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Tamerlane chess. A well-known historic large variant of Shatranj. (11x10, Cells: 112) (Recognized!)[All Comments] [Add Comment or Rating]
Charles Gilman wrote on Sat, Mar 8, 2003 03:33 AM EST:The extra file in the variants seems a sensible idea. In the original game all the back-rank pieces of one side are confined to squares of one colour and those of the other side to the other colour, while pickets are confined to the colours of enemy back-rank pieces. The extra file means that pieces of every kind except the Fers cover squares of both colours, back-rank can capture back-rank, and Picket can capture Picket.
I think this game was derived from Shatranj al-Kamil Type I, which has orthogonal-riders (the Rukhs), orthogonal-leapers (the Jamal), diagonal one-step movers (the Firzan), and diagonal-leapers (the Alfil). The game-designer filled out these two families by adding an orthogonal one-step mover (the Wazir, or vizir) and a diagonal-rider (the Taliah, or picket, which for some obscure reason is forbidden to take a one-square move). The horse was then made the basis for a third family by adding a one-square-farther leaper (the Jamal, or camel, the original camel being rechristened a Dabbabah, or war-machine) and a diagonal-plus-orthogonal-rider (the Zarafah, or giraffe; again, short moves are forbidden). The individualization of the pawns is a complete novelty.
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It is my impression that, while the original king is on the board, the prince or adventitious king is not royal; that is, that it can be placed or left en prise, and can be captured by surprise. I don't know what anyone else may know or think about this.
<i>The individualization of the pawns is a complete novelty.</i><br><br>
Doesn't <a href='http://www.chessvariants.com/historic.dir/chaturanga.html'>Chaturanga</a> use the 'pawn of ...' mechanic even though the pieces are neither so named or numbered? It seems the novelty exists only in making the pawns easier to identify. Is that what you are refiering to, the piece design and nomenclature?
Not quite. Chaturanga allows a pawn to promote to the piece whose starting square it reaches--a pawn prmoting on a8 becomes a Rook, on b8 a Knight. It doesn't matter which pawn it is, only which square it promotes on. In Tamerlane's, the Rook's pawn always promotes to Rook no matter where on the back rank it promotes, the Knight's pawn promotes to Knight, etc. Here what square the pawn promotes on doesn't matter and which pawn it is does--pretty much the exact opposite of Chaturanga.
Ah yes, I see now. Thank you for providing a clarification.
Charles Gilman wrote on Tue, Aug 3, 2004 04:21 AM EDT:I can suggest short names for these promotion rules. The rule in this game is the 'apprentice' rule, on the basis that each Pawn models itself on a particular piece from the start. Applied to most variants this would usually be the piece directly behind it. The rule in Chaturanga is the 'stabling' rule, on the basis that equipment is stabled there to equip the original piece as a Rook, Knight, or whatever and to equip arriving enemy Pawns (on pain of death?) to the same. Horses pulling chariots are taken to be a breed unsuitable for riding dierctly and vv!
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