John Owen (chess player) 1862 to his retirement in 1900. In 1858 he won a chess game against the young American master Paul Morphy, the world's best player, who was then touring Europe. This led to a match between the two. Despite being given odds of pawn and the move (meaning he started the game with an extra pawn and always moved first), Owen lost the match 6–1, never winning a game. His performance in the very strong 1862 London tournament, the first international round-robin event (in which each participant plays every other) was more impressive. He finished third, ahead of future world champion
Three-player chess avoid this "petty diplomacy" problem by determining the victor as the player who first delivers checkmate, with the third player losing in addition to the checkmated player. Other solutions have been tried as well. Some variants use a board with hexagonal cells. Usually three bishops per side are included, to cover all cells of the hex playing field. Pieces move usually as in one of the versions of hexagonal chess. Some variants use a hexagonal-shaped board with quadrilateral cells (see example in the photo). Some variants have used other board shapes with quadrilateral cells. Triangular cells not on the perimeter