Different from chess, chaturanga has no light and dark squares.Īnother difference in chaturanga is in the way the foot-soldier (the pawn in chess) could be promoted. Most historians agree that this board was likely borrowed from another game and had markings on a few squares that were unrelated to chaturanga itself. The original Indian game was played on a plain, uncheckered board. The first difference between chaturanga and chess lies in their boards. Regardless, it is easy to understand the way chaturanga would be played by comparing it to modern chess. However, there are some generally accepted theories about many of the laws of the game. No one knows for sure the exact rules of chaturanga, especially when it comes to the movement of some pieces. Chaturaji, the four-player version of chaturanga. The name of the game, chaturanga, roughly translates to 'four limbs' from Sanskrit, an allusion to those divisions, which were infantry, elephantry, cavalry, and chariots. Each of the game's pieces represents one of the four divisions of the Indian army at that time. Just like chess, chaturanga depicts a war between two armies. The initial configuration for a game of chaturanga. The Arabians adapted it to a game they called shatranj, which was later embraced by the Europeans during the Medieval Period and, after a few modifications, is now known as chess. Have you ever wondered how chess was born? In this article, you will learn about chaturanga, the root of our beloved game that traces back to more than 1,500 years ago.Ĭhaturanga is an old Indian two-player board game that was invented at least 1,500 years ago and is believed to be the earliest predecessor of the game of chess.

Chess piece names