertices of regular hexagons are equally spaced, directions can be referenced analogously to the 12 cardinal directions of a clock face. For example, on a board made of horizontally aligned hexagons, the forward and backward directions can be referred to as the "12 o'clock" and "6 o'clock" directions.[5]
Gliński's hexagonal chess
Development and history
Gliński's hexagonal chess, launched in 1949, became popular in Eastern Europe, reaching half a million fans. Three cell colours and three bishops per side are the norm for hexagonal variants.
Gliński's hexagonal chess, invented by Władysław Gliński in 1936 and first launched in Britain in 1949, is "probably the most widely played of the hexagonal chess games".[6] Although Gliński developed the game as early as 1936, it did not become known until the beginning of the 1970s. Gliński, who had been living in Great Britain since 1946, presented the game at a press conference in December 1973 and published two books on the rules and theory of the game in 1973 and 1974. In 1976, the British Hexagonal Chess Federation was founded and the first British championship was held.[1] One year later, the first official international match between Great Britain and Poland took place.
Gliński demonstrating his hexagonal chess
The game achieved moderate popularity in Eastern Europe in the 70s, especially in Gliński's native Poland and in Hungary. Hex chess sets were produced and distributed in Poland. By 1979, Hexagonal Chess clubs had formed in Poland, Czechoslovakia and the USSR. At one point there were more than half a million players, predominantly in Central and Eastern Europe, and more than 130,000 board sets were sold.[7] Gliński's book Rules of Hexagonal Chess was published in 1973.[8]
On 18 August 1980, an International Hexagonal Chess Federation was founded. The first European Championship in hexagonal chess took place in the same year in London (Great Britain). Austria, Great Britain, Hungary and Poland participated. The winner of the first International tournament in 1984 was Hungarian Lázló Rudolf. Various national championships were also held in Eastern Europe. An open Hexagonal Chess Tournament was also held in 1982 in Moscow's Sokolniki Park, attended by various USSR players. After Gliński’s death in February 1990, the organized hexagonal chess movement suffered a serious setback.[1] Nevertheless, the first World Championship took place from December 1990 to January 1991 in Beijing (China).[1] The title of world champion was shared by Rudolf and Marek Maćkowiak of Poland. Nevertheless, the International Federation disbanded after Gliński’s death.
In 1996, the International Hexagonal ChessFederation (IHCF) was refounded in Budapest (Hungary), and it is here where Hexchess would continue to thrive regionally. In 1998, the fifth European Championship was held in Tatabánya.[1] One year later, the second World Championship was held in Rowy (Poland). While European championships have not been held regularly, the Hungarian HexChess Federation has continued to hold national championships since 1982.[1] The records of many tournaments games have been digitized by the Hungarian player Sándor Bódor and have been made available for study.[1][9]
The most famous grandmasters of the game thus far have been the Polish Marek Maćkowiak (1958–2018) and the Hungarian László Rudolf.[10][11] Other important players include Sergei Korczycki from Belarus and László Somlai from Hungary.[11]
Rules
The rules are the same as those of orthodox chess except as follows.
The game is played on a vertically oriented regular hexagonal board with sides 6 cells long, which has 91 hex cells having three colours (light, dark, and mid-tone), with the middle cell (or "hex") usually mid-tone.[12] The usual set of chess pieces is increased by one bishop and one pawn.
The board has 11 files , marked by letters a–l (letter j is not used), and 11 numbered ranks (which bend 60° at file f). Ranks 1–6 each contain 11 cells, rank 7 (filled with black pawns in the initial setup) has 9 cells, rank 8 has 7, and so on. Rank 11 contains exactly one cell: f11.
Rook moves
Bishop moves
Queen moves
King moves
Knight moves
Pawn moves, captures (marked with crosses), promotion cells for White (marked with stars)
The moves of the pieces are as follows:
The rook may move any number of cells orthogonally (i.e. through cell edges).
The bishop may move any number of cells diagonally (i.e. through cell vertices).
