Anthony Lee
A
thread 1/7
Introduction to Persian Chess

Here I am again with a thread talking about how to play a specific variant of chess outside the Western world. This time, I shall talk about shatranj, which is essentially Persian chess. It existed long ago in Persia, the Arab world, and beyond.

Here's how you play...
01:27 PM - Feb 23, 2024
Avatar Avatar
0
0
2
Anthony Lee
A
thread 2/7
The board is exactly like that of Western chess: 64 squares in an 8x8 arrangement. Also, the pieces start off lining up in the back two rows.

As you will see, many pieces move exactly or almost the same way as in Western chess. Not surprising considering the game's geographic proximity to the West.
01:27 PM - Feb 23, 2024
0
0
Anthony Lee
A
thread 3/7
The soldiers (pawns) lined up in the second row move one square forward but can only capture an opponent piece one square forward diagonally.

Unlike Western chess, these pieces in shatranj do not have the option to move two squares on the first move. (By extension, there is no en passant either.)
01:27 PM - Feb 23, 2024
0
0
Anthony Lee
A
thread 4/7
The next two pieces move exactly the same way in shatranj as in Western chess.

The rooks in the corners move horizontally or vertically for any unobstructed distance.

The adjacent horses move two squares horizontally or vertically, then one square perpendicularly, while jumping over other pieces.
01:27 PM - Feb 23, 2024
0
0
Anthony Lee
A
thread 5/7
The elephant moves two squares in any diagonal direction, while able to jump over any piece in the first diagonal square.

The counselor, which looks like the queen in Western chess, moves one square in any diagonal direction.

A pawn reaching the other end of the board gets promoted to a counselor.
01:27 PM - Feb 23, 2024
0
0
Anthony Lee
A
thread 6/7
Finally, the king moves one square in any direction. As with any chess game, the objective is to threaten capture of the opponent's king (check) in a way that leaves the king with no way out at all (checkmate).

So there to have it. You have all you need to jump into a game of shatranj. Enjoy. 🙂
01:27 PM - Feb 23, 2024
0
0
Anthony Lee
A
thread 7/7
By the way, here's an example of a checkmate in shatranj. As you can see in the image, the black king is trapped after the white horse moves to keep the king trapped by two white rooks in the last two rows. 🙂
01:31 PM - Feb 23, 2024
0
0

 

{{ notificationModalContent }} {{ promptModalMessage }}