User:Rrachkov/ThreeChess

ThreeChess - Three Player Chess Online

ThreeChess.com is the first online chess for three players. It is online game based on known chess rules but adapted for three players. The game is developed in a way it is balanced to entertain every player and provide exciting gaming experience.

History of ThreeChess
The origins of chess are not exactly clear, though most believe it evolved from earlier chess-like games played in India almost two thousand years ago. The game of chess we know today has been around since the 15th century where it became popular in Europe.

Same is the history of the three player chess. The game Sanguoqi, 三 國棋 Three Kingdoms Chess, is a Xiangqi variant and the first available for three players. One century after, in 1972 Robert Zubrin invented three player chess and started selling the board game over the U.S.A. It is also quite popular game in Europe and is being sold in some countries. In 2010 RS Conslult BG Ltd. created the first online variant of the chess for three players and named it ThreeChess. The project was started in April 2010 in order to participate in Junior Achievement's Bulgaria Best Graduate Company Competition 2010. They took the first place in Bulgaria. As domestic champions, they got qualified for JA-YE Europe Enterprise Challenge 2010 and won the Intel Innovation Award with ThreeChess. The site www.ThreeChess.com was started on July 1, 2010. It's free and everybody can play.

The Goal of ThreeChess
ThreeChess is a game played between three opponents on hexagonal shaped board containing 96 squares of alternating colors. Each player has 16 pieces: 1 king, 1 queen, 2 rooks, 2 bishops, 2 knights, and 8 pawns. The game is played in Free for All mode, where every player plays for himself. The goal of the game is to take one of the other two kings. Check is when the king is in danger. Checkmate happens when the king is in a position to be captured (in check) and cannot escape from capture. The first who captures one anothers king is the winner. This is the little difference in ThreeChess that makes the game interesting and challenging. Checkmate is not enough as in classic chess, you should take the king. When a player is in a checkmate possitiion he looses his turn. And if somehow he is freed up, he can move again.

Starting a Game
At the beginning of the game the chessboard is laid out so that each player has the white (or light) color square in the bottom right-hand side. The chess pieces are then arranged the same way each time. The second row (or rank) is filled with pawns. The rooks go in the corners, then the knights next to them, followed by the bishops, and finally the queen, who always goes on your left square, and the king on the remaining right square.

The player with the white pieces always moves first. Therefore, players generally decide who will get to be white by chance or luck such as flipping a coin or having one player guess the color of the hidden pawn in the other player's hand. White then makes a move, followed by green, then black, then white again and so on until the end of the game.

Promotion
Pawns have another special ability and that is that if a pawn reaches the other side of the board it can become any other chess piece (called promotion). A pawn may be promoted to any piece (except pawn of course). [NOTE: A common misconception is that pawns may only be exchanged for a piece that has been captured. That is NOT true.] A pawn is usually promoted to a queen. Only pawns may be promoted.

En Passant
The last rule about pawns is called “en passant,” which is French basically means “in passing”. If a pawn moves out two squares on its first move, and by doing so lands to the side of an opponent’s pawn (effectively jumping past the other pawn’s ability to capture it), that other pawn has the option of capturing the first pawn as it passes by. This special move must be done immediately after the first pawn has moved past, otherwise the option to capture it is no longer available.

Castling
One other special rule is called castling. This move allows you to do two important things all in one move: get your king to safety (hopefully), and get your rook out of the corner and into the game. On a player’s turn he may move his king two squares over to one side and then move the rook from that side’s corner to right next to the king on the opposite side. In order to castle, however, it must meet the following conditions:


 * it must be that king’s very first move
 * it must be that rook’s very first move
 * there cannot be any pieces between the king and rook to move
 * the king may not be in check or pass through check

Notice that when you castle one direction the king is closer to the side of the board. Here is also a little bit different from classic chess, people who are familiar will notice it. That is called rightside. Castling to the other side, through where the queen sat, is called castling leftside. Regardless of which side, the king always moves only two squares when castling.

Check, Checkmate and Capture
As stated before, the purpose of the game is to capture opponent’s king. This happens when the king is put into check and cannot get out of check. There are only three ways a king can get out of check: move out of the way (though he cannot castle!), block the check with another piece, or capture the piece threatening the king. If a king cannot escape checkmate then you miss your turn and wait. It is also possible the other player to save you. The chance to do it is big, because only the player who capture the king is winner. If not so, the king is captured and the game is simply declared over. The player who captured the king is the winner.

Draw
Occasionally chess games do not end with a winner, but with a draw. There are 5 reasons why a chess game may end in a draw:


 * 1) The position reaches a stalemate where it is one player’s turn to move, but his king is NOT in check and yet he does not have another legal move
 * 2) The players may simply agree to a draw and stop playing
 * 3) There are not enough pieces on the board to force a checkmate (example: a king and a bishop vs. 2 kings)
 * 4) A player declares a draw if the same exact position is repeated three times (though not necessarily three times in a row)
 * 5) Fifty consecutive moves have been played where neither player has moved a pawn or captured a piece.