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Chaturaji, starting position. Pieces with different colors were used for each of four sides.

Chaturaji (means "four kings") is a four player version of Chaturanga. It was first described ca. 1030 by Biruni in his India book. Originally, this was a game of chance, the piece to be moved were decided by two dices. The game was still played in India as a diceless variant by the end of 19th century. This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... Chaturanga is an ancient Indian game which is presumed to be the common ancestor of chess, xiangqi, shogi, janggi and makruk. ... Abu Raihan Al-Biruni (also, Biruni, Alberuni Persian: ابوریحان بیرونی) ; Arabic: أبو الريحان البيروني; (September 15, 973 - December 13, 1048) was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, physicist, scholar, encyclopedist, philosopher, astrologer, traveller, historian, pharmacist and teacher, of Central Asian origin, who contributed greatly to the fields of mathematics, philosophy, medicine and...

The captain Cox and professor Forbes put forth a theory (so called Cox-Forbes theory), that Chaturaji was origin of Chaturanga and hence the predecessor of modern chess. However this theory was later rejected. Currently it is believed that in fact Chaturaji was created as a variation of Chaturanga. The Cox-Forbes theory is a theory on the evolution of chess put forward by Captain Hiram Cox and extended by Professor Duncan Forbes. ...

Rules

King, Rook (was called Elephant) and Knight (was called Horse) move as in chess. Pawn also moves as in chess, but doesn't have an initial double-step move. Also promotion rules are different. The king (♔♚) is a piece in the game of chess. ... A rook may move horizontally or vertically through any number of unoccupied squares. ... Knights possible moves The knight (♘♞) (or, colloquially, horse) is a piece in the game of chess, representing a knight (armoured soldier) and often depicted as a horses head. ... Chess is a board game and mental sport for two players. ... The pawn (♙♟) is the weakest and most numerous piece in the game of chess, representing infantry, or more particularly pikemen. ...

Bishop was called Boat in this game. It moves diagonally, jumping one square (see movement diagramm for Alfil in Shatranj). When boat moves a such way, that a 2x2 square filled with boats is formed, it captures all three boats of other players (see diagramm). This rules is called Boat triumph. A bishop moves only diagonally. ... Shatranj. ...

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Boat triumph rule. White boat c3 can capture all other boats by moving to e5. All shown boats belong to different players.

On each turn two dices are thrown. Usually oblong (four sided) stick dices were used. However playing with cubic dices is also possible. This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ... This image is originally from xboard. ...

Pieces to be moved are determined by dice numbers (stick dices didn't had 5 and 6):

• 1 or 5 - Pawn or King
• 2 - Bishop
• 3 - Knight
• 4 or 6 - Rook.

On each turn two moves can be made either with the same or with two different pieces. The player can skip one or both of his moves if desired.

There is no check or checkmate, King can be captured like any other pieces. The goal of the game is to collect as much points as possible. Different number of points is given for capturing of different opponent pieces:

• Pawn - 1
• Bishop - 2
• Knight - 3
• Rook - 4
• King - 5.

If one of the player managed to capture all three Kings of the opponents, but still retain own King on the board, he/she gets 54 points. This value is a sum of points of all pieces in three armies.

References

• A History of Chess, H.J.R. Murray (1913), ISBN 0936317019.

Harold James Ruthven Murray (June 24, 1868 - May 16, 1955) born in Peckham Rye, London, son of James Murray (editor of the Oxford English Dictionary), the eldest of eleven children, was most prominent as a chess historian. ...

External links

• Chaturanga for four players by Hans Bodlaender.
• Four-Handed Chaturanga by Jean-Louis Cazaux.