Grand chess

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 marshal and the cardinal.

The marshal combines the powers of the rook and knight.

The cardinal combines the powers of the bishop and knight.

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 NOST.

Rules

The white pieces are placed on the first and second ranks and the white pawns are placed on the third rank as shown in the diagram. The white rooks alone are placed on the first rank, which makes it easier for them to activate earlier in the game since they are not blocked as much by the other pieces as they are in standard chess. The black rooks are placed the same, for the same advantage. Black's pieces are placed on the ninth and tenth ranks, and the black pawns are placed on the eighth rank.