The queen may move any number of cells orthogonally or diagonally.
The king may move one cell orthogonally or diagonally. There is no castling.
The knight may move two cells orthogonally in one direction and then one cell orthogonally at a 60° angle, jumping over intervening pieces. Equivalently, the knight may move to any nearest cell not on an orthogonal or diagonal line on which it stands.
The pawn may move one vacant cell vertically forward. If a pawn stands on its starting cell or on the starting cell of any other pawn of its colour, then it is also allowed to move two vacant cells vertically forward, even if it has always moved to capture into its current cell. Pawns may capture one cell orthogonally forward at a 60° angle to the vertical, including capturing en passant. It should be noted that, unlike in traditional chess, the direction of pawn capture does not correspond to the bishop’s move. Pawns are promoted when reaching the end of any file.
In the pawn diagram, if the pawn on e4 were to capture a black piece on f5, then the pawn would retain the option to move to f7. If the black pawn on c7 in the diagram moves to c5 in a single move, the white pawn on b5 can capture it en passant: bxc6.
Stalemate is not a draw in Gliński's chess, but it is still counted as less than checkmate: in tournament games, the player who delivers stalemate earns 3⁄4 point, and the stalemated player (the player without a legal move) receives 1⁄4 point.
A numeric (or international) notation exists. Every detail is exactly as in ICCF numeric notation except that there is no castling.
Piece strength
The king remains the central piece of the game. If it moves one step both orthogonally and diagonally, it can pass an orthogonal line diagonally without being in check. As a result, neither the queen nor the rook alone can drive it to the edge of the board. The king thus, so to speak, “gains power,” that is, it has a stronger potential than in standard chess. Another special feature consists in the fact that, when moving orthogonally from one corner of the board to the opposite one, the king requires one and a half times as many moves to reach the opposite edge as it does when moving exclusively diagonally. When moving from one edge of the board to the opposite edge, it even requires twice as many orthogonal moves as diagonal ones. In standard chess, by contrast, the type of moves (orthogonal versus diagonal) from edge to edge does not affect their minimum number.
The queen is also the strongest piece on the board in hexagonal chess. With it alone, however, the king cannot be driven to the edge of the board or into a corner if the king can pass an orthogonal line diagonally without being in check. If the king is already in a corner, however, it can be checkmated by the queen alone. The queen thus remains not only the strongest piece on the board, but also has a greater potency than the queen in classical chess. The rook remains the second strongest piece. With a single rook, a king cannot be blocked in a corner of the board if the king can pass an orthogonal line diagonally without being in check. At least two rooks are required to seal off half of the board for the king; in standard chess a single rook suffices for this. Two rooks, on the other hand, can mutually protect each other when they are used to drive the king to the edge of the board or into a corner. This is not possible in classical chess. The qualities and valuations of the rooks have thus changed, but they are comparable to those of standard chess.
