3-Pawn

"The more perfect a nature is, the fewer means it requires for its operation."
—Aristotle, 4th century BCE

Photo of Hexes 3-pawn chess for two players.
chess board printed on aluminum, with standard tournament-size chess pieces.

Simply put, is the most parsimonious, full-complement chess game on the planet. Weighing in at a mere twenty-four chess pieces on thirty hexagons, this insanely simple design facilitates a surprisingly rich chess experience. It plays faster than more complicated chess games, but is less forgiving of mistakes. is a compressed chess game. The pawns do not get two-hex opening moves, and consequently there is no en passant rule. has a couple of idiosyncrasies. The first is its odd shape. Chess boards are organized by rank and file (row and column). The 3-pawn chess board has three files (columns), but they bend 60° at the third and eighth ranks. Playing is like waging a battle in a gorge between steep rocky walls. The second idiosyncrasy is that due to the chess-board's narrow shape, a king and knight can accomplish checkmate without help from other pieces.


number
of players		 number
of hexes		 pieces
per player		 game
density		 degrees of
freedom		 opening
moves		 full size or
compressed
2301280%33013compressed

Illustration of Hexes 3-Pawn chess for two players.