Quaternity, the game of 4-player chess and Europe: who is the Catanian who plays for the Italian national team?
A modern reinvention of the ancient game of chess, with a Sicilian who plays with the best.
A translation of the interview conducted by the Italian newspaper “La Sicilia” with Quaternity player Santo Previtera. It was published on the 4th of October 2024. Written by Grazia Calanna
Question: Let us start with the Quaternity Chess tournament to held in the UK from the 4th to the 7th of October 2024. You will be representing Italy (the only Sicilian in the competition). Give me all the details including the names of the other players, the organizers and the venue. And again, tell us how you got into these world or European finals?
Santo: Yes, I will participate as part of the Italian team in the inaugural European Tournament, which offers a team prize for the winning team as well as an individual prize for the best player. The countries that will be participating are the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany and Italy.
The participants from in the Italian team are Renato Tomaselli from Cantanzaro, Darya Pereira Rega, a Brazilian student living in Caserta, Filip Epifanovich, originally from Moldova/Ukraine and of course myself, I am from the province of Cantania.
The tournament will be held between the 4th and the 7th of October at the Hellens Manor, a historic mansion located in the village of Much Marcle in Herefordshire, England. The tournament is organized by the Quaternity UK Association. I reached the finals by qualifying third in the national tournament organized by the nascent Italian Quaternity Association, the tournament was held on the website https//play.quaternity.com platform to facilitate logistical and participation requirements.
Question: What fascinates you most about Quaternity Chess? And what are the greatest difficulties in the game.
Santo: I can’t say I know how this passion arose, and I have to say that I hardly knew the rules and movements of classical chess, but through the process of observing a few Quaternity chess games and seeing how it unfolds as four players play it, the four being positioned on the four corners of a 144 squares board, I realized that I was observing something completely innovative happening, and that was the fact that predetermined strategies and plans played a part only up to a certain point. And this was only the starting point, because in the game, every player plays against each and every one of the other players, and even if there are tacit alliances, these are always temporary. And that was the moment it all clicked together all for me.
Question: What are the peculiarities of this game?
Santo: In the words of the creators, the game of chess has changed because it was time for it to change. Classical chess is basically a binary game in which preset patterns and tried and tested strategies dominate. That’s part of the 19th century.
Chess is war, Quaternity is life.
Question: What is the ‘philosophy’ that distinguishes and differentiates it from classical chess?
Santo: Quaternity is a new mental sport developed for the 21st century. Since there are four players in play, predetermined strategies and schemes no longer work. Each move change and disrupt the relationships of the pieces on the board, so the strategy must be dynamic and flexible to each situation that arises. This makes each game unique.
The thing that strikes me was precisely the sudden changes that happens in a game, in which for example, a player seemingly doomed and close to defeat can suddenly checkmate an opponent and win points in a tournament or even win the game. If there is a difficulty that one encounters when one first starts to play, it is that of maintaining an overall and unified view of the events unfolding on the chessboard so as not to be surprised while one is intent on developing a strategy of the moment.
Seeing the ease with which people who have never played chess learn Quaternity chess is another thing that I find exciting. Children above all, who obviously have an ability to adapt and a flexibility that is still intact take to the game like water.
In the Peruvian Amazon, more precisely in Yarinacocha, the sociologist and anthropologist Roberto Asconiga provides the children of the local tribe with Quaternity chessboards every weekend. The interest and enthusiasm they show for the game is nothing short of remarkable.
Question: What do you recommend to those who would like to practice Quaternity chess? Are there any active associations in Sicily?
Santo: The online platform https://play.quaternity.com gives anyone an immediate opportunity to try out the game. There are tutorials and general rules for an initial approach, as well as the opportunity to play alone against bots, this offers the advantage of familiarizing oneself with Quaternity and to practice indefinitely. Obviously when there are four people playing online, one can directly test oneself in a live situation so to speak. Here in Italy an association is in the process of being set up and in Sicily we are still at the beginning stages where we are presenting the game in classical chess venues to give people a chance to acquaint themselves with the game, and experience it first-hand. Much else can be said about Quaternity but the general advice that is often given is: Play!