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Four-player chess
Four-player chess (also known as four-handed chess) is a family of chess variants played with four people. The game features a special board typically made of a standard 8×8 square, with 3 rows of 8 cells each extending from each side, and requires two sets of differently colored pieces. The rules are similar to, but not the same as, regular chess. There are a variety of different rule variations; most variations, however, share a somewhat similar board and piece setup.
Variations of four-handed chess have been around for centuries. The modern game has been around for over 200 years, popping up in different places in Europe. Historically, the Four-Handed Chess Club, which was founded by George Hope Lloyd-Verney in 1884 in London, is the most well regarded iteration. Currently, it can be played online, or bought commercially to be played in person.
Gameplay can be in teams, typically with the two partners across from each other. It can also be free-for-all, with each of the players trying to gain a decisive advantage, with no set alliances. Free-for-all can be played for points, to be the last one standing or till the first checkmate. Table-talk, such as move suggestions, is not allowed under the FFA (Free for all) rules; players must decide for themselves who, when, or how to attack.
According to D. B. Pritchard, four-player chess "is generally understood to be a partnership game played with two sets on a standard board with four extensions, one on each side, usually of 8×3 squares (arguably the best arrangement) but sometimes 8×2 or 8×4, on which the pieces are set up in the normal array positions."
The Taḥqīq mā li-l-hind min maqūlah maqbūlah fī al-ʿaql aw mardhūlah (c. 1030) of al-Biruni, an encyclopedia of Indian culture, contains a description of chaturaji, a four-player chess-like game played with dice, which al-Biruni claims was unknown among the Arabs of his time. Either a four-sided rectangular die or a six-sided cubic die was rolled to determine which type of piece (king, elephant, horse, boat, pawn) was to be moved on a given turn. This game had unusual longevity by chess variant standards, as it was still played in its original form in the 15th century, and a version of the game without dice was still played in India in 1900, according to a contemporary article in the British Chess Magazine. While chaturaji never spread outside of India, possibly due to Islamic laws against gambling, a (likely coincidentally) similar game known as Four Seasons Chess was played in 13th-century Spain which was notable enough to be included in Libro de los Juegos.
The earliest known mention of four-player chess in its modern form is a pamphlet from Dessau, Germany, in 1784. William Coxe also wrote that same year that a four-player chess game, possibly fortress chess, was played in Russia at the time. It is possible that one of these games inspired the other, and likely that one or both of them were inspired by Filippo Marinelli's three-player chess game invented in Italy in 1722. Four-handed Chess, as it was called, grew in popularity throughout the 19th century, with variations of the game appearing in Germany, Britain and the United States, among others. Many different pamphlets sprang up with minor rule changes, such as where the king and queen were, or how to deal with pawns that ran into each other. Cox–Forbes theory, a popular theory among chess historians at the time that was developed during the century by Hiram Cox and Duncan Forbes, proposed that chaturaji was approximately 5000 years old and was the predecessor to modern chess. However, this theory was refuted in the latter half of the century by Antonius van der Linde and Albrecht Weber, and is now rejected by all serious chess historians.
George Hope Lloyd-Verney, a pivotal figure in the game's history, was first introduced to it by Horatia Nelson. On September 20, 1881, a leading article in The Times referred to the game as "failed", which prompted Verney, who was a seasoned player by then, to send a letter in response that same day. In the letter he made a point that he would continue to make during his frequent advocacy of the game, that being that four-player chess is quite distinct from standard chess due to the latter being more scientific in nature and the former being more casual due to its heightened complexity, and that both games were enjoyed for completely different reasons despite their common heritage. This letter was inserted in the September 22nd 1881 issue of the Times, and as a result Verney received many personal queries about the game. In response, Verney published a book that year called Four-handed Chess detailing the rules of the game, which perpetuated its popularity in the Anglosphere. It was followed up in 1885 by Chess Eccentricities, an encyclopedia of chess variants with more than two players that also contained various correspondences between Verney and both fans and critics of the game. Verney also founded a Four-handed Chess Club in London in 1884. It was somewhat well known in London, and it had eighty people attend its inaugural meeting. The club started off by following Verney's ruleset, but this changed a few years later in 1888 when Montague Edward Hughes-Hughes, in an attempt to improve the game's popularity, invented a new ruleset that was slightly more similar to standard chess, which quickly became the preferred ruleset of the club. The club played until World War II.
There are a few historical figures who played, or are alleged to have played, the game. Verney claimed that the Czar, probably Alexander III, played the game. Prince Albert is said to have played it. However, the figure most commonly associated with the game is Vladimir Lenin. Lenin is said to have played the game passionately with his family, including Anna Ulyanova, in his youth. After becoming an active revolutionary, Lenin came up with the idea of using a four-player chess table, which was constructed in 1894–1895, to hide illegal documents in through a hollowed out table leg. The table survived Lenin's arrest in 1895, and ended up in the hands of Ulyanova the year after. In 1900, the table was replaced after Mark Yelizarov came up with a new idea for storing documents, that being a secret drawer within the table. This new table survived many police searches without suspicion, keeping documents safe for Lenin, his family and his allies right up until the February Revolution. The table is now on display in the State Historical Museum.
