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This article is about regional versions of chess played in modern India. For ancient Indian chess variants, see Chaturanga.
Antique Indian chess set depicting elephants, horses and camels
Chess variant played in India
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.
Both kings are placed on the right of the queens at the beginning of the game.
The pawn's two-step initial move is absent in Indian chess; thus, the en passant capture is also absent.
Normal castling with rook and king is absent. The unchecked king can make a knight's move once in a game, known as Indian castling or king's leap.
On reaching the opposite end of the board, a pawn is promoted to a piece of the type that began on that square. If it is promoted on the king's initial position, it is promoted a queen.
If there is one piece remaining other than the kings, it may not be captured. Alternatively, it may be captured unless it is a pawn.
When only the kings and pawns are left in play, the opponent may not give check, but they can win by stalemate. Alternatively, giving check is allowed, but the capture of the last pawn (which would result in a draw) is disallowed.
The king cannot move unless at least one check has been given, though this is a regional variation.
Names of the pieces
The following table describes one version of Indian chess terminology for the various pieces (including Hindi and Urdu pronunciations; orange indicates most common terminology in Hindi, green indicates that in Urdu):
Cazaux, Jean-Louis. "Indian Chess Sets". Another view on Chess: Odyssey of Chess. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
