Turns go White → Black → Red (Wei → Shu → Wu). Each player competes independently.
Three-Player Chess
Three players. Two rivals. Keep your king standing on a 96-cell board.
Casual · three independent players · no rating changes
WhiteBlackRed
Rules
The 96 cells form three sectors. Diagonals can fork at the centre; select a piece to see every legal route. Knights jump along the board's connections.
Pawns advance into either enemy sector and promote on an enemy back rank to queen, rook, bishop or knight. Castling requires unmoved king and rook, a clear route and safe king squares. En passant lasts through each opponent's next turn.
Both opponents can give check. You must leave your own king or general safe. Royals are never captured; checkmate is decided when the checked player's turn begins.
Mate, resignation or timeout eliminates one player. Their army stays as frozen, uncapturable blockers. The last active player wins; disconnection alone does not immediately eliminate anyone.
Threefold repetition or 150 quiet plies draws the game. In chess, stalemate skips a turn with three active players and draws with two. In Modern Xiangqi, stalemate eliminates that player. Historical special pieces and army transfer are not part of Modern.
A quick guide to Three-Player Chess
What is Three-Player Chess?
Three-Player Chess uses a 96-square board and three armies of 16 pieces. ChessPlayX uses the Modern v1 variant, with turns rotating among the remaining players. Eliminated armies are removed; the last surviving player wins.
How can I play with a friend?
Share one device for a local game, or choose the friend option above to create an online room and send its invitation. Online games need an internet connection. Local games are saved in this browser.
Play Three-Player Chess on one deviceWhich rules apply here?
Modern v1 · ChessPlayX three-player variant. Read the setup, legal moves, special rules and end conditions before starting. The guide describes the variant used on ChessPlayX, including differences from other versions where relevant.
Read the Three-Player Chess rulesCan I play against the computer?
Choose computer mode to practice at your own pace. Start with a lower difficulty while learning the moves, then increase it when you can spot threats and plan your replies.