![]() | King
A King can move to any adjacent square, but never to a square where it can be captured. |
![]() | Councelor
A Councelor moves one square diagonally. |
![]() | Chariot
A Chariot moves any number of squares orthogonally on a rank or a file. It may not leap over other pieces. |
![]() | Knight
A Knight moves like an `L`, two squares vertically plus one horizontally, or two squares horizontally plus one vertically. It hops over any pieces on the way. |
![]() | Elephant
Jumps diagonally two squares. |
![]() | Pawn
A Pawn can move straight ahead one square. A Pawn captures by moving one square diagonally. If a Pawn reaches the farthest rank it may promote, changing into a Councelor. |
DescriptionThe game is played on an uncheckered board of eight by eight squares. Each player starts the game with eight Pawns, two Chariots (or Rooks), two Knights, two Elephants, a Counselor, and a King. The opening setup is the same as normal chess (with Elephants on the spots of Bishops, and Counselors on the spot of Queens). The King moves as the usual King. Castling doesn't exist. The Counselor moves one square diagonally. The Elephant moves two squares diagonally, but may jump the intervening square. The Knight moves as the usual Knight. The Rook or Chariot moves as the usual Rook. The Pawn or Soldier moves and takes as the usual Pawn, but may not make a double step on the first move. Pawns promote when they arrive at the last rank of the board, but only to a Councelor. Object of the game is to checkmate or stalemate the opponent's King. A player also wins by 'bare King': by taking the last non-King piece of the opponent.HistoryThe first known variant of Chess, Chaturanga, came from India to Persia and the rest of the Arabic world, around the seventh century after the birth of Christ. Small changes were made to the rules, and the game receives the name Shatranj. It was immensely popular for many centuries. There were professional players (often in the service of a ruler); and several books were written. Also, several Shatranj problems, or mansubat, have been composed.StrategyTBD.More information on Shatranj can be found at http://www.chessvariants.com/historic.dir/shatranj.html. |