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Recognized Variant of the Month for September 2001. Twelve times per year we will select a
Recognized Variant for special consideration. Its web page will be reworked and improved and a connecting link displayed on all of our CV Pages. We hope to encourage CVPhiles to read about, play and explore this featured variant.
See also:
Rules (no graphics) The Thoroddsen board. An elegant design of a board for this game to make yourself. Scans from the book. Two scanned pictures from a book of Maack, beginning 20th century. Computer Game. A Zillions of Games implementation of Raumschach by Robert Price. Five Up. A variant of Raumschach by Jim Aikin. 3D discussion group. Discuss 3D chess, including, but not limited to, Raumschach. International 3-D Chess Federation Website. Web site of James Trimm. The purpose of the 3-D Chess federation is to support 3-D Chess play in its various forms. |
Raumschach (German for Space Chess) is one of the first three-dimensional chess variants and the first to survive until present times. It was invented by Herr Doktor Ferdinand Maack in 1907. Maack first experimented with an 8x8x8 array but later determined that a 5x5x5 array yields a nicer game. Maack founded a Raumschach club in Hamburg in 1919, which remained active until the Second World War.
A, B, C, D, and E denote the 5 vertical levels, with A being White's home level and E being Black's. Within each level, ordinary algebraic notation applies. Thus, viewed from the "front" (White's side), the front, left, bottom "square" (or cell) is Aa1, whereas the diagonally opposite square is Ee5.
The pieces in the three-dimensional game are:
| Symbol | Graphic | Piece |
|---|---|---|
| K / k |   |
King |
| Q / q |   |
Queen |
| R / r |   |
Rook |
| B / b |   |
Bishop |
| N / n |   |
Knight (German: Springer) |
| U / u |   |
Unicorn (German: Einhorn) |
| P / p |   |
Pawn |
The moves of the Rook, Bishop and Knight are the same as in orthochess, although extended through extra dimensions.
Remember that any plane which intersects a departure square can be thought of as 2-D chess board. For example, the set of cells at the front of the board, xy1 (where x and y are arbitrary) forms a two-dimensional board whereon the 2-D rules apply. The rules for other cases are similar.
In the following two diagrams, the two additional planes of movement are shown for a piece at position c4 (any level).
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Detailed description of each piece's moves:
A Rook positioned at Cc3 can move to:
| Ccx | (i.e. along a file) |
| Cx3 | (i.e. along a rank) |
| Xc3 | vertically, along a column |
A bishop positioned at Dc4 on an empty board can move to:
| Da2, Db3, Dd5, De2, Dd3, Db5 exactly as in 2D chess | ||
Eb4, Ed4, Cb4, cd4, Ba4, Be4 in the front plane:
|
Ec3, Ec5, Cc3, Cc5, Bc2, Ac1 in the side plane:
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A Unicorn placed at Cc3 on an empty board can move to Dd4, Ee5, Bb2, Aa1, Db2, Ea1, Bd4, Ae5, Ee1, Dd2, Bb4, Aa5, Ea5, Db4, Bd2 and Ae1.
Note that the 3-D Knight is much more powerful than its 2-D counterpart. A 2-D Knight requires four moves to go from Aa1 to Ac3. A 3-D Knight requires only two: Aa1 - Bc1 - Ac3. Check it out!--It works.
| Passive Moves | Capture Moves | |
|---|---|---|
| White Pawn | straight-forward or straight-upward | diagonally forward or diagonally forward-upward |
| Black Pawn | straight-forward or straight-downward | diagonally forward or diagonally forward-downward |
(Please understand that the forward direction is relative to the initial placement of one's pieces, whereas the upward and downward directions are absolute.)
According to the above chart, a White Pawn at Ac2 can move to Ac3 (as in 2-D chess) or Bc2 and capture at Ab3, Ad3 (as in 2-D chess), or at Bb2, Bd2, and (according to some) at Bc3, although I personally do not like this variant. [Please note that Anthony Dickens supports the Bc3 move in A Guide to Fairy Chess.]
Pawns promote on the last (or fifth) rank, which is the far side of level A and level B for White, and the far side of level D and level E for Black. There is no 2-step initial move in Raumschach, thus no en passant capture.
Level E
Black: |
Level E: +---+---+---+---+---+ | r | n | k | n | r | 5 +---+---+---+---+---+ | p | p | p | p | p | 4 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 3 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 2 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 1 +---+---+---+---+---+ a b c d e | ||
|
Black: |
Level D: +---+---+---+---+---+ | b | u | q | b | u | 5 +---+---+---+---+---+ | p | p | p | p | p | 4 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 3 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 2 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 1 +---+---+---+---+---+ a b c d e | ||
Level C
Empty at startup. |
Level C: +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 5 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 4 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 3 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 2 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 1 +---+---+---+---+---+ a b c d e | ||
Level B
White: |
Level B: +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 5 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 4 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 3 +---+---+---+---+---+ | P | P | P | P | P | 2 +---+---+---+---+---+ | B | U | Q | B | U | 1 +---+---+---+---+---+ a b c d e | ||
|
White: |
Level A: +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 5 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 4 +---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | 3 +---+---+---+---+---+ | P | P | P | P | P | 2 +---+---+---+---+---+ | R | N | K | N | R | 1 +---+---+---+---+---+ a b c d e |
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Last modified: Monday, December 22, 2008
3D Index Page
Level D
Level A
