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

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 pieceIndian chess piece
EnglishHindiUrduISO 15919OtherTeluguMalayalamTamil
king राजा راجا rājā రాజుരാജാവ്ராஜா
बादशाह بادشاہ bādśāh
ferz/minister मन्त्री منتریmantrī మంత్రి മന്ത്രി
वज़ीर وزیر vazīr
queen रानी رانی rānī ராணி / அரசி
मलिका ملکہ malikā
general सेनापति سیناپتیsēnāpati
rook/chariot रथرتھrathതേര്
रुख़ رخ rux rukkha[3]
castle क़िला قلعہqilāகோட்டை
elephant हाथी ہاتھی hāthī hattī[4] ఏనుగు யானை
horse घोड़ा گھوڑا ghōṛā గుర్రంകുതിരகுதிரை
alfil/elephant फ़ियला فیلہ fiyalā/fīlā ആന
camel ऊँट اونٹ ū̃ṭ
chariot శకటు
minister அமைச்சர்
pawninfantryman पैदल پیدلpaidal കാലാള്‍ / പടയാളിகாலாள்
प्यादा پیادہ pyādā
soldier सैनिक سینکsainikబంటుசிப்பாய்
सिपाही سپاہی sipāhī

See also

Further reading

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