As for minor pieces, knights are generally assessed as somewhat stronger than bishops, as two knights suffice for checkmating. Their other qualities correspond to those in classical chess, in particular with regard to their respective positions on the board. The knight is thus often considered stronger than a Bishop in the endgame because it can maneuver to any cell on the board, whereas a bishop is restricted to one-third of the board (its own color system).[13] However, Bishops are highly valued in the opening for their ability to develop attacking positions quickly. Three bishops on different colors are required in hexagonal chess in order to erect an effective barrier against the opposing king, because each bishop by itself can reach only about one third of the squares. The king and two bishops checkmate a lone king only in exceptional cases. In addition, there is an even more pronounced dependence of the bishop’s mobility on its specific position than in orthogonal chess. Accordingly, in the endgame, three bishops are stronger than two knights, these in turn are stronger than two bishops, and these are stronger than the combination of bishop and knight.[13]
In the issue of the journal Variant Chess from the second half of 1992, the hexchess master Mirosław Miodoński published a table with quantitative evaluations of the chess pieces on hexagonal boards. It shows there was considerable disagreement regarding the value of knights and bishops among top players:[14]
Player
King
Queen
Rook
Knights
Bishop
Pawn
W. Gliński
-
10
5
4
3
1
R. Slawiński
4
14
10
4.5
2.2
1
R. Filutek
3
11
7
3
4
1
J. Roczniak
2.34
6.66
4.46
2.30
2.60
1.00
M. Miodoński
10
35
23
8
12
2–7
Miodoński writes that "generally the superiority of the knight is admitted here. My calculations apparently show that a bishop has a considerable advantage, but we have to remember that it covers only a third of the board. On the remaining part of the board the bishop is simply absent, and its value is zero there. A knight is intrinsically worth less than a bishop, but it operates everywhere, and that is its advantage."[14]
Whereas Gliński, in his First Theory of Hexagonal Chess, sees the value of knight and bishop as being "usually dependent on the position of the moment and on the player's personal preference", Miodoński recommends considering the exchange of a knight for a bishop in the opening and middlegame, because "such an exchange makes a game more animated and leads to dynamic positions which are difficult to evaluate. It is true that a knight is slightly better in endgame positions than a bishop, but this does not decide who wins; the exchange must be carefully thought over, taking into consideration the position on the board."[14]
Comparison with square chess
Glinski highlights several critical differences between hexagonal and square chess:[13]
Mobility and Direction: Pieces in hexagonal chess move in six or twelve directions, compared to four or eight in square chess—an increase of precisely one-half.
Collective Mobility: The "kinetic potential" of the forces is higher. The ratio of total moves to total cells is exactly 2:1 in hexagonal chess, compared to an irrational fraction slightly below 2 in square chess.
Speed of Short-Range Pieces: Although the board is larger (91 cells vs 64), the King and Knight are effectively "faster" because they require fewer moves to traverse the board relative to its dimensions.
Secure king: The reason that castling does not exist in hexagonal chess is that the King's initial position is already considered highly secure.
True Center: Hexagonal boards possess a true central cell (f6), which serves as a focal point for the radiating influence of the pieces, a feature lacking in the 2×2 center of a square board.
A central strategic concept unique to hexagonal chess is the constant commandment of a given cell. This refers to the ability of all pieces except pawns to move to a different hexagon while continuously maintaining command (protection or attack) over a specific cell. This tactic is physically impossible on a square board and allows for sophisticated defensive maneuvers, such as a knight protecting a pawn while simultaneously moving to deliver a check.[13]
According to Glinski, orthodox chess is like a battle fought in a narrow corridor where pieces must push through a congested front, whereas hexagonal chess is like a battle on an open plain, where the increased directions of movement allow forces to flow around obstacles and engage with far greater fluidity.[13]
Opening strategy
Hexagonal chess presents significant new strategic challenges compared to the orthodox game. The 91 hex board fundamentally alters piece interaction, opening and development speed (which is faster), and the nature of the endgame. While many tactics remain similar to square chess (pins, forks and skewers remain vital tactics), the strategies are quite different due to the unique hexagonal geometry.[13]
Opening strategy in hexagonal chess is characterized by a significantly higher speed of development compared to square chess. On the hexagonal board, every piece is free to move from the start of the game without the necessity of first clearing a path with Pawns. • The Court: The vacant space between the initial piece setup and the Pawn line is known as the "Court", allowing for great diversity of movement during the opening phase.[13] Consequently, a full deployment of forces can typically be achieved within five to eight moves. The initial arrangement creates a strong pawn chain with each pawn protecting the other.[13] In the initial setup, the white pawn on f5 cannot make a double step to f7, which is occupied by a black pawn; however, the double-step move could be possible later if f7 becomes empty.
In the hexchess King's gambit shown here, the white knight attacks the black pawn on g4, seeking to move to i2 to eventually take a pawn at k7, weakening black's pawn chain in two places.
