The opening setup is as follows. However, note that players may deploy the pieces inside the fortress to their own choice, i.e., a usual set of pieces is placed in the normal way, and an additional rook, bishop, and knight are placed at will at the fortress at the right. Play Players form two teams. Players at opposite sides are partners. Play continues clockwise.
Pieces move as in the normal chess game.
However, as mentioned above, the fortress can only be entered or left when moving through the gate in the fortress. For this rule, the knight is assumed first to move straight, and then diagonally. Winning conditions There are two variants of this game. In the Russian variant, a player that is mated has his king removed, and his pieces are removed from the board. In the West-European variant, a player that is mated may not move.