Tamerlane chess

Tamerlane chess is a medieval chess variant. Like modern chess, it is derived from shatranj. It was developed in Central Asia during the reign of Emperor Timur, and its invention is also attributed to him.[1] Because Tamerlane chess is a larger variant of chaturanga, it is also called Shatranj Al-Kabir (Large Chess), as opposed to Shatranj ash-shaghir ("Small Chess"). Although the game is similar to modern chess,[2] it is distinctive in that there are varieties of pawn, each of which promotes in its own way.[3]

Board

A Tamerlane chessboard is made up of 110 uncheckered squares arranged in a 10×11 pattern ("camp"). Additional squares, known as citadels, protrude from the left side on the ninth row and from the right side on the second row, making a total of 112 squares.[1][4] When the opposing king occupies a player's citadel, the game is declared a draw. No piece other than a king may occupy a citadel.

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Tamerlane chess board in the “masculine” array
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Tamerlane chess board in the “feminine” array
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Tamerlane chess board in the third[5] array

There are several ways for an opening setup to be arranged. A common one is as follows:

  • White's side (bottom row, from the left): elephant, (space), camel, (space), war machine, (space), war machine, (space), camel, (space), elephant.
  • Second row (from the left): rook, knight, picket, giraffe, general, king, vizier, giraffe, picket, knight, rook.
  • Third row (from the left): pawn of pawns, pawn of war engines, pawn of camels, pawn of elephants, pawn of general, pawn of king, pawn of vizier, pawn of giraffes, pawn of pickets, pawn of knights, pawn of rooks.

Black's side mirrors White's.

Pieces
A Tamerlane chess set. The pieces approximate the appearance of Tamerlane chess pieces in 14th Century Persia.
Left to right: the faras (knight), zurafa (giraffe), pil (elephant), and tali'a (picket)

Anglicised versions of piece names are also given here.

  • king (shah) – Moves as a traditional king, but once during the game it may switch places with any of its own pieces to evade check/checkmate or stalemate.
  • general or counsellor (ferz) – Moves one square diagonally
  • vizier or governor (wazir) – Moves one square horizontally or vertically
  • giraffe (zurafa) – Moves one square diagonally and then a minimum of three squares horizontally or vertically (a restricted gryphon)
  • picket (tali'a)[6] – Moves as a bishop in traditional chess, but must move a minimum of two squares
  • knight (faras) – Moves as a knight in traditional chess
  • rook (rukh) – Moves as a rook in traditional chess
  • elephant (pil) – Moves two squares diagonally and is unobstructed by pieces in between
  • camel (jamal/shutur) – Moves one diagonally and two straight, unobstructed by pieces in between. It moves in an "L"-shape, like an orthodox chess knight, with dimensions 3×1 instead of 2×1.
  • war engine (dabbaba) – Moves two horizontally or vertically, unobstructed by pieces in-between
  • pawns – Move as pawns in traditional chess, but with no initial double move or en passant capture. Every piece (including the pawn) has a corresponding pawn. Hence; pawn of king, pawn of vizier, pawn of giraffes, etc.

Rules
Timur The Conqueror, the inventor of the game

Beginning the game

The player going first is determined by a roll of dice.

The object

The object of Tamerlane chess, as in modern chess, is to checkmate the opposing shah (king). Unlike in modern chess, stalemating an opponent is also a win.

Promotion

Upon reaching the last rank on the board, a pawn is promoted to its corresponding piece. Thus, the pawn of giraffes becomes a giraffe, etc. Exceptions to this are the pawn of kings and pawn of pawns. A pawn of kings becomes a prince. It moves as a king. If both a prince and a king exist simultaneously on the board, one of the two must be captured [like a regular piece] before the other can be checked/checkmated or stalemated to win the game.[lower-alpha 1]

When the pawn of pawns reaches the last rank, it stays there and cannot be taken. As soon as a situation develops where the opponent cannot escape losing a piece to a pawn, or where a pawn may attack two opposing units simultaneously (forked), the player must move his/her pawn to that location. It moves to this location even if the square is occupied, either by an allied or opposing piece. The piece occupying the square is removed from the board. On the pawn's next move, it may capture any piece it is attacking. It then continues forward on the board as a pawn. Upon the second promotion of this pawn, it moves to the starting point of the pawn of king. Upon the third promotion it becomes an adventitious king, which has the moves of the king, with one special exception as described in the next section. If an adventitious king exists on the board simultaneously with a prince and/or a king, they must be captured like a regular piece until only one remains, which must then be checkmated or stalemated to win.[7]

The citadels

The two extra squares that protrude from the left of the ninth rank and the right of the second rank are called citadels (husun, singular hisn). If, at any time during the game a player can move his king into his opponent's citadel, he can declare the game a draw. This is advantageous for a losing player as being stalemated is considered a loss in Tamerlane chess. Alternatively, if a player has a prince or adventitious king on the board when his shah enters his opponent's citadel, his shah can trade places with either of those pieces, and the game continues. The prince or adventitious king can later move out of the citadel to make way for the king to enter again, but the exchange privilege may only be used once.

The shah (king) ranks higher than the prince, which ranks higher than the adventitious king. Only the highest ranking of the three on the board can enter the opponent's citadel.

The adventitious king has the special honor of being the only piece on the board that can enter his own citadel. Upon entering, it becomes immune, thus blocking the opponent from entering the citadel and declaring a draw.[8]

Other

Once during the game a player may exchange a checked king for another non-royal piece. A player may move into check if he holds multiple kings. There is no castling or en passant moves in Tamerlane chess. Baring the opponent's king is not considered a win in Tamerlane chess, as the bared king still has the chance to enter the opponent's citadel. There is no three-fold repetition or 50-move draw in Tamerlane chess.

Tamerlane Chess Club

A public chess club in Jamestown, New York, named Tamerlane Chess Club, is dedicated to this game as well as other ancient chess variants.[9][10]

Notes
  1. This idea of allowing multiple kings on each side through promotion was coincidentally also invented about a century earlier in Japan in the game of dai shogi.

References
  1. Cazaux, Jean-Louis and Knowlton, Rick (2017). A World of Chess, p. 31. McFarland. ISBN 9780786494279. "Often known as Tamerlane chess, [its invention] is traditionally attributed to the conqueror himself."
  2. Gollon, John (November 21, 1968). Chess variations, ancient, regional, and modern. C. E. Tuttle Co. ISBN 9780804811224 – via Google Books.
  3. Marinelli, Filippo (November 21, 1826). "Triple Chess". Valpy – via Google Books.
  4. Falkener, Edward (1892). Games Ancient and Oriental. Longmans, Green and Company. [ISBN unspecified].
  5. Muhammad ibn Arabshah. "Aja'ib al-Maqdur fi Nawa'ib al-Taymur". Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  6. Cazaux & Knowlton (2017), p. 360, n.21. "Talia means scout, vanguard, outpost, picket, advanced post, spy, a group of soldiers or troops placed on a line forward of a position to warn against an enemy advance."
  7. John Gollon, Chess Variants, Ancient, Regional and Modern, pp. 76–77
  8. H.J.R. Murray, A History of Chess, 1913
  9. "Tamerlane Chess Club". www.facebook.com.
  10. "US Chess MSA – Affiliate Details   (General)". www.uschess.org.

Further reading
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