Glinski explains some key opening moves in his First theories of hexagonal chess. For example, the rooks can participate in an opening. Unlike square chess, where rooks often remain inactive until the middle or late game, hexchess rooks can enter the center of the board within two moves. They frequently utilize the e, f, or g files to exert early pressure.[13] Furthermore, the bishop starting on the center file (called "the medium bishop") is uniquely positioned because it can command the true center (f6) and covers 31 cells, while the light and dark Bishops cover only 30.[13] There is also a Hex King’s Gambit. This opening involves white offering a pawn at g4 to weaken black’s pawn formation. If black accepts the gambit, one can then move knight to i2 to attack black's rook. Once black's rook escapes, one is now free to take the pawn at k7 with the bishop on f1.[13]
According to Hungarian hexachess writings, at least seven different openings have been studied:[15]
the Rudolf Opening /1.Hhf4 or Hdf4/
the King’s Pawn Opening /1.g5 or g6/
the Queen’s Pawn Opening /e5 or e6/
the Hungarian Opening /d4 or d5/
the Pécs Opening /1.i3 or i4/
the Szirák Opening /1.Fi5/
The Central Pawn opening which occupies the central hex at f3
There is also a well known Hexchess Fool's mate consisting of the following moves in algebraic notation: 1. Qe1c3 Qe10c6 2. b1b2 b7b6 3. Bf3b1 e7e6 4. Qc3xBf9#.[16]
Endgame theory
Endgames in hexagonal chess require specialized knowledge of the workings of opposition in a hexagonal board, and the revised rules regarding stalemate. Unlike orthodox chess where stalemate is a draw, in Glinski's hexchess, the player who delivers stalemate wins the game, though with a reduced point value (3/4 point to the winner, 1/4 to the loser in competitive play).[13]
The opposition is the primary tool for forcing a win in king and pawn endgames. It occurs when kings stand on the same file or oblique file with only one cell between them. Glinski identifies several types: direct opposition, line opposition, and distant opposition.[13]
King and Queen vs. King: A forced win is achievable in approximately 8 moves
King and Rook vs. King: A forced win achievable in approximately 20 moves
King and Three Minor Pieces vs. King: Always a forced win, though with three bishops it is more difficult
King and Two Minor Pieces vs. King: Often results in a draw, though a mate is possible from specific positions if the defending King is on the edge of the board
McCooey's hexagonal chess
McCooey's hexagonal chess, starting position
In 1978–79 Dave McCooey and Richard Honeycutt developed another variation of hexagonal chess very similar to Gliński's. There are four key differences:
the starting array (including seven pawns per side instead of nine);
the pawn's capturing move;
pawns on the f-file are not permitted an initial double step;
and stalemate is counted as a draw (players receive half a point).[17]
Pawn's move
This diagram shows the pawn's move in McCooey's variant. The capturing move corresponds to a bishop's move: e.g. if the black pawn on e8 advances to e6, the white pawn on d5 may capture it en passant.
The pawn's move
In the starting position, the f-file pawns may not advance two steps like the other pawns. The f-pawns are also not defended in the opening array, and in fact smothered mate would result if it were captured by a knight, although this possibility would rarely occur in practical play.
Endgame studies
These endgame studies apply to both Gliński's and McCooey's variants:[18]
king + two knights can checkmate a lone king;
king + rook beats king + knight (no fortress draws and a negligible number (0.0019%) of perpetual check draws);
king + rook beats king + bishop (no fortress draws and no perpetual check draws);
king + two bishops cannot checkmate a lone king, except for some very rare positions (0.17%);
king + knight + bishop cannot checkmate a lone king, except for some very rare positions (0.5%);
king + queen does not beat king + rook: 4.3% of the positions are perpetual check draws, and 37.2% are fortress draws;
king + rook can checkmate a lone king.
Shafran's hexagonal chess
Shafran's hexagonal chess, starting position
Invented by Soviet geologist Isaak Grigorevich Shafran in 1939 and registered in 1956. It was demonstrated at the Worldwide Chess Exhibition in Leipzig in 1960.
