Shatranj — Persian Chess Online
Play the medieval ancestor of chess free online — with the one-step Fers, the leaping Alfil, baring the king and stalemate as a loss.
- Family
- Historical chess
- Origin
- Persia, c. 600–1475
- Board
- 8 × 8, unchequered
- 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 Shatranj
The pieces of Shatranj
Shatranj was the dominant form of chess from about 600 to 1475. The rook, knight, king and pawn move as they do today, but the queen's ancestor — the Fers — moves only one square diagonally, and the bishop's ancestor — the Alfil — leaps exactly two squares diagonally and can reach only eight squares on the whole board.
Pawns move one square, never two, and promote only to a Fers. There is no castling and no en passant. Around 1475 the Fers and Alfil were strengthened into the modern queen and bishop, creating the fast game we play now.
Winning in Shatranj
Checkmate wins, and so does stalemate — a player with no legal move loses. You also win by baring the enemy king, capturing everything else, unless your opponent can bare your king on the very next move, which draws. The word checkmate itself comes from the Persian 'shāh māt'.