Raumschach: Rules and Documentation

As Raumschach matured, so did its rules and documentation. The final form of the game is Raumschach in its “Normal Form,” and its rules are presented by Dickins (1969), who cited articles from The Chess Amateur, 1926, by Thomas Rayner Dawson (1889–1951). But before its “Normal Form” were many versions, and of course rules and documentation. Here, entries are presented chronologically.

Instructions for Raumschach [German] (1908)

Dr. Ferdinand Maack published Anleitung zum Raumschach: Dreidimensionales Schachspiel (1908), the “Instructions for Raumschach: Three-Dimensional Chess Game”. Herein, he presented 8×8×8 Raumschach (referred to later as S^III₈).

Game Rules of Raumschach [German] (1913)

Dr. Ferdinand Maack published Spielregeln zum Raumschach (1913), the “Game Rules of Raumschach”. Herein, he presented both 4×4×4 Raumschach (versions S^III₄ A and S^III₄ B) and 5×5×5 Raumschach (version S^III₅ A).

Raumschach: Introduction to Practical Play [German] (1919)

Dr. Ferdinand Maack published Raumschach: Einführung in die Spielpraxis (1919) the “Raumschach: Introduction to Practical Play”.

Normal Form — Dawson/Dickins (1926; 1969)

In A Guide to Fairy Chess (1969/71, pp. 16–18), Anthony Dickins (1914–1987) printed the rules reported by Thomas Rayner Dawson (The Chess Amateur, 1926) for the “Normal Form” of Raumschach, the canonical version of the game of three-dimensional chess.

Normal Form — Pritchard (2007)

In The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants (2007, p. 229), D. B. Pritchard provided the rules for the “Normal Form” of Raumschach.