Three - dimensional chess Three - dimensional chess was a variant of the ancient Earth board game chess . It was an accustomed pastime of Kirk and Spock aboard the in the 23rd century and its popularity extended into the 24th century . Play . Movement of pieces is similar to that of traditional chess . The main difference is that , in the course of a move , pieces may move up or down any number of levels . History . Captain Philippa Georgiou kept a three - dimensional chess board in her ready room on the . ( ) Commander Spock was an exceptional chess player ; his game was consistently logic al . However , he often had a difficult time predicting or effectively responding to unexpected moves made by his frequent opponents , Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy . ( , et al . ) In 2266 , while the " Enterprise " and its crew were apparently helpless against the alien Balok threatening to destroy them , Spock compared the situation to chess , suggesting that the " Enterprise " crew was checkmated and the game was over . However , a comment from McCoy led Kirk to reject Spock ' s chess analogy and try a bluff similar to playing poker with the alien instead . ( ) Spock introduced chess to young passenger Charles Evans , who disliked the involved nature of the game . After losing , he destroyed Spock ' s chess pieces . ( ) Spock also enjoyed playing chess against a rival logical mind , that of the " Enterprise " computer . In 2266 , he detected programming errors in the computer ' s databanks because of faulty chess moves made by the computer . He later introduced the tampering and unreliability of the computer ' s records as defense evidence in the court martial of Captain Kirk . ( ) In 2268 , Spock played a game of chess against Kelvan expedition leader Rojan . He observed , during their match , that Rojan ' s game was " off . " ( ) Later that year , Kirk and his senior officer s used a chess - based code as transporter clearance , when Garth of Izar planned to escape from the Elba II insane asylum . Chief engineer Scott declined to beam Garth , disguised as Kirk , to the " Enterprise " , when , after he challenged Garth with the code phrase " queen to queen ' s level 3 " , Garth could not respond with the correct pass phrase ( which Spock revealed as " queen to king ' s level 1 " when he called for transport back to the " Enterprise " ) . ( ) A problem based on a type of three - dimensional chess on a spherical board was part of a memory test Spock took in 2286 . ( ) A group of genetically enhanced children at the Darwin Genetic Research Station played three - dimensional chess by using telekinetic abilities they had been given . ( ) In 2366 , Commander William T . Riker defeated both Ferengi Doctor Farek and a Ferengi guard at a presumably alien variant of 3D chess . The former defeat was in Ten Forward , and the latter took place while Riker was a captive of the Ferengi , along with both Counselor Deanna Troi and her mother , Lwaxana Troi . ( ) Reginald Barclay analyzed a chess game after being altered by the Cytherian s . ( ) Two years later , Counselor Troi managed to beat Lieutenant Commander Data at a game of 3D chess in Ten Forward , prompting Data to honor a bet they had agreed upon , whereby Data was to make Troi a Samarian sunset in the " traditional style . " ( ) Commander Benjamin Sisko , also a fan of the game , kept a three - dimensional chess set in his quarters aboard Deep Space 9 . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Collectibles company Franklin Mint produced two different tridimensional chess sets ; one based on the TOS four " attack board " version , and a second based on the TNG . A call sheet from the episode , dated , listed three - dimensional chess as one of the required items from the art department in the special instructions section . Here , it was referred to as " Okuda chess set " . Apocrypha . The Pocket Books novel " The Klingon Gambit " additionally made several references to three - dimensional chess . A game of three - dimensional chess figures in the first appearance of Kirk and Spock in the video game , when their game play is interrupted by a distress call coming from the Helios station , just after the captain ' s tactical error is exploited by the Vulcan . After Spock leaves his quarters , Kirk sneaks back into the room and moves the Vulcan ' s piece surreptitiously . This version is somewhat different in that the attack board may be suspended below the main board .