1. Back the pieces that capture
When a piece is captured, its NFTs are sold and the proceeds go to the backers of the piece that made the capture. So your job is simple to state and fun to solve: figure out which pieces will be doing the taking. Some pieces are naturally busier than others — here's the cast, and what each one costs to start:
| Piece | Base price | Why it captures |
|---|---|---|
| Pawn | 0.1 $CHECK | Cheap and everywhere — pawns trade constantly and promote late in the game. |
| Knight | 0.3 $CHECK | Tricky attacker — forks and outpost captures make knights busy. |
| Bishop | 0.3 $CHECK | Long-range sniper — dangerous on open diagonals. |
| Rook | 0.5 $CHECK | Heavy hitter — dominates open files and the endgame. |
| Queen | 0.9 $CHECK | The powerhouse — the most active capturer, and priced for it. |
| King | 1 $CHECK | Can't be captured, but it captures — a real threat in the endgame. |
Notice the King: it can never be captured, but it absolutely captures — an active king mopping up pawns in the endgame is an underrated bet that many players overlook.
2. Play the bonding curve
Piece prices aren't fixed — they rise as more people buy and fall as people sell:
Buy Price = Base Price + (Base Price × (Supply + 1) × 0.1)
Two practical takeaways. First, getting in early is cheaper — the more a piece is minted, the more each new share costs. Second, cheap pieces are cheap to accumulate: the pawn starts at just 0.1 $CHECK, so you can take a large position in volume without much capital. If you expect a lot of pawn trades in a sharp game, a stack of cheap pawns can pay off nicely.
3. Diversify and hedge
You don't have to be right about a single piece. Chess3 lets you:
- Back several different pieces in the same game.
- Bet on both white and black.
- Stack multiple NFTs on a single piece you feel strongly about.
Treat it like a portfolio: a couple of high-conviction picks (say, an active knight and a rook that's heading for an open file), balanced by cheaper pawn positions on both sides so a wild tactical game still pays you something.
4. Read the phase of the game
Captures aren't spread evenly across a chess game — and neither should your bets be.
- Opening: few captures. Development and center control dominate; big trades are rare.
- Middlegame: the capture engine. This is where knights, bishops, rooks and the queen do most of the taking — the sweet spot for capture bets.
- Endgame: pawns promote and the king turns aggressive. Cheap pawns and a marching king can surprise you.
5. Manage your $CHECK
Everything is denominated in $CHECK, and your pieces are locked once betting begins, so size your positions with that in mind. Don't put your whole balance on one piece in one game; spread it across games and pieces, keep some dry powder for when a piece is still cheap on the curve, and remember that a piece is also a tradable asset — if you change your mind before betting locks, you can sell back down the curve.
The short version
- Bet on which pieces capture, not who wins.
- Favor active pieces; don't sleep on the endgame king and pawns.
- Buy early on the curve; use cheap pieces for volume.
- Diversify across pieces and both colors.
- Match your bets to the phase of the game, and size your $CHECK sensibly.
Put it into play
Build your position before the next live match — pick your pieces and get ready to bet.