Play on a 10×10 board with two additional compound pieces.
Base rules: chess. Each side has ten pawns on its third rank and ten pieces. Rooks stand in the corners (a1 and j1 for White); the second rank holds, from b to i, knight, bishop, queen, king, marshal, cardinal, bishop, knight. Pawns may advance two squares on their first move and can be captured en passant. White moves first.
The cardinal (also called archbishop) moves as a bishop or a knight; the marshal (also called chancellor) moves as a rook or a knight. Other pieces move as in chess and the king must stay safe.
Win by checkmate. Stalemate is a draw. A player may claim a draw after threefold repetition or 50 moves by each side without a capture or pawn move. If neither side has enough material to checkmate, the game is drawn automatically.
No castling. Promotion is optional on your eighth and ninth ranks and compulsory on the last rank. A pawn may promote only to a piece type you have lost (at most one queen, cardinal and marshal; two rooks, bishops and knights). If no lost piece is available, the pawn cannot step onto the last rank, but it still gives check from the ninth rank.
Board setup, special rules and winning conditions for Grand Chess.
A cardinal may jump in an L-shape even when its diagonal paths are blocked.
Grand Chess is a large chess variant played on a 10×10 board. Each side has ten pawns and ten pieces. They include the cardinal (bishop plus knight) and the marshal (rook plus knight). White moves first and there is no castling. Pawns may promote on the eighth or ninth rank, must promote on the last, and only to a piece already lost. Checkmate wins.
No. A pawn may promote only to a piece type you have lost, so you never have more than one queen, cardinal or marshal, or more than two rooks, bishops or knights. Promotion is optional on your eighth and ninth ranks and compulsory on the last.
A pawn reaching the last rank must promote, and it may only become a piece type you have lost. Until one of your pieces has been captured, the pawn cannot step onto the last rank. It still attacks diagonally and can give check from the ninth rank.
The cardinal, also called archbishop, moves as a bishop or a knight. The marshal, also called chancellor, moves as a rook or a knight. White's marshal starts on f2 and its cardinal on g2, beside the king on e2; Black mirrors them on rank 9.
Share one device for a local game, or choose the friend option above to create an online room and send its invitation. Online games need an internet connection. Local games are saved in this browser.
Play Grand Chess on one deviceGrand Chess. Read the setup, legal moves, special rules and end conditions before starting. The guide describes the variant used on ChessPlayX, including differences from other versions where relevant.
Read the Grand Chess rulesChoose AI mode to practice at your own pace. Start with a lower difficulty while learning the moves, then increase it when you can spot threats and plan your replies.