Grand chess

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Grand chess is a large chess variant invented by Dutch games designer Christian Freeling in 1984 and is considered by many to be one of the very best of its type. It is played on a 10 x 10 board and has four additional pawns and two new pieces: the marshall and the cardinal.

• The marshall moves as both a rook and a knight.
• The cardinal moves as both a bishop and a knight.

[edit] Rules

The White pieces are set up on the first and second ranks as shown on the diagram. The White pawns are set up on the third rank. The White rooks alone are positioned on the first rank which makes it easier for them to get active earlier by not being as blocked by the other pieces as they are in standard chess. The Black rooks are symmetrically placed for the same advantage. Castling is not possible in this variant.

The Black pieces are set up on the ninth and tenth ranks. The Black pawns are set up on the eighth rank.

A White pawn may elect to either promote or remain a pawn upon reaching the eighth and ninth ranks, but must promote upon reaching the tenth rank. Unlike standard chess, promoting pawns can only be replaced by any previously captured piece of the same color (e.g. for either side to have two queens or two marshalls or three rooks, etc. is illegal). If no captured pieces are available to replace the White pawn upon its reaching the tenth rank, the pawn must stay on the ninth rank, but it can still give check.

A Black pawn promotes optionally upon reaching the third and second ranks but must promote in order to move to the first rank. It can still give check from the second rank to a White king on the first rank even if it can't yet legally move to the first rank.

Pawns can move one or two squares on their first move and can capture en passant as in standard chess.

Checkmate is a win and stalemate is a draw as in standard chess.

[edit] See also

• Capablanca chess
• Capablanca random chess

[edit] External links

• Christian Freeling's Grand chess by Hans L. Bodlaender.
• Grand chess introduction on Freeling's website, contains rules, problems and example games.
• BrainKing.com, internet server to play Grand chess online.
• 2001 World championship game, annotated by John Vehre, the Grand chess world champion.
• Grand chess, The Yerevan Games, by Malcolm Horne, Variant Chess, Volume 3, Issue 24, Summer 1997, pages 71-72.