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What is 3-Check chess?

What is 3-Check chess?

Learn how to play 3-Check on Chess.com, and where to play if you want to unlock achievements for playing it!

Updated this week

3-Check

This variant has one primary goal: check your opponent's king as many times as you can! The standard chess rules still apply, but with an added twist—you can win (or lose) the game by delivering (or receiving) three checks in total.

An image of a 3-Check chess on Chess.com

Guidelines

  • You can win by traditional means: checkmate, stalemate, or if your opponent runs out of time.

  • Additionally, the game ends if a player checks their opponent's king three times.

  • A move resulting in a double-check only counts as one check toward the 'total check score.'


Where can I play a game of 3-Check chess?

There are two ways to play 3-Check on Chess.com:

  • If you want to unlock 3-Check chess achievements, you’ll need to create a custom game from the 'Play' page. Click here to learn how.

  • You can also play 3-Check from the Variants server:

    • Hover over 'Play' on the left-side menu of any Chess.com page and select '4 Player & Variants' from the list.

    • Choose 3-Check from the list on the right side of the screen to start a game.

An image of the Variants page on Chess.com with an arrow pointing to the 3-Check variant

Ready to play a game of 3- Check chess on the variants server? Click here!

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