As Erik announced a few days back, we've been at work on a bit of a passion project lately, and although it's still highly "experimental," our Four Player Chess server is available for the Chess.com community to try out! It's lots of fun, and a little crazy too!...

You already know how the pieces move, and checkmate is still a thing to fear, but this is a very different game, won or lost on a point system that awards players for capturing material, checking enemy Kings, and outlasting your opponents! Here's an overview of how it works:

Pieces move and capture like always (though there is no en passant at this time)

(though there is no en passant at this time) Points are usually earned by capturing pieces: Pawns are +1 point, Knights are +3, Bishops and Rooks are +5, Queens are +9, Kings are +15

Checkmate eliminates a player and earns +15 points

eliminates a player and earns +15 points Your pawns promote to Queens on your 8th rank

Promoted Queens are worth only 1 point

are worth only 1 point Dead (grey) pieces in the armies of eliminated players do not provide points

Delivering a double-check is worth +5, and triple-checks are worth +15

When a player resigns or times out , leaving two or more active players on the board, their King remains in color and is still worth +15 to whoever can capture it; but if there is only one player remaining, that player gets +15 immediately, and the game is over

, leaving two or more active players on the board, their King remains in color and is still worth +15 to whoever can capture it; but if there is only one player remaining, that player gets +15 immediately, and the game is over The player with the most points at the end, wins!

The only other thing you should know to play Four Player Chess is that it's still a bit rough around the edges. The server may go down from time to time as we do updates. There are no ratings or leaderboards - or chat (yet). And all games are currently using a 5-minute time control. We're still trying to iron out the rules and account for all the interesting things that can happen in this game. But it's a great start, and if you haven't tried it yet, you really should!

Play Four Player Chess!

You might have to wait a bit to get a game, depending on the time of day, but tell your friends! The more people trying it out, the shorter the wait. And if you would like to arrange a game or discuss the rules or talk strategy, there's even a special Four Player Club!

Join the Four Player Club!

Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoy this fun new variant. Please let us know what you think in the Comments!