Martian chess The Martian Chess Set won the Origins Award for "Best Abstract Board Game of 2000". The rules to the game were reissued in "3HOUSE" booklet in 2007, again by 2013 in Pyramid Primer #1 and in 2016 as a part of "Pyramid Arcade" boxed set. Each player starts with nine pieces: three small ("pawns"), three medium ("drones"), and three large ("queens"). The color of the pieces is irrelevant to the gameplay. A mix of colors is recommended. Players initially place their pieces in the corners of the board as shown. In a two-player game, only a half-board is used. The
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