Circular chess of the board and a different starting setup. In the citadel game, if a king reaches the citadel, a draw is forced. The starting position is essentially obtained from that of orthodox chess by cutting the board in half and bending the two halves to join at the ends. Two lines are marked on opposite sides of the board, and each set of pieces is positioned so as to straddle this line. The king and queen start on the innermost ring, with, as is the case in square chess, the queen on a square of the same colour; the bishops
Game of the Three Friends Game of the Three Friends Game of the Three Friends (Chinese: , "Sān-yǒu-qí" ; also called Sanyou Qi or Three Friends Chess) is a three-player variant of the game xiangqi ("Chinese chess"). It was invented by Zheng Jinde (Chinese: , "Zhèng Jìndé") during the Qing Dynasty (1661–1722 AD). The game symbolizes the Three Kingdoms period war (221–264 AD) between the rival states Wei, Shu, and Wu, each vying for control of China after the fall of the Han Dynasty. The Three Friends are represented by colors blue, red, and green, respectively. Each player controls all the standard xiangqi pieces, with