Shatranj
Alternate Names
शतरंज (Hindi), شطرنج (Urdu). Shatranj is the Islamic name for chess, derived from Chatrang (Persian Chess). In medieval times, forms of Shatranj were referred to as Small Chess to differentiate from various forms of Great Chess played on larger boards, such as Grande Acedrex. Referring to this as Small Chess in modern times would surely be confusing, however, as there are now many forms of (even) smaller Chess.
No. of Players
Two
Equipment
Shatranj is played on the (uncheckered) cells of an 8x8 square grid. Traditional boards consisted of the lines drawn on cloth or another material that was capable of being rolled up and easily transported.
Pieces
Number per Player
1
1
2
2
2
8
Name
Shāh
Fers, Firzan
Rokh, Rukh
Fil, Alfil
Faras, Asp, Asb
Sarbaz, Baidaq (Arabic)
Translation
King
Minister
Chariot
Elephant
Horse
Foot Soldier
Orthochess
Equivalent or Similar
King
Queen
Rook
Bishop
Knight
Pawn
History
Shatranj is the Arabic or Islamic name for a game that came to them from the Persians, there called Chatrang and ultimately from Chaturanga, the seminal Indian game and presumed ancestor to all modern forms of Chess.
Objective
Play
First move? Transposed shah and firzan at start.
The movements of the six different kinds of pieces are illustrated below. The blue dots mark the cells where the piece can move if no other pieces (including one's own) are obstructing its route. The Fil (elephant) and Faras (horse), however, can jump over intervening pieces. All pieces capture by replacement.
The Shāh moves exactly as the King in Orthochess. That is, one step in any diagonal or orthogonal direction at a time. Castling is not allowed in Shatranj.
The Fers is a very weak piece compared to its counterpart, the Queen, in Orthochess. It moves one step in any diagonal direction.
The Fil (elephant) jumps two steps in any diagonal direction. It may jump over an intervening piece, friendly or opposing.
The Faras or Asb moves hippogonally, exactly as the knight in Orthochess. It too, may jump over an intervening piece, friendly or opposing.
The Rokh moves exactly as the Rook in Orthochess, as many steps as desired orthogonally.
The Sarbaz (Baidaq) moves and captures as its counterpart in Orthochess. Moving one step orthogonally forward at a time and capturing diagonally forward. The Sarbaz on the right in the diagram above may move forward or move diagonally forward to capture Black's Faras. The Sarbaz does not, however have the initial two-step move and thus there are no en passant captures. A Sarbaz promotes to Fers (and Fers only) in the eighth rank.
There is no castling or en passant captures in Shatranj.
Strategy
Variations
Medieval Chess
Short Assize
Oblong Chess or Persian Chess dates to at least the 9th century. It was played in Persia on the cells of an oblong (4x16) rectangular board.
Shatranj Al-Husun (Citadel Chess)
Shatranj Kamil (aka Perfect Chess, Complete Chess, Talkhand's Chess, Camel Chess, Full Chess, or Arabic Chess) refers to early (c. 8th and 9th centuries) Chess forms played on the cells of a 10x10 square grid. There is more than one game that can be discussed here, although both were similar in that they are played on a larger board and have extra Fairy Pieces included: camels (jamal) or Dabbabas.
Timur's Chess (aka Perfect Chess, Complete Chess, Great Chess, Shatranj Kamil, Shatranj Al-Kabir)
Acedrex de las Diez Casas
Acedrex de los Quatros Tiempos
Sources
Gollon, John. Chess Variations: Ancient, Regional, and Modern. Charles E. Tuttle Co.: Publishers, 1968.
Pritchard, D.B. The Classified Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Completed, edited, and published by John Beasley, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9555168-0-1