Main Chator
Opening Position
Alternate Names
Malay Chess
No. of Players
Two
Equipment
Board
The sets of chessmen for this game come in two very different forms. One is very basic and often carved from bamboo or sticks, while the other contains finely carved statuettes. Interestingly, the rook (Prahn, Ter, Chemor, or chariot) of the latter sets is represented by a boat, as in parts of India and Myanmar, probably indicating a Hindu influence. Also, the name of this piece from Thailand and Cambodia translates as "boat".
History
Chess probably arrived in Malaysia from India, although it was certainly later influenced by the modern European game and adopted its moves for the queen and bishop. The name of the pawn, Bidaq, is, however, inherited from Muslim contacts (Biadaq in Arabic).
Objective
Play
Main Chator, has an unusual promotion rule: pieces reaching the end of the board, except on the Rook files, have to then move backwards to reach the main diagonal of the board before they are promoted to the piece on that file (in the case of the King file, to a Queen). The Queen moved one space diagonally, the Bishop one space diagonally or one space forwards, as in Thai or Burmese chess. The rule for en passant capture only permits such a capture to be made by a Pawn blocked by a Pawn of the opposite color. The initial array is normally a reflection of that used in conventional Chess as well, the positions of the King and Queen on both sides being reversed.
Strategy
Variations
Batak Chess or Batak Catur is played by the Batak people of Sumatra.
Sources
Pritchard, D.B. The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Completed, edited, and published by John Beasley, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1
https://chrisbogert.wixsite.com/chaturanga-family/batak-chess