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
Double Chess Double Chess Double Chess is a chess variant invented by Julian S. Grant Hayward in 1916. The game is played on a 12×16 chessboard with each player in control of two complete armies placed side-by-side. The rules were published in the January 1929 issue of "British Chess Magazine". The illustration shows the starting setup. A player wins by checkmating either enemy king. Additional rules: As in standard chess, pawns promote upon reaching the furthest . J. R. Capablanca, who had experimented with different forms of chess in the 1920s, found the game "remarkably interesting", and a four-game match was held