Indian chess

Indian chess is the name given to regional variations of chess played in India in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is distinct from chaturanga. There are several such variations, all quite similar to modern rules, with variants regarding castling, pawn promotion, etc. These variants were popular in India until the 1960s. However, even today a mix of Indian and international rules and terminology are used in some parts of India.

This article is about regional versions of chess played in modern India. For ancient Indian chess variants, see Chaturanga.
Antique Indian chess set depicting elephants, horses and camels

Differences from Western chess
  • The king cannot move unless at least one check has been given.
  • When only the kings and pawns are left in play, the opponent may not give check, but they can win by stalemate. Alternatively, giving check is allowed, but the capture of the last pawn (which would result in a draw) is disallowed.
  • The pawn's two-step initial move is absent in Indian chess; thus, the en passant capture is also absent.
  • Normal castling with rook and king is absent. The king can make a knight's move once in a game, known as Indian castling.
  • On reaching the opposite end of the board, a pawn is promoted to a piece of the type that began on that square. If it is promoted on the king's initial position, it is promoted a queen.
  • If there is one piece remaining other than the kings, it may not be captured. Alternatively, it may be captured unless it is a pawn.

Names of the pieces

The following table describes one version of Indian chess terminology for the various pieces (including Hindi and Urdu pronunciations):[1]

Standard chess piece Indian chess piece
English Hindi Urdu ISO 15919 Other Telugu Malayalam Tamil
kingkingराजाراجاrājāరాజు രാജാവ്ராஜா
बादशाहبادشاہbādśāh
queenministerमन्त्रीمنتریmantrīమంత్రి മന്ത്രി
व़ज़ीरوزیرwazīr
queenबेगमبیگمbēgam None
रानीرانیrānīராணி
मलिकाملکاmalikā
generalसेनापतिسیناپتیsēnāpati
rookelephantहाथीہاتھیhāthīāna[2]ఏనుగు Noneயானை
chariotरथرتھrathrukkha[3] തേര്கோட்டை
knighthorseघोड़ाگھوڑاghōṛāగుఱ్ఱము കുതിരகுதிரை
bishopcamelऊँटاونٹū̃ṭ None
bishopव़ज़ीरوزیرwazīrஅமைச்சர்
chariotरथرتھrathశకటం/శెగటు
elephant ആന
pawninfantrymanपैदलپیدلpaidalబంటు കാലാള്‍
प्यादाپیاداpyādā കാലാള്‍ / പടയാളി
सैनिकسینکsainik പടയാളി
सिपाहीسپاہیsipāhī None

See also

References
  1. Cazaux, Jean-Louis. "Indian Chess Sets". Another view on Chess: Odyssey of Chess. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  2. Malayalam
  3. Punjabi

Further reading
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