Indian chess explained

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.

Differences from Western chess

• Both kings are placed on the right of the queens at the beginning of the game.
• 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 unchecked king can make a knight's move once in a game, known as Indian castling or king's leap.
• 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.
• 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 king cannot move unless at least one check has been given, though this is a regional variation.

Names of the pieces

The following table describes one version of Indian chess terminology for the various pieces (including Hindi and Urdu pronunciations; orange indicates most common terminology in Hindi, green indicates that in Urdu):^{[1] [2]}

Standard chess piece	Indian chess piece
	English	Hindi	Urdu	ISO 15919	Other	Telugu	Malayalam	Tamil
	king	राजा	راجا	rājā		రాజు	രാജാവ്	ராஜா
		बादशाह	بادشاہ	bādśāh
	ferz/minister	मन्त्री	منتری	mantrī		మంత్రి	മന്ത്രി
		वज़ीर	وزیر	vazīr
	queen	रानी	رانی	rānī				ராணி / அரசி
		मलिका	ملکہ	malikā
	general	सेनापति	سیناپتی	sēnāpati
	rook/chariot	रथ	رتھ	rath			തേര്
		रुख़	رخ	rux	rukkha^[3]
	castle	क़िला	قلعہ	qilā				கோட்டை
	elephant	हाथी	ہاتھی	hāthī	hattī^[4]	ఏనుగు			யானை
	horse	घोड़ा	گھوڑا	ghōṛā		గుర్రం	കുതിര	குதிரை
	alfil/elephant	फ़ियला	فیلہ	fiyalā/fīlā			ആന
	camel	ऊँट	اونٹ	ū̃ṭ
	chariot					శకటు
	minister							அமைச்சர்
pawn	infantryman	पैदल	پیدل	paidal			കാലാള്‍ / പടയാളി	காலாள்
		प्यादा	پیادہ	pyādā
	soldier	सैनिक	سینک	sainik		బంటు		சிப்பாய்
		सिपाही	سپاہی	sipāhī

See also

• Origins of chess
• Chaturaji, four-handed version of chaturanga
• Shatranj
• Xiangqi

Further reading

• Bhartiya Shatranj [in Hindi] by Dwarka Prasad Gupta. Published by Vangmaya Prakashan, Jaipur
• The History of Chess: from the Time of the Early Invention of the Game in India till the Period of its establishment in Western and Central Europe - The History of Chess: from the Time of the Early Invention of the Game in India till the Period of its establishment in Western and Central Europe

Notes and References

1. Web site: Cazaux. Jean-Louis. Indian Chess Sets. Another view on Chess: Odyssey of Chess. 25 November 2014. 6 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201106232843/http://history.chess.free.fr/india.htm. live.
2. News: MCW নতুন লগইন বোনাস Bangladesh . 17 August 2023.
3. Punjabi
4. Marathi