Three-player chess Three-player chess Three-player chess (also known as Three-handed, Three-man, or Three-way chess) is a family of chess variants specially designed for three players. Many variations of three-player chess have been devised. They usually use a non-standard board, for example, a hexagonal or three-sided board that connects the center in a special way. The three armies are differentiated usually by color. Three-player chess variants (as well as other three-player games) are the hardest to design fairly, since the imbalance created when two players gang up against one is usually too great for the defending player to withstand. Some versions attempt to
Janus Chess checkmate cannot be . Due to the extra pieces, each player starts the game with considerably more " power" compared to standard chess; however, the game has only a slightly higher material "power density", since there is more room for players to maneuver pieces because of the larger board (10×8 = 80 squares). Due to the different board and pieces, players are unable to use normal chess opening theory, and chess tablebases have limited value in the endgame. Janus Chess has been popular in Europe with regular tournaments drawing strong players. Several chess grandmasters have played this game including Viktor