Shatranj

**[[Home]] * [[Games]] * Shatranj**
|| [[image:shatranj.gif width="249" height="296" link="http://hgm.nubati.net/"]] ||~   || **Shatranj**,
the Arabic and Persian precurser of [[Chess|Western Chess]] and one successor of the ancient [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_subcontinent|Indian]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_strategy_game|strategy game]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturanga|Chaturanga]]. Chaturanga developed in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gupta_Empire|Gupta Empire]] during the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_century|6th century]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Era|CE]] and was adopted as Shatranj in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasanian_Empire|Sasanian Empire]] in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_century|7th century]]. In computer chess, due to extensions of the [[Chess Engine Communication Protocol]], [[XBoard]] and [[WinBoard]] support Shatranj with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfil_%28chess%29|Elephants]] and General instead of Bishop and Queen <ref>[[http://home.hccnet.nl/h.g.muller/engine-intf.html#8|Chess Engine Communication Protocol - 8. Commands from xboard to the engine - variant shatranj]]</ref>. ||
|| Shatranj with [[WinBoard]] <ref>[[http://hgm.nubati.net/|WinBoard 4.7 - Shatranj, the Arabic precurser of modern Chess]] by [[Harm Geert Muller]]</ref> ||~   ||^   ||
[[toc]]
=Pieces= 
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shah|Shāh]] ([[King]])
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferz_%28chess%29|Fers]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vizier#Influence_on_chess|Wazīr]] (General) - moves one square diagonally, often represented by a [[Queen]] symbol
* Rukh ([[Rook]])
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfil_%28chess%29|Pīl or Alfil]] (Elephant) - a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_chess_piece#Leapers|(2,2) Leaper]], often represented by a [[Bishop]] symbol
* Faras or Asb ([[Knight]])
* Baidaq ([[Pawn]])

=Rules= 
* No [[Castling|castling]]
* No [[Pawn Push#DoublePush|double pawn push]], [[Promotions|promotion]] to Fers only
* [[Stalemate]] counts as a win
* Two bare Kings count as a [[Draw|draw]]
* One Bare King counts as a win, provided the other King cannot be bared on the very next move
* The initial setup (array) is similar to Orthodox Chess, with Elephants replacing Bishops and Generals replacing Queens, but Shāh on the d-file.
[[#Engines]]
=Engines= 
To expand this list of engines able to play Shatranj, create a new engine page with the [[Guidance for Creating New Pages#Tags|tag]] "[[https://chessprogramming.wikispaces.com/tag/view/Shatranj|Shatranj]]", or assign the tag to appropriate existing engine pages.
> [[include component="pageList" hideInternal="true" tag="Shatranj" limit="100"]]

=See also= 
* [[Shatranj (toolkit)]] by [[Sam Tannous]]

=Forum Posts= 
* [[http://www.talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22728|Any WB Shatranj engines out there?]] by [[Harm Geert Muller]], [[CCC]], July 31, 2008
* [[http://www.talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22987|Shartranj!]] by [[Harm Geert Muller]], [[CCC]], August 14, 2008
* [[http://www.talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42600|Shatranj perfts]] by [[Paul Byrne]], [[CCC]], February 24, 2012 » [[Perft]]
* [[http://www.talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47314|Chess variant tournament: Shatranj]] by Ola Mikael Hansson, [[CCC]], February 24, 2013

=External Links= 
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatranj|Shatranj from Wikipedia]]
* [[http://www.chessvariants.org/historic.dir/shatranj.html|Shatranj]] by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_L._Bodlaender|Hans L. Bodlaender]] from [[http://www.chessvariants.org/|The Chess Variant Pages]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr_bin_Yahya_al-Suli|Abu Bakr bin Yahya al-Suli from Wikipedia]]
> [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr_bin_Yahya_al-Suli#Al-Suli.27s_Diamond|Al-Suli's Diamond]]
* [[http://www6.chessclub.com/help/shatranj|ICC Help: shatranj]] (Wild 28)
* [[http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/26064/shatranj|Shatranj]] from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BoardGameGeek|BoardGameGeek]]
* [[http://history.chess.free.fr/shatranj.htm|Shatranj, the medieval Arabian Chess]] by [[http://history.chess.free.fr/|Jean-Louis Cazaux]]
* [[http://www.schemingmind.com/journalarticle.aspx?article_id=3&page=1|The Time of Shatranj and the Aliyat]] by Miguel Villa
* [[http://home.hccnet.nl/h.g.muller/engine-intf.html#8|Chess Engine Communication Protocol - 8. Commands from xboard to the engine - variant shatranj]]

=References= 
<references />
=What links here?= 
[[include page="Shatranj" component="backlinks" limit="100"]]
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