Chaturanga
With origins shrouded in the mystery of ancient Indian history, Chaturanga or Shaturanga is one of the oldest versions of Chess that has ever been found. Indeed it is possible that Chaturanga is the original version of Chess and all the modern two player variants all derive from it - although older two player Chess games have been found.
Regardless of the historical significance, the game is an interesting challenge for anyone who enjoys games as well as Chess afficionados looking for something different. It is played by 2, 3 or 4 players and although the pieces (Infantry, Calvalry, Elephant, Ship and Raja - King) move in a similar way to modern Chess pieces, which piece you move is chosen by the roll of a dice - which gives a totally new flavour to the game.
Click on the picture to enlarge.
This version of the game comes in a well-made box that is designed to fit neatly on your bookshelf. The front of the box hinges open and is sealed with a magnet. Inside the box there is the cloth board, 4 sets of pieces in quality draw-string bags and a rules booklet.
Dimensions are 28 x 28 x 9cm (11 x 11 x 3.5 inches).
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Chaturanga |
£29.70 | £34.90 | Apologies - product is discontinued | ||
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The Origin of Chess
A great deal has been written about the origins of chess and there is still a lot of debate on the subject. The earliest clear ancestor of chess is shaturanga or chaturanga which was invented by a 6th century Indian philosopher. It was a battle between four armies each under the control of a Rajah (king), two players being loosely allied against the other two and and each containing 4 corps - Infantry, Cavalry, Elephants and Boatmen. The board of 64 squares used for shaturanga, was borrowed from an earlier game called ashtapada, which was a race game played in ancient India.
Under Hindu law, gambling became forbidden early on in the Hindu civilisation and, to avoid the gambling laws, shaturanga players dispensed with the dice. Another early modification was the merging of the allied armies into a single army making the game a two player form and duplicating the pieces, both developments which have survived until today. Other changes also occurred; and the resulting game was called shatranj.
There are three versions of the story of arrival of shatranj in Europe - did it come from the Saracens via Spain, from the Byzantine empire as a present to Charlemagne or was it brought back from the Middle East by Knights returning from the Crusades?. Nonetheless, in Europe, the game developed into modern European chess now played worldwide while in China, Japan, Burma, Thailand and Korea, other variants became just as popular.
You can learn more about the History of Chess from The Online Guide to Traditional Games.