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Chaturanga

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This article is about the game chaturanga. For the four-player version, played with
dice, see chaturaji. For other uses, see Chaturanga (disambiguation).
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Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
8 a8 b8 c8 d8 e8 f8 g8 h8 8
7 a7 b7 c7 d7 e7 f7 g7 h7 7
6 a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 h6 6
5 a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 h5 5
4 a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 g4 h4 4
3 a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3 3
2 a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2 g2 h2 2
1 a1 b1 c1 d1 e1 f1 g1 h1 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
Chaturanga starting setup.[1] The Rajas do not face each other: the white Raja
starts on e1; the black Raja, on d8.
This example uses algebraic notation.

Chaturanga (Sanskrit: चतुरङ्ग; caturaṅga), or catur for short, is an ancient Indian

strategy game that is commonly theorized to be the common ancestor of the board
games chess, xiangqi, shogi, sittuyin, and makruk.[2]

Chaturanga is first known from the Gupta Empire in India around the 6th century AD.
In the 7th century, it was adopted as chatrang (shatranj) in Sassanid Persia, which
in turn was the form of chess brought to late-medieval Europe.

The exact rules of chaturanga are unknown. Chess historians suppose that the game
had similar rules to those of its successor, shatranj. In particular, there is
uncertainty as to the moves of the Gaja (elephant).
Origin
History
RulesEdit

The initial position is as shown. White moves first. The objective in chaturanga,
the same as modern chess, is to checkmate the opponent's Raja (king).
Pieces and their movesEdit
Chaturanga pieces
Images Name
Chess klt45.svgChess kdt45.svg Raja (king)
Chess qlt45.svgChess qdt45.svg Mantri or Senapati (counselor or general;
ancestor of ferz; early form of queen)
Chess rlt45.svgChess rdt45.svg Ratha (chariot; rook)
Chess elt45.svgChess edt45.svg Gaja (elephant; later called fil; early form of
bishop)
Chess nlt45.svgChess ndt45.svg Ashva (horse; knight)
Chess plt45.svgChess pdt45.svg Padàti or Bhata (foot-soldier or infantry;
pawn)

Raja (king) (also spelled Rajah): moves one step in any direction (vertical,
horizontal or diagonal), the same as the king in chess. There is no castling in
chaturanga.
Mantri (minister or counsellor); also known as Senapati (general): moves one
step diagonally in any direction, like the fers in shatranj.
Ratha (chariot) (also known as Śakata): moves the same as a rook in chess-
whereby the rook moves horizontally or vertically, through any number of unoccupied
squares.
Gaja (elephant) (also known as Hastin): three different moves are described in
ancient literature:
Two squares in any diagonal direction, jumping over the first square, as
the alfil in Iranian shatranj, Ethiopian senterej, Mongolian Tamerlane chess and
medieval courier chess. This is a fairy chess piece that is a (2,2)-leaper.
The same move is used for the boat in Indian chaturaji, a four-player
version of chaturanga.[7]
The elephant in Chinese xiangqi has the same move, but without jumping.
The elephant in Korean jangqi has a very similar move, also without
jumping.
One step forward or one step in any diagonal direction.
The same move is used for the khon (nobleman) in Thai makruk and the
sin (elephant) in Burmese sittuyin, as well as for the silver general in Japanese
shogi.
The move was described c. 1030 by Biruni in his book India.
Two squares in any orthogonal (vertical or horizontal) direction, jumping
over the first square.
A piece with such a move is called a dabbābah[8] in some chess
variants. The move was described by the Arabic chess master al-Adli[9][10][11][12]
c. 840 in his (partly lost) chess work. (The Arabic word dabbāba in former times
meant a covered siege engine for attacking walled fortifications; today it means
"army tank").
This is reminiscent of the aforementioned chaturaji, where the elephant
moves as a rook.
The German historian Johannes Kohtz (1843–1918) suggests, rather, that
this was the earliest move of the Ratha.
Ashva (horse) (also spelled Ashwa or Asva): moves the same as a knight in
chess.
Padàti or Bhata (foot-soldier or infantry) (also spelled Pedati); also known as
Sainik (warrior): moves and captures the same as a pawn in chess, but without a
double-step option on the first move.[13]

Additional rulesEdit

Al-Adli mentions two further differences:

Stalemate was a win for a stalemated player. This rule appeared again in some
medieval chess variants in England c. 1600. According to some sources, there was no
stalemate, though this is improbable.
The player that is first to bare the opponent's king (i.e. capture all enemy
pieces except the king) wins. In shatranj this is also a win, but only if the
opponent cannot bare the player's king on his next turn.

See also
References
Further reading
External links
Last edited 1 month ago by Bruce leverett
Related articles

Shatranj
 Makruk

Sittuyin

Burmese chess variant

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