Turn order: White → Black → Red in Three-Player Chess; Wei → Shu → Wu in Three Kingdoms Xiangqi. 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 consecutive moves by all players without a capture or pawn/soldier move, draws the game. A player who is not in check but has no legal move: in Three-Player Chess, that turn is skipped while three players remain and the game is drawn when two remain; in Three Kingdoms Xiangqi, that player is eliminated. Historical Three Kingdoms special pieces and army transfer are not used.
Read the full guide
Board setup, special rules and winning conditions for Three-Player Chess.
A quick guide to Three-Player Chess
Read the Three-Player Chess rulesWhat is Three-Player Chess?
Three-Player Chess uses a 96-square board and three armies of 16 pieces. Turns rotate among the players still in the game. An eliminated player's pieces stay on the board as frozen blockers that cannot move or be captured; the last active player wins.
What happens to a player's pieces after checkmate in Three-Player Chess?
They stay on the board as frozen blockers. They cannot move and cannot be captured, but they still block lines, so plan your routes around them. The eliminated player takes no more turns, and the last active player wins.
Can both opponents check you at once in Three-Player Chess?
Yes. Either opponent, or both together, can attack your king, and your move must leave it safe from both. Kings are never captured; checkmate is decided when the checked player's turn begins.
What happens on stalemate in Three-Player Chess?
While three players remain, a stalemated player simply skips the turn. When only two players are left, stalemate is a draw. The game is also drawn by threefold repetition, or after 150 consecutive moves in total with no capture and no pawn move.
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 AI?
Choose AI 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.