Indian chess is the name given to a variations of chess played in India in the 18th and 19th centuries. The more ancient forms are known as Chaturanga, and spread to the west via Persia in the 7th Century. 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, and are possibly still played in rural areas.
Contents
Differences from Western chess
Names of the pieces
The queen is called the "Minister". The knight has been called a horse since chaturanga times, and is attested to in the iconography of the modern knight. The following table describes the Indian chess terminology for the various pieces (including Hindi pronunciations):
Mantri is the Sanskrit and Hindi term for Minister.