The board is shaped as an irregular hexagon with nine files and ten ranks , comprising 70 cells as opposed to 91 in Gliński's board. The files are labelled a to i; the oblique ranks running diagonally from 10 to 4 o'clock are numbered 1 to 10. For example (see diagram), the two kings start on e1 and e10; White's rooks start on a1 and i5, and Black's rooks start on a6 and i10. Each player calls the left-hand side of the board his "queen's flank" and the right-hand side his "bishops' flank"; note that they do not correlate (White's queen's flank is Black's bishops' flank).
All pieces except pawns and kings move and capture exactly as in Gliński's chess. In Shafran's chess, a pawn's first move can take it to the middle of the file. (So, the d-, e-, and f-pawns can make a three-step initial move; the b-, c-, g-, and h-pawns can make a double-step initially; and the a- and i-pawns can advance only one step.) A pawn captures diagonally like a bishop, but one step away (one rank and one file). When a pawn makes a multi-step move, it is subject to being captured en passant.
Castling and en passant capture
In the diagram, the black pawn on d8 has three possible moves, but none is safe: after 1... d7 it can be captured 2. exd7; after 1... d6 it can be captured 2. exd7 e.p. or 2. cxd6; after 1... d5 it can be captured en passant by either pawn.
Kings move as in Gliński's chess, except that castling is permitted in Shafran's chess (unlike Gliński's or McCooey's). The usual restrictions apply. It can be long or short castling in either direction. The notation consists of Q- or B- (indicating whether the queen's or the bishops' rook is used) followed by 0-0-0 (long castling: the king moves next to the rook and the rook jumps over it) or 0-0 (short castling, the king moves one cell less distance). In the diagram, the black king on h10 has castled long queenside (1... Q-0-0-0) and the black king on c8 has castled short bishopside (1... B-0-0). Castling does not typically increase the king's safety or make the rook more active, but it is present in the game nonetheless, for completeness.
Stalemate is a draw in Shafran's chess.
Variants on non-hexagonal boards
De Vasa's hexagonal chess
De Vasa's hexagonal chess, starting position. This array of pieces on the players' first ranks was first proposed by de Vasa.
Invented by Helge E. de Vasa in 1953 and first published in Joseph Boyer's Nouveaux Jeux d'Echecs Non-orthodoxes (Paris, 1954). The rhombus-shaped board comprises 81 cells with initial setup as shown, in the revised form of the game. Rules for piece movement are the same as Gliński's variant, except for the pawns. Castling is permitted, and kings start on opposite wings of the board.[20][21]
Players may castle either short (0-0) or long (0-0-0). The king slides two cells when castling short; three cells when castling long. Other standard chess castling rules and restrictions apply.
Pawns start on the players' third ranks . A pawn moves forward to an adjacent cell, or (as its first-move option), two cells forward in the same direction. A pawn captures diagonally forward to the sides (to a cell of the same colour on which the pawn stands).
In the diagram on the right, the white pawn on b3, since it has not yet moved, has four move options (green dots) and two ways to capture (red dots). The white pawn on g5 has moved from its initial cell, so has two move options and two ways to capture. If Black moves his f7-pawn to either f6 or f5, White can capture it, for example: 1... f7-f5 2. g5xf6 e.p. In the diagram, White has castled short (0-0) and Black has castled long (0-0-0).
Brusky's hexagonal chess
Brusky's hexagonal chess, starting position. The first-rank piece array was first proposed by Helge E. de Vasa (see De Vasa's hexagonal chess).
Invented by Yakov Brusky in 1966. The game features an irregular hexagon board comprising 84 cells. Piece movement rules are the same as Gliński's chess, except for the pawns, of which there are ten instead of Gliński's nine.[22][23]
Other differences from Gliński's: castling is permitted; kings start on opposite wings of the board; and draws are worth half a point.[22][23]
Players may castle either short (0-0) or long (0-0-0). The king slides two cells when castling short; three cells when castling long. Normal castling rules and restrictions apply.
