The Amazing World of Grolman Chess

Grolman Chess or Kazan Chess is a unique and stunningly beautiful version of chess, proposed by the outstanding Soviet chess composer, three-time world champion in chess composition Lev Grolman.

This variant of fairy chess was first mentioned in The Problemist Vol. 1995-1996, Year 1995, Issue 411 July.
The rules are extremely simple, but they enrich the game so much, filling it with an intricate aroma of the unknown, that you will definitely want to wander its mysterious paths and marvel at the bizarre landscapes of the reality in which you find yourself.

A player's turn begins with a move of a single unit; then, if a friendly unit can legally move to the square just vacated, it must do so; if another friendly unit, unmoved so far in that turn, can do the same, it must likewise, and so on. If more than one friendly unit can move to a just-vacated square, the weakest unit in the order P,N,B,R,Q,K makes the move; if there are 2 weakest units  the player can choose which. As each unit may move only once, the turn must finish, at latest when every unit of one side has moved. A Pawn may promote during the sequence, but does not move again. There is no castling in Grolman Chess.

Thus, the move in this variation of chess is (if possible) the movement of a successive chain of pawns and pieces of the same color, where the principle of 'follow the leader' is used.

Using an example, let's look at the initial moves in the game in order to have an idea of ​​what it is about.

After the move 1.e2-e4, the situation on the chessboard looks like this:

After the e2 square is vacated, the weakest of the pieces capable of getting on this square should go to it. In this case, it is the Knight, which in turn frees the g1 square, to which only one piece can go - the Rook. Now the field H1 is free, but none of the pieces can get there. White's move is over.

Suppose Black answered 1 ... e7-e5 and White's second move was 2.b2-b3. Let's take a look at the position:

Do you see how the chain of white pieces B-N-B-R moved behind the Pawn?

This is how this entertaining variation of chess is played.

For me, as a person who is fond of chess composition, this version of chess is of particular interest. I took the liberty of creating a little chess puzzle to illustrate the interaction of pieces in Grolman's chess.

White to move and mate in 2.

In ordinary chess, you can easily checkmate in four moves, but in this variation, checkmate is declared in two moves:

1.Kf7(Nf6)+ Kh8 2.Nh7(Bf6)(Ng5)#

Friends, if you liked this version of chess, write a comment or give a feedback, let as many people as possible learn about this wonderful game.