Indian chess

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

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.

Differences from Western chess

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Indian chess starting position, identical to the starting position of western chess except for the placement of the black king and queen

• In the starting position, each king faces the opposing queen; from both players' viewpoints, their king is to the right of their queen, regardless of color. This is unlike western chess, where the kings face each other, as do the queens.
• 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 to a queen.
• If there is only 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 by the previous rule.
• The king cannot move until 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; and the pink indicates the most common name in Bengali): ^[1]

Standard chess piece	Indian chess piece
	English	Hindi	Urdu	ISO 15919	Other	Bengali	Telugu	Malayalam	Tamil	Assamese
king	king	राजा	راجا	rājā		রাজা	రాజు	രാജാവ്	ராஜா	ৰজা
		बादशाह	بادشاہ	bādśāh
queen	ferz/minister	मन्त्री	منتری	mantrī		মন্ত্রী	మంత్రి	മന്ത്രി		মন্ত্ৰী
		वज़ीर	وزیر	vazīr
	queen	रानी	رانی	rānī		রানি			ராணி / அரசி	ৰাণী
		मलिका	ملکہ	malikā
	general	सेनापति	سیناپتی	sēnāpati		সেনাপতি
rook	boat	नाव	ناؤ	nāv		নৌকা [2]				নাওঁ
		कश्ती	کشتی	kaśtī		না(ও)
	rook/chariot	रथ	رتھ	rath		রথ [3]		തേര്
		रुख़	رخ	rux	rukkha [4]	রোক [5]
	castle	क़िला	قلعہ	qilā		কেল্লা/গড়			கோட்டை
	elephant	हाथी	ہاتھی	hāthī	hattī [6]		ఏనుగు		யானை
knight	horse	घोड़ा	گھوڑا	ghōṛā		ঘোড়া	గుఱ్ఱము	കുതിര	குதிரை	ঘোঁৰা
		अश्व	اَشْوَ	aśva		অশ্ব
bishop	alfil/elephant	फ़ीला	فیلہ	fiyalā/fīlā		পিল [7] /হাতি		ആന		হাতী
		गज	گَج	gaja		গজ [8]
	camel	ऊँट	اونٹ	ū̃ṭ
	chariot						శకటు/ఒంటె
	minister								அமைச்சர்
pawn	infantryman	पैदल	پیدل	paidal		বোড়ে [9]		കാലാള്‍ / പടയാളി	காலாள்	পুণী
		प्यादा	پیادہ	pyādā		পেয়াদা
		पदाति	پَدَاتِی	padāti		পদাতি [3]
	soldier	सैनिक	سینک	sainik		সৈন্য/সৈনিক	సిపాయి		சிப்பாய்
		सिपाही	سپاہی	sipāhī		সিপাই

See also

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

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. Biswas, Sailendra (2004). "Samsada Bangala abhidhana. 7th ed". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2026-04-05.
3. Dasa, Jnanendramohana (1937). "Bangala Bhashara abhidana". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2026-04-05.
4. Punjabi
5. Dasa, Jnanendramohana (1937). "Bangala Bhashara abhidana". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2026-04-05.
6. Marathi
7. Biswas, Sailendra (2004). "Samsada Bangala abhidhana. 7th ed". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2026-04-05.
8. Biswas, Sailendra (2004). "Samsada Bangala abhidhana. 7th ed". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2026-04-05.
9. Biswas, Sailendra (2004). "Samsada Bangala abhidhana. 7th ed". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2026-04-05.

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