Three-check chess
Three-check chess uses the normal rules with one added way to win: the first player to put the opposing king in check three times wins at once, in addition to winning by checkmate.
Also called: three-check
In three-check chess, the pieces, board and moves are the same as in standard chess. The change is the extra way to win. Each time you give check, it is counted, and the first player to give three checks wins at once, even if the opponent's king is nowhere near being checkmated. Normal checkmate still ends the game as usual, and a single move counts as one check even when two pieces give check together.
Because every check counts, the strategy changes. A check that would be a harmless trick in normal chess becomes a valuable step toward victory, so players look for forcing sequences and are careful about leaving their own king open to checks. Defenders often must avoid moves that allow a cheap check, even when it costs them a pawn.
Three-check is mostly played online, often as a quick blitz variant. It is a lively way to practice attacking ideas and noticing checking moves, which are valuable skills in normal games as well. Websites show the check counter next to each player so that you can see how close either side is to winning.
It sits close to Antichess. Antichess is a variant that turns the aim upside down: you must capture whenever you can, and you win by giving away every piece you own or by being left with no legal move.
It sits close to Chess variant. A chess variant is a game played on a chessboard with pieces that move as in chess but with at least one changed rule, setup or goal, such as Chess960, Crazyhouse or Three-check.
A neighboring idea is Crazyhouse. Crazyhouse is a chess variant in which a captured piece changes sides and joins your reserve, and on any later turn you may drop it onto an empty square instead of moving.
If "Three-check chess" is the format you play most, the improvement plans by rating band give a weekly routine for your rating range.
Related terms
A chess variant is a game played on a chessboard with pieces that move as in chess but with at least one changed rule, setup or goal, such as Chess960, Crazyhouse or Three-check.
King of the Hill is a chess variant in which a player wins immediately by moving their king onto one of the four central squares, d4, d5, e4 or e5.
Crazyhouse is a chess variant in which a captured piece changes sides and joins your reserve, and on any later turn you may drop it onto an empty square instead of moving.
Antichess is a variant that turns the aim upside down: you must capture whenever you can, and you win by giving away every piece you own or by being left with no legal move.
Atomic chess is a variant in which every capture causes an explosion that removes the capturing piece and all non-pawn pieces on the squares around the captured piece.
Checkmate, or mate, ends a chess game at once: the king of the side to move is under attack, and none of that side's legal moves can remove the attack, so the player who delivered it wins.
Guides that go further
See whether a base time and increment counts as bullet, blitz, rapid or classical.
Average chess rating and a good chess rating
What share of active Lichess players are rated above 800, 1200, 1500, 1800 or 2000, by time control.
What a rating measures, how FIDE, Lichess, US Chess and chess.com compute theirs, and why the numbers differ.
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