1996 Jerzy Luberda Three Player Wooden Chess Board Game – Pieces Black White Red

Hand made wooden chess set for three players is designed by Jerzy Luberda, Poland, c.1996

It comes complete with a beautiful wood board, case, character chess pieces and instruction sheet. A three-player wooden chess set with a hexagonal board. This excellent chess variant has minimal extra rules to learn, but the hexagonal board certainly adds complexity and gets you thinking!

Three player chess is no gimmick; it’s a really interesting version of chess that enables an extra player to play. The 3 player chess boards are made from a stained hardwood and fold to form a practical storage container for the pieces.

Two metal catches to keep the box closed. This early version features notation around the edge of the board. The wooden chess pieces are nicely crafted and stained in 3 colours; red, white and brown. The king is 3.4cm high and all pieces have felted bottoms. Game rules are also included.

Gameplay:

When a piece that moves diagonally reaches the middle point of the board, it can travel in one of two directions. The first King must be actually taken rather than just checkmated. The owner of a King can move even while in a checkmate position. The ramifications of the hexagonal board turn out to be pretty fascinating, once you’ve understood the way that pieces move through the middle point. For instance: Having a temporary ally can be more important than having a good position. Two poorer players can gang up on the better player so the better player is not always guaranteed to win.

An exchange of pieces is usually a bad idea. If you exchange pieces with another player, the 3rd player is now a piece up! The value of the diagonally moving pieces is somewhat increased as they threaten more squares than on the traditional chessboard.