Indian chess

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Antique Indian chess set depicting elephants, horses and camels Chaturanga Chess Set.jpg
Antique Indian chess set depicting elephants, horses and camels

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.

Contents

Differences from Western chess

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Chess rdt45.svg
Chess ndt45.svg
Chess bdt45.svg
Chess kdt45.svg
Chess qdt45.svg
Chess bdt45.svg
Chess ndt45.svg
Chess rdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
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Chess pdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess pdt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess plt45.svg
Chess rlt45.svg
Chess nlt45.svg
Chess blt45.svg
Chess qlt45.svg
Chess klt45.svg
Chess blt45.svg
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Chess rlt45.svg
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Indian chess starting position, identical to the starting position of western chess except for the placement of the black king and queen

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]

Standard chess pieceIndian chess piece
EnglishHindiUrdu ISO 15919 OtherTeluguMalayalamTamilAssamese
king kingराजाراجا rājā రాజుരാജാവ്ராஜாৰজা
बादशाहبادشاہ bādśāh
queen ferz/ministerमन्त्रीمنتری mantrī మంత్రిമന്ത്രിমন্ত্ৰী
वज़ीरوزیر vazīr
queenरानीرانی rānī ராணி / அரசிৰাণী
मलिकाملکہ malikā
generalसेनापतिسیناپتی sēnāpati
rook rook/chariotरथرتھ rath തേര്নাওঁ
रुख़رخruxrukkha [2]
castleक़िलाقلعہ qilā கோட்டை
elephantहाथीہاتھیhāthīhattī [3] ఏనుగుயானை
knight horseघोड़ाگھوڑاghōṛāగుఱ్ఱముകുതിരகுதிரைঘোঁৰা
bishop alfil/elephantफ़ीलाفیلہfiyalā/fīlāആനহাতী
camelऊँटاونٹū̃ṭ
chariotశకటు/ఒంటె
ministerஅமைச்சர்
pawn infantrymanपैदलپیدلpaidalകാലാള്‍ / പടയാളിகாலாள்পুণী
प्यादाپیادہpyādā
soldierसैनिकسینکsainikసిపాయిசிப்பாய்
सिपाहीسپاہی sipāhī

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. Punjabi
  3. Marathi

Further reading