The king is usually safest in the centre, surrounded by supporting pieces. In four-player chess it is generally not wise to castle in the opening phase or middle game. The corners can be controlled by pawns and often the rook pawns are pushed two squares forward to control or attack the opponent's knight and to block the opponent's rook. In four-player chess the corners are also key areas of the board, because that is where the opposing armies meet directly. The team that controls the centre of the board normally has the initiative and can more easily create threats and start attacks. Unlike in regular chess, the centre of the board cannot be controlled by pawns (because it is further away), but it can be controlled by pieces and it is just as important. Pushing pawns too far up the board may seriously weaken the king's position, possibly even more so than in regular chess.Ĭentre and corners However, players can still be forced into a cramped position by active piece play from opponents and the risk of overextension is also present in four-player chess. Mobility and space īecause of the larger board size and the more tactical nature of four-player chess, the positional concepts of piece mobility and spatial advantages are less relevant to four-player chess. Knights are often sacrificed to get a check on an opponent, either for a strong attack or for defensive purposes. That makes them very strong pieces once they get in range of an enemy king. The main strength of the knights is that knight checks cannot be blocked. They usually control the corners of the board and they are often used to create check threats, defend against enemy knights or simply block check lines for protection of the king. Knights are not often found in the centre of the board. Since the four-player chess board is significantly larger than a regular chess board, the difference in mobility between the sliding pieces and the knights is also more pronounced. Instead, the files and ranks should be kept closed to hinder the opponents' rook development and any open files and ranks should be blocked (with pawns), such that the rooks remain trapped behind the wall of pawns and cannot easily come into play. Therefore, it is often best to avoid unnecessarily capturing pawns and creating openings in the opponents' pawn structures. In general, the team with active rooks usually has the better winning chances in the endgame. It is much easier to checkmate opponents with rooks rather than bishops. As the game progresses and moves towards the endgame, however, the rooks become more important. Rooks are also sometimes used as bait to distract and temporarily trap enemy queens in exchange for a strong (checkmating) attack. Moreover, developing the rooks is inherently more difficult, because opponents can push their rook pawns or develop their knights to block the rooks and prevent them from moving out. The bishops can create direct threats against the opponents on both sides of the board using the long diagonals, whereas rooks need to move to the centre of the board first. In the opening phase of the game, the bishops are generally considered slightly stronger than the rooks. However, a mistake commonly made by less experienced players is to keep moving the queens around in the opening only to create one-move threats that are easily parried, while their opponents gain a significant lead in development.īishops versus rooks The queens are also very good at controlling key squares on the board and creating multiple threats, because of their great mobility. The four-player chess board is significantly larger than a regular chess board and therefore the queens are not as vulnerable to tempo moves as in regular chess. This involves moving pieces to their most active squares, controlling key squares on the board and trying to interfere with the opponents' development.īringing out the queens Īn important difference with regular chess is that bringing the queen out early can be very strong in four-player chess and may often be a good idea. Just like in regular chess, development of pieces is very important. If two teammates work together properly and exchange ideas, they can surpass their individual skill levels by complementing each other's strengths and perform at a higher level together. If one player merely follows his teammate's suggested moves, their level of play can only be as good as that single player. It is also important to note that two heads are usually better than one. A better coordinated team will usually beat a less coordinated team. Proper attack and defence strategies require good coordination between both teammates to be successful. This is true for both attacking and defending. Teams Coordination Īs for all team games, working together as a team is a really important part of the Teams variant of four-player chess.
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