Moddable Chess · Variant 25 of 54

Grand Chess

10×10Board 2Players

Grand Chess

A 10×10 variant that adds the Archbishop and Chancellor without changing any existing piece rules. Considered one of the cleanest large-board variants — no special rules, just a bigger stage.

Setup

Board: 10×10 (100 squares).

Grand Chess — starting position (10×10) C C a b c d e f g h i j 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Grand Chess — starting position (10×10)

Pieces

Pieces (per side): 1 King, 1 Queen, 1 Archbishop, 1 Chancellor, 2 Rooks, 2 Bishops, 2 Knights, 10 Pawns.

  • Archbishop (♗+♞) — Bishop + Knight compound.
  • Chancellor (♖+♞) — Rook + Knight compound.

Setup: Pawns on rank 3. Back two ranks arranged: empty corners, pieces spread across ranks 1–2 with King and Queen central.

FEN: r8r/1nbqkcbn1/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/1NBQKCBN1/R8R w - - 0 1

Rules

  • No castling. The wider board makes it unnecessary.
  • Pawn promotion: Pawns reaching rank 8 or 9 MAY promote. Pawns reaching rank 10 MUST promote. Promotion to any captured piece only — you cannot promote if all pieces of that type are on the board.
  • En passant works normally.
  • All other standard chess rules apply.

Win Condition

Checkmate.

Strategy

With no castling, King safety comes from piece coordination rather than a pawn shelter. The Archbishop excels in closed positions, the Chancellor on open files. The promotion restriction (captured pieces only) means trading pieces has promotion implications — don’t trade your last Knight if you might need one back via promotion.

Attribution

Christian Freeling, 1984. Public domain.