Three-check chess

Three-check chess is a variation of chess, in which a player wins if he checks his opponent three times. Anatoly Karpov is said to excel in this chess variant (Pritchard 2007:83).

This chess variant is much more tactical than standard chess, sacrifices are very common, there are a lot of traps in the opening. Two checks is already a big advantage and may be worth more than one piece. The game rarely reaches endgame – usually it is decided before queens are traded.

Example game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

A game of three-check chess in progress. Position after 4....Qh4.

1.e4 e6 2. d4?? This typical opening in standard chess immediately loses in three-check chess.

2....Bb4+ First check.

3.c3 Bxc3+! Second check.

4.Nxc3 Qh4! (see diagram).

0-1. White resigned here, there is no way to prevent a third check by Qxf2+ or Qxe4+.

See also

• ChessV - allows to play three-check chess against computer.

References

• Pritchard, D. B. (2007), The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants, John Beasley, ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1