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
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