Grand chess
Encyclopedia
Grand chess is a popular large-board chess variant
invented by Dutch games designer Christian Freeling
in 1984. It is played on a 10×10 board
, with each side having two additional pawns and two new pieces: the marshall and the cardinal.
A superficial similarity exists between Grand chess and an early version of the historic chess variant Capablanca chess
because the same pieces and game board are used. But differences in initial start position, rules governing pawn moves and promotion, and castling make them significantly different games.
A series of Grand chess Cyber World Championship matches was sponsored by the Dutch game site Mindsports. Past title holders included R. Wayne Schmittberger (1998, 1999) and John Vehre (2001). Grand chess tournaments were held annually beginning in 1998 by the (now defunct) correspondence
game club kNights Of the Square Table (NOST).
. The black rooks are placed the same, for the same advantage. Black's major pieces are set up on the ninth and tenth ranks, and Black's 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, a pawn may be promoted only to a previously captured piece of the same color. (So, it is illegal for either side to have two queens, or two marshalls, or three rooks, etc.) If no captured piece is available for promoting a white pawn about to reach the tenth rank, the pawn must stay on the ninth rank, but it can still give check.
Similarly, 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.
As in standard chess, pawns can move one or two squares on their first move, and they may also capture en passant
.
As in chess, checkmate
is a win and stalemate
is a draw. But there is no castling
in Grand chess.
Chess variant
A chess variant is a game related to, derived from or inspired by chess. The difference from chess might include one or more of the following:...
invented by Dutch games designer Christian Freeling
Christian Freeling
Christian Freeling is a Dutch game designer and inventor of various chess variants, notably Grand chess, invented in 1984.Other game inventions by Freeling include:...
in 1984. It is played on a 10×10 board
Chessboard
A chessboard is the type of checkerboard used in the board game chess, and consists of 64 squares arranged in two alternating colors...
, with each side having two additional pawns and two new pieces: the marshall and the cardinal.
- The marshall
Fairy chess pieceA fairy chess piece or unorthodox chess piece is a piece analogous to a chess piece. It is not used in conventional chess, but is used in certain chess variants and some chess problems...
combines powers of a rookRook (chess)A rook is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes...
and a knightKnight (chess)The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner...
. - The cardinal
Fairy chess pieceA fairy chess piece or unorthodox chess piece is a piece analogous to a chess piece. It is not used in conventional chess, but is used in certain chess variants and some chess problems...
combines powers of a bishopBishop (chess)A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...
and a knightKnight (chess)The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner...
.
A superficial similarity exists between Grand chess and an early version of the historic chess variant Capablanca chess
Capablanca chess
Capablanca chess is a chess variant invented in the 1920s by former World Chess Champion José Raúl Capablanca. It incorporates two new pieces and is played on a 10×8 board. Capablanca proposed the variant while World Champion, and not as a "sour grapes" rationalization after losing his title as...
because the same pieces and game board are used. But differences in initial start position, rules governing pawn moves and promotion, and castling make them significantly different games.
A series of Grand chess Cyber World Championship matches was sponsored by the Dutch game site Mindsports. Past title holders included R. Wayne Schmittberger (1998, 1999) and John Vehre (2001). Grand chess tournaments were held annually beginning in 1998 by the (now defunct) correspondence
Correspondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon...
game club kNights Of the Square Table (NOST).
Rules
White's major pieces are set up on the first and second ranks as shown in the diagram. White's 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 activate earlier in the game since they are not blocked by the other pieces as they are in standard chessChess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
. The black rooks are placed the same, for the same advantage. Black's major pieces are set up on the ninth and tenth ranks, and Black's 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, a pawn may be promoted only to a previously captured piece of the same color. (So, it is illegal for either side to have two queens, or two marshalls, or three rooks, etc.) If no captured piece is available for promoting a white pawn about to reach the tenth rank, the pawn must stay on the ninth rank, but it can still give check.
Similarly, 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.
As in standard chess, pawns can move one or two squares on their first move, and they may also capture en passant
En passant
En passant is a move in the board game of chess . It is a special pawn capture which can occur immediately after a player moves a pawn two squares forward from its starting position, and an enemy pawn could have captured it had it moved only one square forward...
.
As in chess, checkmate
Checkmate
Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured...
is a win and stalemate
Stalemate
Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....
is a draw. But there is no castling
Castling
Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. It is the only move in chess in which a player moves two pieces at the same time. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook on the player's first rank, then...
in Grand chess.
See also
- Capablanca chessCapablanca chessCapablanca chess is a chess variant invented in the 1920s by former World Chess Champion José Raúl Capablanca. It incorporates two new pieces and is played on a 10×8 board. Capablanca proposed the variant while World Champion, and not as a "sour grapes" rationalization after losing his title as...
- Capablanca random chessCapablanca random chessCapablanca Random Chess is a chess variant invented by Reinhard Scharnagl in 2004. It combines the piece set and 10x8 board from Capablanca Chess with the permutation idea of Fischer Random Chess...
- Embassy ChessEmbassy ChessEmbassy chess is a chess variant created in 2005 by Kevin Hill. It borrows the opening setup from Grand chess by Christian Freeling and adapts it to the 10x8 board....
- Omega ChessOmega ChessOmega Chess is a commercial chess variant designed by Daniel MacDonald in Toronto. The game is played on a 10x10 board with an extra square in each of the extreme corners where the wizards are placed at the start of the game...
External links
- "Christian Freeling's Grand Chess" by Hans Bodlaender, The Chess Variant Pages
- Grand chess introduction official Mindsports website contains rules, problems, example games
- 2001 Cyber World Championship game annotated by John Vehre—2001 Grand chess World Champion
- Grand chess, The Yerevan Games by Malcolm Horne (Variant Chess, Volume 3, Issue 24, Summer 1997, pages 71–72)
- Play.Chessvariants.org the Grand Chess PBM Game Courier
- Pathguy.com a simple Grand Chess program by Ed Friedlander