Check out Balbo's Chess, our featured variant for October, 2024.

This page is written by the game's inventor, Andy Kurnia.

Thirty-Nine Squares Chess

Thirty-Nine Squares Chess, or TNS Chess is a chess variant, invented by Andy Kurnia in June 1998, for the contest to design a chess variant on 39 squares.

Rules

Board

Board is checkered (kings start on black squares) and hexagonal-shaped, however all cells are squares.

Starting Position

- Starting position is: [FEN: k/nfn/1wfw1/7/7/7/1WFW1/NFN/K]

Small diagram

9       k       black
8     n f n
7   . w f w .
6 . . . . . . .
5 . . . . . . .
4 . . . . . . .
3   . W F W .
2     N F N
1       K       WHITE
  a b c d e f g

Large diagram

                +---+
  9             |*K*|
            +---+---+---+
  8         |*N*|*F*|*N*|
        +---+---+---+---+---+
  7     |:::|*W*|*F*|*W*|:::|
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  6 |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  5 |   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  4 |:::|   |:::|   |:::|   |:::|
    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  3     |:::| W |:F:| W |:::|
        +---+---+---+---+---+
  2         |:N:| F |:N:|
            +---+---+---+
  1             |:K:|
                +---+
      a   b   c   d   e   f   g

Image

Pieces

The King

Promotion

Drops

Graphical Movements of the Pieces

A piece promotes to the piece at its right.

x x x
x K x
x x x

King
  
                                      x   x
x   x       \   /       \ x /       x \ x / x
  F           B         x H x         x T x
x   x       /   \       / x \       x / x \ x
                                      x   x

Ferz       Bishop       Horse         Tiger

                                      x   x
  x           |         x | x       x x | x x
x W x       - R -       - D -         - L -
  x           |         x | x       x x | x x
                                      x   x

Wazir        Rook        Dragon       Lion

  x   x       x   x     x x x x x   x x x x x
x       x   x x x x x   x       x   x \ | / x
    N         x P x     x   C   x   x - E - x
x       x   x x x x x   x       x   x / | \ x
  x   x       x   x     x x x x x   x x x x x

Knight       Paladin     Castle       Elephant

Comments

Sources of Pieces

Sources of Inspirations


This is a submission for the contest to design a chess variant on a board with 39 squares.
Written by Andy Kurnia. HTML-conversion and image by Hans Bodlaender.
WWW page created: June 22, 1998. Last modified: October 30, 1998.