Three-dimensional chess

Three-dimensional chess is a good example of a chess variant. Three-dimensional variants have existed since the late 19th century. One of the oldest versions still regularly played is Raumschach[?], invented in 1907 by Ferdinand Maack and played on a 5x5x5 board.

However, the most familiar variant to the general public in the early 21st century is the Star Trek game which can be seen on a lot of Star Trek movies and TV series, starting from the original one throughout the rest of the series. The same or different variant of 3-D chess is also seen in Ginga Eiyu densetsu[?], a Japanese sci-fi novel.

The original Standard Rules of this game were developed by Andrew Bartmess in 1976, while the chessboard set was made by Franz Joseph Schnaubelt.

There also is a GNU FDL manual written in Italian by Marco Bresciani, which presents the complete standard set of rules with instructions on how to build a chessboard and many other things. This manual is updated and upgraded frequently and it is available for download (see link at end) for all who do not read English.

There is a lot of software for playing three-dimensional chess, although no software completely uses Andrew Bartmess's Standard Rules.

External links

• list of 3D chess games at chessvariants.com (http://www.chessvariants.com/index/mainquery.php?type=Any&category=3d&orderby=LinkText&displayauthor=1&displayinventor=1&usethisheading=Three+Dimensional)
• Tri-Dimensional Chess Rules by Andrew Bartmess (http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~abartmes/tactical.htm)
• Marco Bresciani's Manuale degli Scacchi Tridimensionali (http://www.startrekitalia.com/Siti//Manuale/)
• Parmen, a 3D chess program (http://www.hemptrek.com/parmen)