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Ponderchess / Chess variants

Chaturanga

The earliest known game in the chess family: an Indian battle game whose four arms became the knight, bishop, rook and pawn.
Created
c. 6th century CE
Creator
Unknown
Where
India
Board
8×8
What changes
The original army

Where it came from

Well documented

Every game in the chess family traces back to chaturanga, played in northern India by around the 6th century CE. Its name means “four limbs”, the four divisions of an ancient Indian army: infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots.

Nobody knows who invented it. The earliest clear literary references date from the early 7th century, and the game spread along trade routes to Persia, where it became shatranj, and east to China, Southeast Asia and Japan, where it grew into xiangqi, makruk and shogi.

Why it was made: A war game: the board was a battlefield and the pieces an army.

How it differs from chess

  • A familiar armyThe raja (king), chariot (rook), horse (knight) and foot soldiers (pawns) move much as their modern descendants do.
  • Weak advisers and elephantsThe counsellor moved one square diagonally, and the elephant’s move is uncertain; most reconstructions follow shatranj and give it a two-square diagonal leap.
  • Reconstruction, not rulebookNo complete rulebook survives, so the exact rules are reconstructed from later games and texts.

Questions

Is chaturanga the oldest form of chess?
It is the oldest form that can be identified with confidence. Earlier origins have been proposed, but the evidence for them is weak.
How is chaturanga different from chess?
The queen and bishop were short-range pieces, so games were slower and long manoeuvres more common.

Sources