Indian chess
Indian chess is the name given to a variation of chess played in India in the 18th and 19th centuries. The more ancient forms are known as chaturanga, and spread to the west via Persia in the 7th Century. 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 method and international are used in some parts of India.
Differences from Western chess
- King cannot move unless a check is given at least once.
- When only the king and pawns are left in play, the opponent may not give check, but they can win by stalemate, variants of this include the check being allowed but the capture of last pawn being disallowed.
- The two-step initial pawn move is absent in Indian chess; thus, en passant 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, pawns promote to the piece of that square. If it promotes at the initial king's position, it promotes a queen.
- Underpromotion is not permitted.
- The last piece remaining may not be captured, variants include the capture being allowed if the last piece is not a pawn.
Names of the pieces
| Piece | Standard | Hindi | Urdu |
| King | king | राजा rājā | بادشاہ bādshāh |
| Mantri/Queen/General | queen | मंत्री mantri / begum / रानी rānī / सेनापति senapati | begum بیگم / ملکا malka |
| Elephant | rook | हाथी hāthī | ہاتھی hāthī vizier |
| Horse | knight | घोड़ा ghoṛā | گھوڑا ghoṛā |
| Camel | bishop | ऊंट ū̃ṭ | اونٹھ ū̃ṭ |
| Infantryman/Soldier | pawn | पैदल paidal / प्यादा pyādā / सैनिक sainik | پیادا pyādā'' |
Books to refer on Indian Chess
- Bhartiya Shatranj By Dwarka Prasad Gupta, Published By - Vangmaya Prakashan, Jaipur