Hi Orion (and the group),

In reference to...

> I've been playing 3D Chess for nearly 30 years –
> I had NO idea you were the inventor!

No, I'm not "THE" inventor of 3D chess, however, I am
the inventor of a very "playable" 3D chess variant
called Millennium 3D Chess*.

Similar to you, I first began to play 3D chess in 1977
when a received a 3x8x8 chess board called "Chess in
the Third Dimension" made by "Skor-Mor" as a gift.

I was immediately intrigued by 3D chess.

Unfortunately, the "Chess in the Third Dimension"
rules that were included with the Skor-Mor board were
incomplete and required mandatory level-changing
moves. Even though I enjoyed the challenge of playing
this particular 3D variant, it was very difficult to
find opponents who agreed with these "odd" playing
rules.

For reference, a copy of the Skor-Mor 3x8x8 chess
rules can be downloaded from:

http://www.jtelmore.com/3dchess.html

Likewise, other 3D chess variants can be found at:

http://www.chessvariants.com/

During the next several years, I searched for a "more"
playable version of a 3x8x8 chess game, but my search
was not successful, especially since this was well
before the widespread availability to the internet.

So, I decided to write a set of 3x8x8 chess rules with
the objective of extending the traditional 2D chess
game into a multilevel environment without distorting
the basic game. To the end, my Millennium 3D Chess*
3x8x8 variant did not "create" new pieces or chess
rules. Other that the concept of moving between chess
boards, all traditional 2D chess rules were applied.

For example, after I developed my Millennium 3D Chess*
variant, I found a different chess variant called
"Chess3/ChessCube".

At first glance, these two chess variants seem
similar, however, there are MAJOR differences. For
example, in both traditional 2D chess and Millennium
3D Chess*, the Queen has the same movement as the
Bishop combined with the Rook.

However, the "Chess3/ChessCube" variant did not follow
this guideline. Because of this difference, the
"ChessCube" Bishop is a stronger piece than the
"ChessCube" Rook which adversely changed the balance
of power found in a traditional 2D chess game.

In addition, I wrote a complete set of 3x8x8 chess
rules which includes "Castling", "En Passant" and
"Promotion" rules.

At the request of a 2D chess colleague, I updated my
3x8x8 chess rules in 2001, added a new name to this
chess variant (i.e., Millennium 3D Chess*), and set-up
a web site and Yahoogroup where this 3D chess variant
could be downloaded.

Finally...

Yes, I'm always interested in playing Millennium 3D
Chess* by email, so feel free to let me know if you
would like to play.

Cheers,
Will
william_dagostino@...


*Trademark


--- Jeff Burhans <j_burhans@...> wrote:

> Greetings!
>
> I've been playing 3D Chess for nearly 30 years - I
> had NO idea you were the inventor! I got my first
> set in...1978, I believe. My compliments on a
> wonderful variant. The games look like artwork when
> they are in progress. I currently have a cheaply
> made plastic set that I threw together to teach
> my students how to play.
>
> I'm working on a nice glass set, however...
>
> Are you up for another (probably slow-motion!) game?
> My skills are poor as I haven't played since the
> late 80's, barring some recent games with my
> students.
>
> Orion

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