Four-player chess written c. 1500. The "Tithitattva" of Raghunandana describes such a version, which continued to be played into the 20th century. The first documented example of a modern four-player chess system was written by Captain George Hope Verney in England in 1881. The most common form of play is two vs. two in which allied pieces cannot eliminate each other, but help the others in defense and offense. The allied players sit across from each other and help checkmate the people to the left and right of them. The game is over when both opposing kings are checkmated. If only one
Apocalypse (chess variant) Apocalypse (chess variant) Apocalypse is a chess variant invented by C. S. Elliott in 1976. The players each start with two "horsemen" and five "footmen" on a 5×5 board. The two sides make their moves simultaneously. The game was featured in Issue 53 of "Games & Puzzles" magazine. The starting setup is as shown. Horsemen and footmen move and capture the same as knights and pawns in chess, except footmen do not have a double-step option on their first move. For each turn, each player secretly writes down his move, then the players simultaneously declare them. The following rules apply: