# Tri-chess

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Chess variant for three players

This article is about the three-player variant by Dekle. For Dekle's two-player variant, see [Triangular Chess § Tri-chess](/source/Triangular_Chess#Tri-chess).

For three-player chess variants in general, see [Three-player chess](/source/Three-player_chess).

Tri-chess gameboard and starting position. In the diagram, [chancellors](/source/Chancellor_(chess)) are represented by rook and knight combined; [cardinals](/source/Archbishop_(chess)) are represented by bishop and knight combined.

**Tri-chess** is the name of a [chess variant](/source/Chess_variant) for three players invented by [George R. Dekle Sr.](/source/George_R._Dekle_Sr.) in 1986.[1][2] The game is played on a [board](/source/Board_game) comprising 150 [triangular](/source/Equilateral_triangle) cells. The standard [chess pieces](/source/Chess_piece) are present, minus the queens, and plus the [chancellor](/source/Empress_(chess)) and [cardinal](/source/Princess_(chess)) compound [fairy pieces](/source/Fairy_chess_piece#Leapers) per side.

Tri-chess was included in *World Game Review* No. 10 edited by Michael Keller.[3]

## Game rules

The illustration shows the starting setup. [White](/source/White_and_Black_in_chess) moves first and play proceeds clockwise around the board. When a player is [checkmated](/source/Checkmate) or [stalemated](/source/Stalemate), their [king](/source/King_(chess)) is immediately removed from the game and their remaining pieces become under control of the player delivering the checkmate or stalemate. Pawns of appropriated armies do not change their direction of movement toward [promotion](/source/Promotion_(chess)). The last surviving player wins the game.

### Piece moves

- A bishop moves as the bishop in the [tri-chess two-player game](/source/Triangular_Chess#Tri-chess). (Namely, in six directions constituting board *diagonals*.)

- A rook moves as the rook in the tri-chess two-player game. (Namely, in six directions along horizontal *ranks* or oblique *files*.)

- A knight moves in the pattern: two steps as a bishop, then one step as a rook in an [orthogonal](/source/Orthogonality) direction. A knight leaps any intervening men.

- The chancellor moves as a rook and knight.

- The cardinal moves as a bishop and knight.

- The king moves as the king in the tri-chess two-player game. (Namely, one step as a bishop or two steps as a rook.) The king slides *three* cells whether castling "cardinal-side" or "chancellor-side".

- A pawn moves and captures as a pawn in [triangular chess](/source/Triangular_chess). (Namely, straight forward one step at a time, whether crossing a cell edge or vertex. On its first move it may optionally move two steps straight forward. A pawn captures to either cell adjoining the cell immediately in front, in the same rank.)

The bishop moves along cells in the diagram colored dark gray. The white pawns can move to cells marked with green dots, or capture on red dots. White [promotes](/source/Promotion_(chess)) on any cell on the 10th [rank](/source/Glossary_of_chess#rank) of the board. In the diagram, White's pawn on the 7th rank blocks Black's pawn on the 8th from moving forward. If the black pawn on White's 9th rank advances, the white pawn can capture it, for example: by [e.p.](/source/En_passant)

The rook moves along cells in the diagram colored light gray. The knight can move to green dots. Red has castled "chancellor-side"; White has castled "cardinal-side".

## See also

- [Three-player chess](/source/Three-player_chess)

- Also by George Dekle: - [Three-man chess](/source/Three-man_chess) - [Triangular chess](/source/Triangular_chess_(game)) – a two-player variant with triangular cells - [Trishogi](/source/Trishogi) – a two-player [shogi variant](/source/Shogi_variant) with triangular cells

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPritchard1994323_1-0)** [Pritchard (1994)](#CITEREFPritchard1994), p. 323

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPritchard2007333_2-0)** [Pritchard (2007)](#CITEREFPritchard2007), p. 333

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Keller, Michael, ed. (June 1991). "A Panorama of Chess Variants". *World Game Review*. No. 10. Michael Keller. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1041-0546](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1041-0546).

**Bibliography**

- [Pritchard, D. B.](/source/David_Pritchard_(chess_player)) (1994). "Tri-Chess (III)". *The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants*. Games & Puzzles Publications. p. 323. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9524142-0-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9524142-0-1).

- [Pritchard, D. B.](/source/David_Pritchard_(chess_player)) (2007). "Tri-Chess [Dekle, three-player game]". In Beasley, John (ed.). *The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants*. John Beasley. p. 333. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-9555168-0-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-9555168-0-1).

## External links

- [Tri-chess](https://www.omnichess.club/variant/tri_chess_3) See detailed rule descriptions, piece movements and play this variant on Omnichess

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tri-chess](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-chess) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-chess?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.