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Four-player chess
Four-player chess (also known as four-handed chess) is a family of chess variants played with four people. The game features a special board typically made of a standard 8×8 square, with 3 rows of 8 cells each extending from each side, and requires two sets of differently colored pieces. The rules are similar to, but not the same as, regular chess. There are a variety of different rule variations; most variations, however, share a somewhat similar board and piece setup.
Variations of four-handed chess have been around for centuries. The modern game has been around for over 200 years, popping up in different places in Europe. Historically, the Four-Handed Chess Club, which was founded by George Hope Lloyd-Verney in 1884 in London, is the most well regarded iteration. Currently, it can be played online, or bought commercially to be played in person.
Gameplay can be in teams, typically with the two partners across from each other. It can also be free-for-all, with each of the players trying to gain a decisive advantage, with no set alliances. Free-for-all can be played for points, to be the last one standing or till the first checkmate. Table-talk, such as move suggestions, is not allowed under the FFA (Free for all) rules; players must decide for themselves who, when, or how to attack.
According to D. B. Pritchard, four-player chess "is generally understood to be a partnership game played with two sets on a standard board with four extensions, one on each side, usually of 8×3 squares (arguably the best arrangement) but sometimes 8×2 or 8×4, on which the pieces are set up in the normal array positions."
The Taḥqīq mā li-l-hind min maqūlah maqbūlah fī al-ʿaql aw mardhūlah (c. 1030) of al-Biruni, an encyclopedia of Indian culture, contains a description of chaturaji, a four-player chess-like game played with dice, which al-Biruni claims was unknown among the Arabs of his time. Either a four-sided rectangular die or a six-sided cubic die was rolled to determine which type of piece (king, elephant, horse, boat, pawn) was to be moved on a given turn. This game had unusual longevity by chess variant standards, as it was still played in its original form in the 15th century, and a version of the game without dice was still played in India in 1900, according to a contemporary article in the British Chess Magazine. While chaturaji never spread outside of India, possibly due to Islamic laws against gambling, a (likely coincidentally) similar game known as Four Seasons Chess was played in 13th-century Spain which was notable enough to be included in Libro de los Juegos.
The earliest known mention of four-player chess in its modern form is a pamphlet from Dessau, Germany, in 1784. William Coxe also wrote that same year that a four-player chess game, possibly fortress chess, was played in Russia at the time. It is possible that one of these games inspired the other, and likely that one or both of them were inspired by Filippo Marinelli's three-player chess game invented in Italy in 1722. Four-handed Chess, as it was called, grew in popularity throughout the 19th century, with variations of the game appearing in Germany, Britain and the United States, among others. Many different pamphlets sprang up with minor rule changes, such as where the king and queen were, or how to deal with pawns that ran into each other. Cox–Forbes theory, a popular theory among chess historians at the time that was developed during the century by Hiram Cox and Duncan Forbes, proposed that chaturaji was approximately 5000 years old and was the predecessor to modern chess. However, this theory was refuted in the latter half of the century by Antonius van der Linde and Albrecht Weber, and is now rejected by all serious chess historians.
George Hope Lloyd-Verney, a pivotal figure in the game's history, was first introduced to it by Horatia Nelson. On September 20, 1881, a leading article in The Times referred to the game as "failed", which prompted Verney, who was a seasoned player by then, to send a letter in response that same day. In the letter he made a point that he would continue to make during his frequent advocacy of the game, that being that four-player chess is quite distinct from standard chess due to the latter being more scientific in nature and the former being more casual due to its heightened complexity, and that both games were enjoyed for completely different reasons despite their common heritage. This letter was inserted in the September 22nd 1881 issue of the Times, and as a result Verney received many personal queries about the game. In response, Verney published a book that year called Four-handed Chess detailing the rules of the game, which perpetuated its popularity in the Anglosphere. It was followed up in 1885 by Chess Eccentricities, an encyclopedia of chess variants with more than two players that also contained various correspondences between Verney and both fans and critics of the game. Verney also founded a Four-handed Chess Club in London in 1884. It was somewhat well known in London, and it had eighty people attend its inaugural meeting. The club started off by following Verney's ruleset, but this changed a few years later in 1888 when Montague Edward Hughes-Hughes, in an attempt to improve the game's popularity, invented a new ruleset that was slightly more similar to standard chess, which quickly became the preferred ruleset of the club. The club played until World War II.
There are a few historical figures who played, or are alleged to have played, the game. Verney claimed that the Czar, probably Alexander III, played the game. Prince Albert is said to have played it. However, the figure most commonly associated with the game is Vladimir Lenin. Lenin is said to have played the game passionately with his family, including Anna Ulyanova, in his youth. After becoming an active revolutionary, Lenin came up with the idea of using a four-player chess table, which was constructed in 1894–1895, to hide illegal documents in through a hollowed out table leg. The table survived Lenin's arrest in 1895, and ended up in the hands of Ulyanova the year after. In 1900, the table was replaced after Mark Yelizarov came up with a new idea for storing documents, that being a secret drawer within the table. This new table survived many police searches without suspicion, keeping documents safe for Lenin, his family and his allies right up until the February Revolution. The table is now on display in the State Historical Museum.