Grand chess

Grand chess set ordered from Christian Freeling's MindSports website

The pieces are placed on the players' first and second ranks, respectively, with the rooks alone on the players' first ranks. The pawns are placed on the players' third ranks. Since the rooks are not blocked as much by the other pieces as in standard chess, it is easier for them to activate earlier in the game.

A pawn that reaches a player's eighth or ninth ranks can elect to either promote or remain a pawn, but it must promote upon reaching the tenth rank. Unlike standard chess, a pawn may be promoted only to a captured piece of the same colour. (So, it is impossible for either side to own two queens, or two marshals, or three rooks, etc.) If, and for as long as, no captured piece is available to promote to, a pawn on a player's ninth rank must stay on the ninth rank, but it can still give check.

As in standard chess: pawns can move one or two squares on their first move; pawns can capture en passant; checkmate is a win; stalemate is a draw. There is no castling in grand chess.[lower-alpha 3]

H. G. Muller suggested the following estimated piece values:[5]

• Capablanca Chess
• Embassy Chess

Bibliography

• Hochberg, Burt (August 1997). "Don't be Scared, It's Still Chess". Chess Life.
• Pritchard, D. B. (1994). The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Games & Puzzles Publications. ISBN 0-9524142-0-1.

• Beasley, John D., ed. (January 2010). "Grand Chess". Variant Chess. Vol. 8 no. 63. British Chess Variants Society. pp. 142–44. ISSN 0958-8248.
• Gardner, Tony (2000–2002). Handscomb, Kerry (ed.). "The Grand Chess Corner". Abstract Games. No. 3–12. Carpe Diem Publishing. ISSN 1492-0492.
• Horne, Malcolm (Spring 1996). Wood, Peter C. (ed.). "Grand Chess". Variant Chess. Vol. 2 no. 19. British Chess Variants Society. pp. 181–82, 184. ISSN 0958-8248.
• Horne, Malcolm (Summer 1997). Jelliss, George P. (ed.). "Grand Chess: The Yerevan Games". Variant Chess. Vol. 3 no. 24. British Chess Variants Society. pp. 71–72. ISSN 0958-8248.
• Pritchard, D. B. (2007). Beasley, John (ed.). The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. John Beasley. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1.
• Schmittberger, R. Wayne (1992). New Rules for Classic Games. John Wiley & Sons Inc. ISBN 978-0471536215.
• Vehre, John (2003). Handscomb, Kerry (ed.). "The Grand Chess Corner". Abstract Games. No. 13–14. Carpe Diem Publishing. ISSN 1492-0492.

• Official website
• 2001 Cyber World Championship game annotated by John Vehre
• Grand Chess: The Yerevan Games by Malcolm Horne
• Christian Freeling's Grand Chess by Hans Bodlaender, The Chess Variant Pages
• Grand Chess at BoardGameGeek
• Grand Chess a simple program by Ed Friedlander (Java)