How to Play Indian Chess

Set up your board. All pieces are in the same place except that the queen sits to the right of the king. All other pieces are the same as in American chess. See the Resources section below for a link to setting up an Indian chess board.

Familiarize yourself with the names of the pieces, which differ a little from traditional chess. The names are as follows: the king is called raja, the queen is called a minister, the bishop is hathi (elephant), a horse or knight is known as a ghora, rooks or castles are called ratha and the pawns are known as padah.

Take turns with both players moving an Indian chess piece. Move your pieces as follows: Raja moves one square in any direction. The first time a raja is checked, it can move the way a ghora moves. The minister moves the same as a queen, padahs move the same as the pawns, the chariots move the same as the rooks, and the hathi move the same as the bishops.

Take two turns on the first move of the game; both players do this. You can move any one piece twice. After that, each piece moves only once. No castling is allowed in the game, and moves resembling castling can only be done by the king when checked for the first time.

Stay on your side of the board during the first eight moves. These moves are known as the mobilization phase in which you cannot move to the opponent's side of the board.

Protect your king. There has to be at least one piece accompanying the king at all times. If the king is abandoned, the game is a draw. This is to protect the king and is known as the king's dignity in Indian chess.

Promote your padah up into the rows where they started. When your padahs arrive at a square that, for example, a hathi had occupied, the padah then becomes the hathi. It is the job of the opponent to guard the squares to ensure that pawns can't be promoted.