This article is about regional versions of chess played in modern India. For ancient Indian chess variants, see Chaturanga.
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Indian chess is the name given to regional variations of chess played in India in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is distinct from chaturanga. There are several such variations, all quite similar to modern rules, with variants regarding castling, pawn promotion, etc. These variants were popular in India until the 1960s. However, even today a mix of Indian and international rules and terminology are used in some parts of India.
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King cannot move unless a check is given at least once.
When only the king and pawns are left in play, the opponent may not give check, but they can win by stalemate, variants of this include the check being allowed but the capture of last pawn being disallowed (resulting in a draw).
The two-step initial pawn move is absent in Indian chess; thus, en passant is also absent.
Normal castling with rook and king is absent. The king can make a knight's move once in a game, known as Indian castling.
On reaching the opposite end of the board, pawns promote to the piece of that square. If it promotes at the initial king's position, it promotes a queen.
Underpromotion is not permitted.
The last piece remaining may not be captured, variants include the capture being allowed if the last piece is not a pawn.
Names of the pieces[]
The following table describes one version of Subcontinental chess terminology for the various pieces (including Hindi and Urdu pronunciations):[1]
^Cazaux, Jean-Louis. "Indian Chess Sets". Another view on Chess: Odyssey of Chess. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
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