Shannon Gardner has been working for ten years to convince people to play and invest in his concept of chess on a cylindrical board, which he calls Third Millennium Chess.

The game is round, so opponents can attack each other from two directions. Each player has two sets of pawns and two split-knights. These can move in tandem, split and move alone, then re-form and move together again.

These knights will protect each other, so if a player gets the opportunity to move into the classic queen-check, rook-check position, where there is no way to fend off an attack from a properly backed-up knight, the knight can “split” when moving and defend himself. That way, the king, sitting next to the queen, cannot take the knight without putting himself in check.

“Chess was invented when people thought the world was flat, but the world is round,” he said.

… So why a cylinder, and not a sphere? Hey, I’m just asking.

(source and image)