Chaturanga
Encyclopedia
| Chaturanga pieces | |
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Raja (King King (chess) In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be... ) |
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Mantri or Senapati (Counselor or General; Queen Queen (chess) The queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess, able to move any number of squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of the first rank next to the king. With the chessboard oriented correctly, the white queen starts... ) |
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Ratha (Chariot; Rook Rook (chess) A rook is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes... ) |
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Gaja (Elephant; Bishop Bishop (chess) A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen... ) |
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Asva (Horse; Knight Knight (chess) The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner... ) |
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Padàti or Bhata (Foot-soldier; Pawn Pawn (chess) The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces... ) |
Chaturanga (Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
चतुरङ्ग) is an ancient Indian
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
game that is presumed to be the common ancestor of the games of chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, shogi
Shogi
, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, and Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan...
, and makruk
Makruk
Makruk , or Thai chess, is a board game descended from the 6th-century Indian game of chaturanga or a close relative thereof, and therefore related to chess. It is regarded as the most similar living game to this common ancestor of all chess variants....
, and related to xiangqi
Xiangqi
Xiangqi is a two-player Chinese board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, shogi, Indian chess and janggi. The present-day form of Xiangqi originated in China and is therefore commonly called Chinese chess in English. Xiangqi is one of the most popular board games in China...
and janggi
Janggi
Janggi , sometimes called Korean chess, is a strategic board game popular in Korea. It derived from Xiangqi , which itself is thought to be a descendent of the Indian chess game Chaturanga...
.
Chaturanga developed in Gupta India around the 6th century. In the 7th century, it was adopted as Shatranj
Shatranj
Shatranj is an old form of chess, which came to the Western world from India. Modern chess has gradually developed from this game.-Etymology and origins:...
in Sassanid Persia, which in turn was the form that brought chess to late-medieval Europe
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
(see Origins of chess for more information on the ancestry of chess.)
The exact rules of Chaturanga are not known. Chess historians suppose that the game had similar rules to those of its successor Shatranj
Shatranj
Shatranj is an old form of chess, which came to the Western world from India. Modern chess has gradually developed from this game.-Etymology and origins:...
. In particular, there is uncertainty as to the moves of the Gaja (elephant), the precursor of the Bishop
Bishop (chess)
A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...
in modern chess.
History
SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
is a bahuvrihi
Bahuvrihi
A bahuvrihi compound is a type of compound that denotes a referent by specifying a certain characteristic or quality the referent possesses. A bahuvrihi is exocentric, so that the compound is not a hyponym of its head...
compound, meaning "having four limbs or parts" and in epic poetry
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
often means "army". The name itself comes from a battle formation mentioned in the Indian epic Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, referring to four divisions of an army, viz. elephants
War elephant
A war elephant was an elephant trained and guided by humans for combat. Their main use was to charge the enemy, trampling them and breaking their ranks. A division of war elephants is known as elephantry....
, chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
s, cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, and infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
.
Chaturanga was played on an 8x8 uncheckered board, called Ashtāpada. The board had some special marks, the meaning of which is unknown today. These marks were not related to chaturanga, but were drawn on the board only by tradition. The great chess historian Murray has conjectured that the Ashtāpada was also used for some old race type dice game, perhaps similar to Chowka bhara
Chowka bhara
Chowka bhara is a two- or four-player board game from India.-Set up:Chowka bhara normally has a 5x5 square and four players, but one can also increase the number of squares depending on the number of players to any odd number x odd number . The 5x5 version looks as shown in the image - there will...
, in which these marks had a meaning.
An early reference to an ancient Indian board game is sometimes attributed to Subandhu in his Vasavadatta (c. AD 450):
The colors are not those of the two camps, but mean that the frogs have a two-tone dress, yellow and green.
Banabhatta
Banabhatta
Bāṇabhaṭṭa , also known as Bāṇa, was a Sanskrit scholar and poet of India. He was the Asthana Kavi in the court of King Harshavardhana, who reigned in the years c. 606–647 CE in north India...
's Harsha Charitha
Harsha Charitha
The Harshacharita , is the biography of Indian Emperor Harsha by Banabhatta, also known as Bana, who was a Sanskrit writer of 7th century in India. He was the 'Asthana Kavi', meaning 'Court Poet', of King Harsha...
(c. 625) contains the earliest reference to the name Chaturanga:
While there is little doubt that Ashtâpada is the gaming board of 8x8 squares, the double meaning of Chaturanga, as the four folded army, may be controversial. There is a probability that the ancestor of Chess was mentioned there.
Pieces
- RajaRajaRaja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
(King) - Moves like the KingKing (chess)In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be...
in chess, as in Shatranj. - Mantri (Minister); also known as Senapati (General) - Moves one square diagonally, like the Fers in Shatranj.
- Ratha (Chariot); also spelled Śakata - Moves like the RookRook (chess)A rook is a piece in the strategy board game of chess. Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, and comes...
in chess, as in Shatranj. - Gaja (Elephant) - Three different moves are described in ancient literature:
- Two squares in any diagonal direction, jumping over one square, as the Alfil in ShatranjShatranjShatranj is an old form of chess, which came to the Western world from India. Modern chess has gradually developed from this game.-Etymology and origins:...
.- The same move is used for the Boat in a four-handed version of Chaturangam, ChaturajiChaturajiChaturaji is a four player chess-like game. It was first described in detail circa 1030 by Biruni in his India book. Originally, this was a game of chance: the pieces to be moved were decided by rolling two dice...
