chess-The Oxford Companion to Chess - First Edition by David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld

352 'IIiREE HANDED CHESS
Whne.s pie*son the lo*esr rier from Aal ro Ahl,
Black\onlhetop tier Ha8to Hh8, andthc paBns
placcd above and belos theNhite and black pieces
respectively. Maack, wbo believed $e onginal
r.rm.rchesswasrhree dimensional d.scribedhis
gane lbr the irst ti6e in thc Fra,kflnt Z.itun|,
1907, and subscqrc.rly in two magazines lounded
for the pu.pose and in several books.
A more mana8eable lom was de$ribed by
DAwsoN in 1926. Five 5 x 5 boards arc supcrimposed
(125 celh). The rook is moved throngh cell
faces, the bishop throngh cell edges, lhe unicorn
(U) thrcugh cell cornersi a lourth line piece, the
queen, conbines lhe poves of tnc othcr lhree.
The king is noved like thc queen butonlyin single
sreps, so that aking onBb2sould have a 6eld ot26
cells. Tl,e kniEht is moved nomally in all Planes.
whitc\ ten pawns, innialy aligned lrom Aa2 to
Ae2 and Ba2 toBe2, are moved insinglc steps only
to*ards theirpromotjon rank EaJ to E€5. making
non caplurine movcs like a rook and capiuring
moveslikeabishop. Black\pawnsinnialyaligned
fron Ea4 lo Ee4 and Da4 to D€,1 are moved
similarly lowards their promotion rank Aal lo
Ael The inilial placing ol lbe pieces is as folloNs:
White R, N. K,N, R irom Aal to Acl andB, U,O,
B, U lros Bal to Bcli Black R, N, K, N. R lrom
Eas to Ees and U, B, Q, U, B from Da5 roDe5.
In 1945 the Englih player Charles Bealty
introduced total ch c$' rat her like Maack'svenion
but usins lour 8 x 8 boards (256 celh) There have
beenotheraltempts NonehascaughtlheiBagina
tion of the chess playing public, but thc version
outlined by Dawson is used bycomposes ofrtunY
pRoBr-EMsi conposeB have also used. conceplual
four-dinensional version
THREE-EANDED CHESS, an lnorthodox game
lor three playeB. Of less importance historically
than four-handedchessthelhree-handed gme has
neler been popular The earliesr special board,
dating from 172, corsisled of the nomal 64
squa.es vith 24 squares (8x3) addedtothreesides.
Mare could notbe given by two players conbided
and bolh advcrsaries had to be ma1ed. Ttis shape
oI board does not give each player equal opportnnities.
To obriate tnis delecl a symmetncal board
was designed in 1837 consisnng oI rhree wedBe
shapcd piec.s loincd together. Each wedge had
4x8 o.dinary squa.es and then. along one ofthe
lone sides, sir rapenng squares and beyond them
tso more tapennS squares, the whole board
conp.ising 120 sqnares. (In efiect the 24tapcrine
squares 6iled a tnangle fomed by lhe three
'half-boards' louching al their far @rners.) Pawn
promolion could be achicredon cither back rank,
olheNise the ruleswere mo.e o.less orthodox. A
version introduced by the Ma^eilles player
Anroine Demonchy (..1827-95) in 1882 avoided
the need fo. special boards. Thr€e boa.ds and
three sets are u*d. The boards are placed so that
each of two corners of each board .djoins one
comerolanothcr board. the empry space beiween
all lhree 1olsing atriangle. Oulside, the edges oI
thc boards form a .i.e sided sh.pe with tbree
re-entranr anSles in sbich the playc( sit. Each
player Iaces 1wo boards having rhe white pieces on
one and thc Bla.k pieces on lhe orher. tn eifecl
each is playing two ganes sinultaneously againn
the orherlwo. There have aho bcen rhree-handed
versi.ns ol RoUND cHEss. (See also HESGoNAL
THREE KMGIITS OPENINC, 449, line daring
fron the 18th century. played in a game between
srAUNrcN and.ocHRANr. l84l.Itnay atso alise as
317 in the IGNNA GAME.
THRT.,FJ KNIGHTS VARIAIION. 159 in the
185 in fie GiuNEr.D
D.FENcri 546 in the PEnorr DEFNcr. sometines
called rhe Rnssian Tlree Knights Variation.
THREE.MOVER, a direct nale problcn, White 1o
plal h(t and tu urve mrrc nn hn thirJ move. a
irinula on rn.lcrled by rhe srmbUl +11+1)
THREE PAWNS CAMDIT, 5!6, the BERTTN
THREE PAWNS PROBLEM, . srudy in whicb a
kingisopposed to three uniledpasscd pawns. orin
which both*ings are so opposed.Invarions forns
$is study. examined by GrREh in 1617 and
probably knoNn€arlier, altracled the atlention of
analysrs until solvcd by szaN in 1836
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whoelerplays wins. e a.1 Ke2 Kd7 2KBKc6 3
a4h5,1c4I5 5Kg3Kb6 6b495 7a5+Ka7 8d
h4+ 9Kh2Kh8 10b5f4 11K92 g,l 12 KBI Cj
13 Kg2 Kb7 1.1 b6 (Wnile sets up the last of fotrr
su.@ssivc zuczwaNcs afte. which Black an n
lonee. hold up White spa*ns.) 14. .Kb8 15a6
Kca 16 c6 Kb8 17 a?+ (a8 18 c7.
Visiling ?aris in 1836 SzEn offered to play lhis
position s a game for a slake of 20 lrancs, and
amonS those who aeepted the challenge sas
s{Nr AGNr. He and Szan played 20 games
makif,g rhc li6t move alternalely, and Szen won
nearly every lime. In the new year he found lhe
Sane equally ptuEtable in London where he