Chaturaji

Opening Position

Alternate Names

Chaturaji (meaning "four kings"), is also known as Choupat.

No. of Players

Four

Equipment

An 8x8 square grid and four armies of pieces are required for play. The game is often played on the Ashtapada board (examples?). The colors of the armies are traditionally Red, Green, Yellow, and Black. Each army consists of 1 Raja (King), 1 Hasty (Elephant), 1 Ashwa (Horse), 1 Roca also known as a Nauka (Boat or Ship), and 4 Padati (Foot Soldiers or Pawns).

History

The first known description is by Al-Biruni in his book India c. 1030. Originally, Chaturaji was a game of chance, the movements of the pieces were decided by rolling two dice. It did, however, eventually evolve into a diceless game of skill that was still being played in India at the close of the 19th century.

The Cox-Forbes theory, proposed in the late 18th century by Hiram Cox, and later developed by Duncan Forbes, asserted that Chaturaji was the original form of Chaturanga, which in turn led to all other Chess variations. The theory is no longer considered tenable.

Objective

Play

Strategy

Variations

Sources

1. Chaturaji at Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturaji

2. Gollon, John. Chess Variations: Ancient, Regional, and Modern. Charles E. Tuttle Co.: Publishers, 1968.

3. Pritchard, D.B. The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Completed, edited, and published by John Beasley, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1