. - The Elephant in XiangqiXiangqiXiangqi is a two-player Chinese board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, shogi, Indian chess and janggi. The present-day form of Xiangqi originated in China and is therefore commonly called Chinese chess in English. Xiangqi is one of the most popular board games in China...
(Chinese chess) has the same move, but without jumping. (The name Elephant is used for a fairy chess pieceFairy chess pieceA fairy chess piece or unorthodox chess piece is a piece analogous to a chess piece. It is not used in conventional chess, but is used in certain chess variants and some chess problems...
with this move: a (2, 2) leaper, but one that cannot jump over an intervening piece.)
- The same move is used for the Boat in a four-handed version of Chaturangam, Chaturaji
- One square forward or one square in any diagonal direction
- This is the same move as the Silver General in ShogiShogi, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, and Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan...
. - In MakrukMakrukMakruk , or Thai chess, is a board game descended from the 6th-century Indian game of chaturanga or a close relative thereof, and therefore related to chess. It is regarded as the most similar living game to this common ancestor of all chess variants....
(Thai chess) and SittuyinSittuyinSittuyin , is a chess-related game which is a direct offspring of the Indian game of Chaturanga which arrived in 8th century AD. Sit is the modern Burmese word for army or war, the word Sittuyin can be translated as representation of the four characteristics of army—chariot, elephant, cavalry...
(Burmese chess) the elephant moves in the same way. - This move was described ca. 1030 by Biruni in his India book.
- This is the same move as the Silver General in Shogi
- Two squares in any orthogonal direction, jumping over one square. (In modern chess, the rook moves orthogonally.)
- A piece with such a move is called a Dabbābah in some chess variants. This move was described by the Arabic chess master al-Adli ca. 840 in his (partly lost) chess work. (The Arabic word dabbābah in former times meant a covered siege engineSiege engineA siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some have been operated close to the fortifications, while others have been used to attack from a distance. From antiquity, siege engines were constructed largely of wood and...
for attacking walled fortifications, and nowadays means "army tankTankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
").- The German historian Johannes Kohtz (1843–1918) suggests, rather, that this was the earliest move of the Ratha. http://www.goddesschess.com/chessays/calvognosis2.html
- A piece with such a move is called a Dabbābah in some chess variants. This move was described by the Arabic chess master al-Adli ca. 840 in his (partly lost) chess work. (The Arabic word dabbābah in former times meant a covered siege engine
- Two squares in any diagonal direction, jumping over one square, as the Alfil in Shatranj
- Ashva (Horse); also spelled Ashwa, Asva - Moves like the KnightKnight (chess)The knight is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight . It is normally represented by a horse's head and neck. Each player starts with two knights, which begin on the row closest to the player, one square from the corner...
in chess, as in Shatranj. (This is the distinctive move that marks a game as a likely descendant of Chaturanga.) - Padàti/Bhata (Foot-soldier); also spelled Pedati, Bhata; also known as Sainik (Warrior)—Moves like the PawnPawn (chess)The pawn is the most numerous and weakest piece in the game of chess, historically representing infantry, or more particularly armed peasants or pikemen. Each player begins the game with eight pawns, one on each square of the rank immediately in front of the other pieces...
in chess, as in Shatranj.
Al-Adli also mentions two further differences from Shatranj:
- StalemateStalemateStalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check but has no legal moves. A stalemate ends the game in a draw. Stalemate is covered in the rules of chess....
was a win for a stalemated player. This rule appeared again in some medieval chess variations in England ca. 1600. According to some sources, there was no stalemate, though this is improbable. - The player that is first to bare the opponent's king (capture all the pieces except the king) wins. In Shatranj this is also a win, but only if the opponent cannot bare the player's king on the next move in return.
See also
- LiuboLiuboLiubo is an ancient Chinese board game played by two players. For the rules, it is believed that each player had six game pieces that were moved around the points of a square game board that had a distinctive, symmetrical pattern...
- ChaturajiChaturajiChaturaji is a four player chess-like game. It was first described in detail circa 1030 by Biruni in his India book. Originally, this was a game of chance: the pieces to be moved were decided by rolling two dice...
, four-handed chess-like game - Origins of chess
- Chess in early literatureChess in early literatureOne of the most common ways for chess historians to trace when the board game chess entered a country is to look at the literature of that country. Although due to the names associated with chess sometimes being used for more than one game , the only certain reference to chess is often several...
- Chadhurangam, an ancient TamilTamil peopleTamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
version of chess.
Further reading
- A History of ChessA History of ChessA History of Chess is a chess history book by Harold James Ruthven Murray published in 1913.Murray's aim is threefold: to present as complete a record as is possible of the varieties of chess that exist or have existed in different parts of the world; to investigate the ultimate origin of these...
, H.J.R. MurrayHarold James Ruthven MurrayHarold James Ruthven Murray , was an English educationalist, inspector of schools, and prominent chess historian. He was the first to publish the theory that chess originated in India...
(1913), ISBN 0-936317-01-9. - The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants, D.B. Pritchard (1994), ISBN 0-9524142-0-1.
- The Oxford History of Board Games, David Parlett (1999) ISBN 0-19-212998-8.
- Games Ancient and Oriental and How to Play Them, Edward Falkener (1892, re-issued 1961) ISBN 0-486-20739-0