As in algebraic notation, each cell is identified by a letter+number combination. Ranks are horizontal and identified by numbers 1–8. Files are straight and 30° oblique to the vertical, identified by letters a–l. Moves can be recorded in long algebraic notation to avoid confusion, for example: 1. d2-f4 rather than 1. df4.
Pawn's move
A pawn moves forward to an adjacent cell, or (as its first-move option), two cells forward in the same direction. If an enemy man blocks a pawn from moving in one of its two forward move directions, then that pawn is automatically blocked from moving in the other direction as well. But if the blocking man is a friendly piece the effect is not the same—the pawn is still free to move in the unblocked direction.
The white pawn on c2, since it has not yet moved, has four move options (green dots) and three ways to capture (red dots). The white pawn on i3 has moved from its initial cell, so has two move options and two ways to capture. The white pawn on g5 and black pawn on h6 block each other from any forward moves. But if Black moves his f7-pawn to either f6 or f5, White can capture it, for example: 1... f7-f5 2. g5xf6 e.p.
A pawn captures diagonally forward, to a cell of the same colour on which the pawn stands. But only a pawn on its initial cell may capture straight forward; once a pawn has moved, it may capture only to the sides. (So, unless it is a wing pawn, an unmoved pawn has three capturing possibilities; a pawn that has moved, two.) En passant captures are permitted in Brusky's chess.
Endgame studies
These endgame studies apply to Brusky's hexagonal variant:
king + rook can checkmate a lone king;
king + two knights can checkmate a lone king;
king + two bishops can checkmate a lone king;
king + bishop + knight can checkmate a lone king.
Starchess
Starchess, one possible starting position
Starchess is a hexagonal variant invented by Hungarian chess teacher László Polgár in around 2004.[24] The board is a horizontally oriented regular hexagram, consisting of 37 numbered cells. Due to the small board, games typically finish quicker than in standard chess.[24] Each player has five pawns, a king, knight, bishop, rook, and queen.
A unique element of the game is a setup phase at the beginning of the game, where the players place their other pieces alternately on the cells behind their pawns (White: 4, 11, 17, 22, 28; Black: 10, 16, 21, 27, 34). As a consequence, there are (5!)²=14400 possible initial setups.
Pawns, knights, queen and king move as in Glinski chess (but there is no en passant). However, rooks move only vertically, while the bishop moves in any orthogonal direction except vertical.
Other two player variants
Hexagonia (by John Jaques & Son, 1864) was the first published hexagonal chess variant.[25][26] The board has 127 cells; each side has 1 king, 2 cannons, 4 knights and 8 pawns. The winning objective is not checkmate, but rather to safely bring one's king to the central board cell.
Gliński–Capablanca Chess is a combination of Gliński chess with Capablanca chess, and includes two new pieces, the chancellor (rook+knight) and the archbishop (bishop+knight).[27]
Hexes chess, a commercially available variant developed by Mike Layfield and published in 2003.[28]
C'escacs 2007 is a Grand Gliński chess; the board is shaped as a regular hexagon with sides of length 8, which consists of 169 cells. In addition to the Gliński's setup, it introduces a dragon (empress, a rook+knight compound), two pegasi (princesses, bishop+knight compound) and two almogavars (a (2,0)- and (1,1)-leaper compound, i.e. it can jump either to the second square in any orthogonal direction, or move one step diagonally). Pawns' moves are increased to allow forward 60° moves (i.e. they now have three move directions instead of one), and captures are the same way McCooey's chess (i.e. they capture diagonally forward, two options). The scornful pawn capture additional rule counterbalances the excessive pawn mobility.[29]
Three-Way Chess uses an irregular hexagonal board. Harshman swapped the initial positions of the knights and bishops in the back row so that each player could begin with a bishop on a cell of each colour.
Some variants are designed for more than two players. These usually include three bishops per side to cover all cells on the board. Pieces typically move as in another version of hexagonal chess.
