Chaturanga — Ancient Indian Chess Online
Play the root of the entire chess family free online — the four divisions of the ancient Indian army on the 8 × 8 Ashtāpada board.
- Family
- Historical chess
- Origin
- India, c. 6th century
- Board
- 8 × 8 Ashtāpada
- Players
- 2
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Choose a mode inside the board: two players, vs computer, or online with a room code.
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About Chaturanga
The four divisions
Chaturanga means 'four divisions' — infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots — the branches of the Indian army that became the pawn, knight, bishop and rook. The Raja moves like a king, the Mantri (minister) one square diagonally, and the Gaja (elephant) most likely leaps two squares diagonally, though scholars still debate it.
No single rulebook survives; the app uses the most widely accepted reconstruction. Pawns move one square and promote to a Mantri; there is no castling, no en passant and no double step.
Legacy
From Chaturanga the game travelled west to Persia as Shatranj and on to Europe as modern chess, and east as Xiangqi, Janggi, Makruk, Sittuyin and Shogi. Playing it shows how much of the modern game — the knight's move, the rook's power, the weak early queen — was there from the beginning.