More details about Grolman Chess
Hey, guys!
I already wrote here on this website about Grolman Chess in 2021, when Lev Vladimirovich Grolman was still alive.
I was asked to explain in more detail the rules of this interesting and surprising chess variant. Which I will gladly do.
Grolman Chess or Kazan Chess is a unique and stunningly beautiful chess variant proposed by the outstanding Soviet and Russian chess composer, three-time world champion in chess composition Lev Vladimirovich Grolman (1941-2022).
This chess variant was first mentioned in The Problemist (Vol. 1995-1996, Year 1995, Issue 411, July). Let me draw your attention - mentioned, but not described.
It should also be noted that Grolman was not a chess player in the truest sense of the word. Of course, he played chess, but his main activity in the field of this ancient logical game was the creation of fairy chess compositions, chess problems and puzzles.
Grolman Chess
The game is played using a standard chessboard and a standard set of chess pieces.
The initial setup corresponds to the classical chess setup and all the goals and objectives of Grolman Chess are fully consistent with the goals and objectives of standard chess.
The game proceeds according to the laws of ordinary chess with the exception of the following:
The player moves his piece and then, if another friendly piece can legally move to the square just vacated from the first piece, then it must do so; after which, if the next friendly piece, which has not moved so far in this turn, can move to the just vacated square from the second piece, then it must do so, and so on.
If more than one friendly piece can move to a just-vacated square, the weakest piece in the order P,N,B,R,Q,K makes the move; if there are 2 weakest pieces, the player can choose any of them.
In such a sequential chain of moving pieces, each of them can be moved only once. Thus, a player’s turn ends when none of his other friendly pieces can get onto a just vacated square.
In other words, we have before us a chess variant, where the sequential movement of pieces of the same color uses the “follow the leader” principle - we move with one piece and this causes a chain reaction, where the pieces move around the board after the first one according to certain laws.
Let's see how this idea is implemented in practice and then move on to some of the nuances that arise during the game.
Using an example, let's look at the initial moves in the game.
After the move 1. e2-e4, the situation on the chessboard looks like this:
After moving the pawn to e4, the e2 square is freed, and one of the pieces capable of moving to e2 must move to this square. In our case, after e2-e4, the queen, king, bishop f1 and knight g1 can land on the e2 square. According to the rules, this honor is given to the weakest piece of all that could be on the e2 square - the g1 knight.
After the knight moved to e2, he freed the g1 square where only the h1 rook can get, which is what it does - the rook from h1 moves to g1, freeing the h1 square which none of the white pieces can get to - White's move is over.
In the chess notation of this chess variant, the recording of such a move will look like this: 1. e4 (Ne2, Rg1).
Suppose Black answered 1 ... e7-e5 and White's second move was 2. b2-b3. Let's take a look at the position:
You see how the chain reaction works after move 2. b2-b3:
This is how this entertaining chess variant is played.
Let me remind you once again that initially Grolman used this brilliant idea of his only to create chess compositions and there was no question of a full-fledged game according to such rules. Indeed, the classical laws of chess regarding check and checkmate cease to work correctly in such a game. Therefore, you will not find the final rules of Grolman Chess anywhere, but only scant references to Kazan Chess and even Tatar Chess, as loose interpretations of Grolman's "follow the leader" concept directly applicable to the ordinary game of chess.
Therefore, to get a playable chess variant, we need clear and specific boundaries of the laws of this game.
When in 1995 The Problemist published Grolman’s fairy compositions with this new “follow the leader” theme, the author of the article lamented that Mr. Grolman practically did not describe the rules of this chess variant. “Is there castling in the game? And what will happen if...?” - he asked not only these, but also other questions.
The author of the article could be understood, but it would be even better to understand Lev Vladimirovich, who had absolutely no idea how his concept could be applied to a full-fledged game, except for creating chess problems.
After almost 30 years, let's help the author of the article in The Problemist finally understand the rules that make Grolman's idea a full-fledged chess variant.
There is no castling in Grolman Chess.
En passant rules remains the same as Standard Chess.
A pawn that has reached the last row is promoted according to the rules of standard chess, but having become a new piece cannot make a move again in the chain reaction that is currently occurring.
For example:
after 1. b7-b8=Q, the position on the board will be:
Having become a queen, pawn b7 can no longer participate in the chain reaction of white pieces and go to square c7, since each of the pieces takes part in the movement only once, and the queen on b8 is the pawn b7 that has already made a move.
Kings can't stand next to each other. If, as a result of a chain reaction of moving pieces, the king should end up on an adjacent square to the opponent’s king, then it cannot get to this square.
For example:
White makes the move 1. f6-f7 and the chain reaction for White’s king does not work:
Stalemate, Draw and Winning conditions remain the same as Standard Chess.
However, the winning conditions have small nuances and they are associated with the possibility of declaring or putting your king into check in the process of moving pieces.
So, in the process of a chain reaction of moving your pieces, your king may go into check. It is important that after all possible chain reaction moves are completed, your king is not left in check. Otherwise you lose the game.
For example:
White decides to give check to Black's king and immediately loses the game: 1. Bb5+ (Qe2, # Kd2, Rfe1):
At the end of White's turn, his king remains in check, which means an immediate loss and it does not matter that Black's king is also attacked. White literally checkmated himself.
In standard chess, moving into check is prohibited. Here it is legal and is part of the game, since it is the game itself, where there is a chain reaction of moving pieces, that requires the correct and clear calculation of each move.
And one last nuance regarding the concept of check.
If check is declared, then the player must relieve his king from the threat with the very first move of one of his pieces or by directly removing the king from under check. If this is impossible, then the game is lost by such a player. The king cannot escape the check during the chain reaction of moving his pieces.
For example:
White checkmate 1. Qh8#
Black cannot play a pawn and then save the king by moving it to a square vacated by his own pawn, because escaping check during a chain reaction of moving his pieces is unacceptable.
Now that we know the rules and all the nuances of this unique chess variant, we can safely go into the unknown and wonderful world of Grolman Chess, enjoying its mysterious paths and bizarre landscapes that you are unlikely to find in other versions of this ancient board logic game.
