Chess game for two,three or four players

Claim 1

A chess game for two, three or four players comprising a relatively enlarged checkerboard having a basic playing area consisting of 64 playing squares arranged in 8 bilateRally, alternately colored, successively adjoining rows having 8 playing squares per row, and an additional peripheral playing area around the basic playing area, consisting of three additional rows adjoining each side of the basic playing area, the innermost and intermediate of which additional rows consist of 8 playing squares apiece and are coextensive with the respective sides of the basic playing area, and the outermost of which additional rows consist of two playing squares apiece and are coextensive with the middlemost squares of the intermediate rows, and a relatively enlarged set of conventional chess pieces initially disposed on the additional peripheral playing area of the checkerboard for each player, consisting of the usual 8 visually distinguishable royalty pieces initially disposed on the squares of the intermediate additional row on one side of the basic playing area, 8 visually identical pawns initially disposed on the squares of the innermost additional row on said one side of the basic playing area, and two additional said royalty pieces initially disposed on the squares of the outermost additional row on said one side of the basic playing area, and selected from the group consisting of queens, knights, bishops and castles, said royalty pieces on the aforesaid intermediate additional row being arranged in conventional order end to end of the row, with the king and queen being disposed on the aforesaid middlemost squares of the row, and all of said royalty pieces and said pawns being permitted to move on the checkerboard in conventional fashion.