White starts on the innermost ring (0), Black on the outermost (3). Pieces move radially (between rings) and angularly (around a ring, wrapping) — the natural circular analogue of ordinary chess moves. A Rook or Queen can travel all the way around a ring.
The board has 4 concentric rings (ring 0 = innermost to ring 3 = outermost) × 16 sectors. The Rook and Queen slide radially (up to 3 squares) and angularly (around the circumference, wrapping, up to 15 squares). The Bishop moves diagonally (ring and sector change together), the Knight maps the ordinary L-shape onto ring/sector space, and the King steps one square in any direction. Pawns advance radially (White outward, Black inward) and capture diagonally.
Simplifications: only half the circle (8 of 16 sectors) is used for the starting armies on the inner and outer rings — the other half starts completely empty, opening up flanking maneuvers around the back. With only 4 rings total, the two pawn lines start touching from move one, making for a sharp, immediate opening. Castling, en passant, and the pawn's double-step are omitted, and capturing the king directly ends the game on the spot.