Great chess

shatranj set from Nishapur. Great chess variants evolved from Middle Eastern shatranj. An early large board variant of shatranj was "complete shatranj" (shatranj al-tamma) which used a board of 10x10 squares and introduced two new chessmen, which were called dabbabas (siege engine). This piece moved like a king. Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, also discusses an alternative version of complete shatranj which uses the camel (shutur) piece instead of the dabbaba. Several other 10x10 chess variants were developed in the Muslim world. The most popular variant was citadel chess (shatranj al-husun), which is discussed in many surviving manuscripts, such as in ''Nafa'is al-funun (Treasury of the Sciences'') by the persian al-Amuli. This variant includes four extra squares on each corner of the board called citadels (husun). Medieval manuscripts explain that if a king reaches one of his opponent's citadels, the game is drawn. Other than these changes, the rules followed classical shatranj. Citadel chess also included two dabbabas which in some versions were placed between the elephants and the king or counsellor, and in other manuscripts are depicted as being placed next to the rooks. In citadel chess, the dabbabas moved like the modern bishop. == Tamerlane chess ==

Large board versions of shatranj led to further innovative variations in Central Asia, including various forms of Great chess (shatranj al-kabir, also known as Tamerlane chess), which thrived in the Turco-Mongol empire of Timur (1320s–1405). Timur himself loved to play chess, and he preferred the large board variants over the smaller 8x8 shatranj. Another legend regarding this type of chess is found in a Persian manuscript which may have been by ash-Shatranji himself. The legend states that this game was given to Alexander in India by Hermes. Great chess included the classic shatranj army along with two dabbabas and two camels, pieces that had also been seen in earlier 10x10 shatranj variants. moves as a bishop in modern chess, but must move a minimum of two squares and thus cannot move to one square only. • The horse or knight (faras) moves as a knight in modern chess. • The rook (rukh) moves as a rook in modern chess. • The elephant (pil) jumps two squares diagonally and is unobstructed by pieces in between. • The camel (jamal/shutur) leaps three squares orthogonally and 1 step at a right angle, like an extended knight's move. In other words, it moves in an "L"-shape, like an orthodox chess knight, with dimensions 3×1 instead of 2×1. • The war engine (dabbaba) leaps two squares horizontally or vertically, unobstructed by pieces in between. • The pawns move as pawns in modern chess, but with no initial double move or en passant capture. Every piece (including the pawn) has a corresponding pawn. Hence; there is: (1) a pawn of pawns, (2) a pawn of dabbabas, (3) a pawn of camels, (4) a pawn of elephants, (5) a pawn of giraffes, (6) a pawn of king, (7) a pawn of vizier, (8) a pawn of counselor, (9) a pawn of scouts, (10) a pawn of horses, and (11) a pawn of rooks. The citadels The two extra squares that protrude from the left of the ninth rank and the right of the second rank are called citadels (husun, singular hisn). If, at any time during the game a player can move his king into his opponent's citadel, he can declare the game a draw. This is advantageous for a losing player as being stalemated is considered a loss in Tamerlane chess. Alternatively, if a player has a prince or adventitious king on the board when his shah enters his opponent's citadel, his shah can trade places with either of those pieces, and the game continues. The prince or adventitious king can later move out of the citadel to make way for the king to enter again, but the exchange privilege may only be used once. The shah (king) ranks higher than the prince, which ranks higher than the adventitious king. Only the highest ranking of the three on the board can enter the opponent's citadel. The adventitious king has the special honor of being the only piece on the board that can enter his own citadel. Upon entering, it becomes immune, thus blocking the opponent from entering the citadel and declaring a draw. Pawn promotion Each pawn was unique, and upon reaching the last rank on the board, a pawn is promoted to its corresponding piece. Thus, the pawn of giraffes becomes a giraffe, etc. Because of this, each pawn was usually a miniature version of its corresponding piece instead of being an identical interchangeable pawn chess piece. Pieces: • elephant (a1), lion (b1), knight (c1), bull (d1), war engine (e1), revealer (f1), war engine (g1), bull (h1), camel (i1), lion (j1), elephant (k1) • rook (a2), knight (b2), picket (c2), giraffe (d2), general (e2), king (f2), sea monster (g2), giraffe (h2), picket (i2), knight (j2), rook (k2) • pawn of pawns (a3), pawn of knights (b3), pawn of camels (c3), pawn of war engines (d3), pawn of generals (e3), pawn of kings (f3), pawn of sea monsters (g3), pawn of giraffes (h3), pawn of pickets (i3), pawn of lions (j3), pawn of rooks (k3) • pawn of bulls (c4), pawn of revealers (f4), pawn of elephants (i4) • lion (‘asad) • bull (thaurs) • revealer (kashshâf) • sea monster (luxm) Black's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rows are arranged following rotation symmetry as in the standard setup: but the 4th row is arranged with reflection symmetry, so that the pawns of bulls face each other. Note that there is only one camel, but three knights (one knight replaces the missing camel). A sea monster replaces the vizier. The manuscript does not offer guidance as to how the extra pieces move; historians have given different suggestions. Duncan Forbes suggested in 1860 that the lion should combine the moves of rook and giraffe; the bull should combine the moves of picket and giraffe; and the revealer should combine the moves of picket and rook. (He gave the picket the move of the modern bishop, thus making the revealer identical to the modern queen.) Jean-Louis Cazaux suggests instead that the extra pieces were simple leapers: the lion a (3,0)-leaper, the bull a (3,2)-leaper, and the revealer a (3,3)-leaper. Both assume that the sea monster is identical to the vizier: a (1,0)-leaper. == Turkish Great chess and other similar variants ==

Great chess seems to have remained popular in Persia and Central Asia for the following centuries. Turkish great chess was one popular descendant of Timurid Great chess. This variant used an even bigger 13x13 board and introduced another unique piece called the rhino (Rh) which can move like a knight or a bishop. This Great chess variant is described in a Turkish encyclopedia by Abū'r-Rafīd Muḥammad Ḥafīd Ibn-Muṣṭafā ʿĀšir published in Istanbul between 1805 and 1806. Each player has: a king, 1 counselor / ferz (moves like orthodox chess queen), 1 grand vizier (move like queen+knight, i.e. amazon), 2 gazelles (move like Timur's camel, 3-1 leaper), 2 rhinoceroses (B+N), 2 elephants, 2 horses, 2 rooks, and 13 pawns. He also mentions how the 15th century Uzbek poet Alisher Navoi talked of a similar Central Asian game. Another large chess variant from an earlier time is the Spanish Grant Acedrex. == Tamerlane Chess Club ==

A public chess club in Jamestown, New York, named Tamerlane Chess Club, is dedicated to this game as well as other ancient chess variants. ==References==