Three-dimensional chess is a version of the Earth game, chess, and was commonly played throughout the 23rd and 24th centuries.
History and specifics
James T. Kirk first gained a passion for playing three-dimensional chess whilst studying at Starfleet Academy. After leaving the Academy, he carried the passion with him to his various duty assignments. Aboard the USS Farragut, he often played chess with Gilhooley whilst swapping bawdy tales. Following the disaster at Tycho IV, Kirk withdrew inside himself and contented himself with playing chess against the computer. Shortly after Kirk's assignment to the USS Constitution, Gary Mitchell attempted to set up a match between Kirk and Borrik, the ship's communication officers, but he wasn't interested. (TOS - My Brother's Keeper novel: Constitution)
In the 2260s, Kirk and Commander Spock played many games of three-dimensional chess together aboard the USS Enterprise. It was a fascinating experience for Spock as Captain Kirk beat him on many occasions, defying Spock's own logic. (TOS episodes: "Where No Man Has Gone Before", "Court Martial")
Spock later programmed the computer of the Enterprise with a knowledge level of three-dimensional chess equal to his own. As a result, Spock felt that as a result the best he should've been able to achieve would be a draw. While Captain James T. Kirk was on trial for the death of Ben Finney, Spock played chess, and defeated the computer several times in a row. Spock realized that someone had sabotaged the computer to frame Captain Kirk, and it was soon realized that Ben Finney was still alive, seeking revenge for Kirk's logging a mistake that Finney made a number of years ago which caused a reprimand to be entered against Finney. (TOS episode: "Court Martial")
After Spock was separated into separate Human and Vulcan beings in early 2268, the Vulcan Spock played several games of three-dimensional chess against Kirk and "beat the pants off of him". Kirk remarked to McCoy that it was like playing against a freshly rewired computer. (TOS - The New Voyages short story: "Ni Var")
Even in his advanced age, Spock was still able to play, into 2367. Without gamepieces of any kind, using only memory, he challenged Lieutenant Commander Data, aboard Enterprise-D. It ended in mutual stalemate. (TNG comic: " The Modala Imperative")
Deanna Troi defeated Data in a game of three-dimensional chess in 2368 where per their bet he had to make a Samarian sunset for her. (TNG episode: "Conundrum")
Benjamin Sisko owned a three-dimensional chess set and displayed it in his quarters on Deep Space 9. (DS9 episode: "Move Along Home")
Durania is a famous 3D-chess player for which the classic Duranian defense is named. He played a famous game in which his opponent mistook his retreat (the Duranian defense) for an attack, and broke off their relentless offensive in order to castle with the rook. This moment of hesitation allowed white to get the momentum. The game went on for another four days, but eventually Durania's opponent lost. (TNG novel: Tunnel Through the Stars)
In the alternate reality, Kirk and Spock's game of chess was interrupted by the distress call coming from Helios-1. They both left Spock's quarters, but Kirk snuck back in and moved Spock's piece. (TOS video game: Star Trek)
Appendices
References
- TOS - The New Voyages short story: "Ni Var"
- TOS comic: "Choices!"
External links
- Three-dimensional chess article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Three dimensional chess at Wikipedia
- Tri Dimensional Chess at Board Game Geek
- How to play Tri Dimensional Chess.
- Tri dimensional chess on the Big Bang Theory wiki
- Tournament rules for Tri Dimensional Chess
- Star Trek 3D Chess at Chess Variants
- Kobayashi Maru Variant at Chess Variants
- Parmen, the free Three Dimensional Chess software