Hridayeshwar Singh Bhati

Hridayeshwar Singh Bhati (born 3 September 2002) is an Indian student who invented a six-player variant of chess. He invented the variant at the age of 9 with his father's assistance.^[1][3] He was granted a patent for his invention in 2012, making him the youngest patent-holder in India at that time.^[1][4][5][6]

Bhati's invention earned him the CavinKare Ability Special Recognition Award^[7] and the Sri Balaji Society's Child Innovator Award.^[8][9] He has subsequently designed and received patents for twelve- and sixty-player variants of his game with his boards creating 100 separate chess variants altogether.^[10] Besides inventions in circular chess, he has developed a ramp system enabling easy access to vehicles for the disabled.^[11] In 2014, he was awarded a Dr. Batra's Positive Health Award which was presented by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.^[12][13]

Bhati suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy and is a wheelchair user. He attributes his inspiration for inventing to his admiration of British physicist Stephen Hawking: "I want to be like Hawking who became a famous scientist despite suffering from motor neuron disease."^[1]

Six-player circular chess

Bhati's version of chess, for up to six players in teams of two or three, is played on a circular board with 228 playable black and white spaces, plus 12 unplayable red spaces. Bhati's multiplayer design employs all the standard chess pieces and their moves.^[14][15] Individual armies are distinguished by colour.

Six-player circular chess, starting position

Rules

Each player starts with the same number and types of pieces as in standard chess. Players' non-pawn pieces start in their normal setups on the back ranks (the 8×1 extensions at the board perimeter), with queens always placed to the left of kings. Pawns are placed on the next rank in front of the pieces as in standard chess.

Red spaces may not be occupied or passed through when moving or capturing. The multicoloured central circular area may be passed through, but not occupied. It is considered a single "null" space, so a space bordering it is considered adjacent to the space on the direct opposite side of the null area. (For example, a pawn on a space bordering the null area that moves one step straight forward, will end its move on the same-coloured space at the direct opposite side of the null area.)

The king, knight, and pawn have their standard chess moves, unaffected when crossing the central null area where a space directly across is considered adjacent. A pawn promotes as normal when it reaches any player's back rank. Moves of the rook are also straightforward – it moves horizontally along concentric rings of spaces, and vertically along files including crossing the central null area and continuing along the same file in a straight line. (When moving horizontally, a rook may not end its move on the same space that it started. The same is true for the queen.)

The queen moves horizontally and vertically the same as a rook. When a queen or bishop crosses the central null area diagonally, it must continue from a space of the same colour as the one it started on: the piece is moved one space clockwise or anticlockwise after passing the null space, determined whether it started its diagonal movement in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction.

When a player is checkmated or resigns, all his remaining pieces are removed from play.^[16] In games where teams of two or three compete, the last team standing is the winner.

See also

• Circular chess

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hridayeshwar Singh Bhati.