Three-Handed Hexagonal Chess
More commonly known as Wellisch's Hexagonal Chess,[30] Three-Handed Hexagonal Chess was published by Siegmund Wellisch in 1912.[31] The board is a regular hexagon with sides of length 6, which consists of 91 cells; however, it is oriented horizontally. Each side has eight pawns, three knights, two rooks, one queen, and one king. There are no bishops. The pawn moves and attacks one step in one of two orthogonally forward directions; there is no initial double-step, nor en passant capture. The king moves one step in any orthogonal direction. The knight jumps one step in any diagonal direction, and is thus colour-bound. The rook moves any number of steps in one of six orthogonal directions. The queen combines the moves of a rook and a knight. Castling involves the king and a rook simply swapping places.[32]
Three-Way Chess
Three-Way Chess was designed by Professor Richard Harshman as a neurological experiment.[33] It is played by three players on an irregular hexagonal board of either 140 or 200 cells. In both versions, the home rows of all players are 8 cells wide. The smaller version, however, has 7 cells on the three alternate sides while the larger version has 9.[34] In either case, White always moves first while Black always moves third. The colour of the pieces of the second player should match the third colour of the hexagons on the board. The last version of the Rules issued by Harshman gave either grey or red as options, but his other material also makes reference to green as the additional colour. Each player's third bishop begins in the middle of their second row on a cell matching its own colour.[35] Except for the pawn, pieces move as in Gliński's.
Other three player variations
Chesh[36] is played on a 169-cell regular hexagon board. It was designed by Douglas Hofstadter (2005) and interpreted by Gianluca Moro.
HEXChess is a [37] commercial chess variant by HEXchess Inc.
Hexagonal chess variants for four or more players
Some hexagonal chess variants are multiplayer sports.
Chexs
Chexs, designed by Stephen P. Kennedy, is a multiplayer variant for up to six players. The version for two and three players uses a regular hexagon with sides of length 6, which consists of 91 cells. (The four–six player version uses a regular hexagon with sides of length 9, which has 217 cells.) Pieces move as in Gliński's but the setup is different. Each player starts with only two bishops, and all bishops are on same-coloured cells. A checkmated player is defeated. The player who gave checkmate takes over control of the pieces of the defeated player. The winner is the player who has checkmated all his opponents.[38][citation needed]
Echexs
Echexs, designed by Jean-Louis Cazaux, is a multiplayer variant for up to six players. Its two player version uses the same boards as Chexs, the same moves as Gliński's, but McCooey's setup.[39][citation needed]
See also
Cross chess – with extra pieces on a hexagonal board with cross-shaped cells
↑Jelliss, G. P. (July–December 1992). "New Varieties of Hexagonal Chess". Variant Chess. Vol.1, no.8. British Chess Variants Society. pp.97–112. ISSN0958-8248.
Pritchard, D. B. (1994). "Hexagonal Chess". The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Games & Puzzles Publications. pp.138–43. ISBN0-9524142-0-1.
Pritchard, D. B. (2007). "§22 Boards based on hexagons". In Beasley, John (ed.). The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. John Beasley. pp.203–12. ISBN978-0-9555168-0-1.
Pritchard, D B. (2001). Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Games & Puzzles Publications, ISBN 0-9524142-0-1.
Miodoriski, Miroslaw (1992). Values of Pieces in Hexagonal Chess In: Variant Chess. Ausgabe vom Juli bis Dezember 1992. Herausgegeben von G. P. Jelliss, S. 99/100, ISSN 0958-8248.
Glinski, Wladyslaw (1973). Rules of hexagonal chess with examples of first openings. London: Hexagonal Chess Publications. ISBN0-904195-00-7.
External links
e2-e4 a bilingual comment on having three kinds of bishops
Chess for three, which summarily describes Wellisch' three-player chess and dozens of other three-player chess variants (triangular, hexagonal, quadrilateral, and others)
Green Chess is a free online chess portal where you can play the Gliński, McCooey, Shafran, Brusky and de Vasa variations in a turn by turn manner
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