Shatranj Puns

https://preview.redd.it/5nhcwm21gk381.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9819dc30625057c4795b097e84a4850710bf1cd

Did you know that Sir William Jones, founder of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, was the first to identify India as the birthplace of chess and linked the game’s origins to a 4th-century CE game called ‘Chaturanga’, popular during the Gupta era? While evidence of board game pieces has been found in Harappan sites as well, there is a fair amount of debate on whether they are ‘prototypes’ of chess.

The name ‘Chatruranga’ refers to the four (chatur) divisions (anga) of ancient Indian armies – infantry, cavalry, elephantry and chariotry. The pieces that evolved – pawns, knights, bishops and rooks – represented these divisions. The game was played on a board called Ashtapada. We know little of the rules of the game or how it was played.

We've heard of Chess With Different Armies, we've heard of Shatranj, so let's combine them! Like with Chess With Different Armies, I've made 3 new armies to go with the original for 4 in total. Like how pawns promote to Ferzes in the original Shataranj, pawns promote to the piece that started next to the King in that army. For example, in the Japanese Jostlers, pawns promote to Gold Generals.

Piece values are in quarter-pawns. A regular chess pawn is worth 4, while a Shatranj pawn is only worth 2 because of their weak promotion.

First up are the Orderly Originals, the classic Shataranj army

• Rook. Moves any number of spaces orthogonally. Value: 20
• Knight. Moves 1 space orthogonally then 1 space diagonally outwards, can jump. Value: 13
• Alfil. Moves exactly 2 spaces diagonally, can jump. Can only reach 1/8 of the board. Value: 3
• Ferz. Moves 1 space diagonally. Value: 6
• Total value: 78

Second, the Japanese Jostlers, made up of pieces from Shogi

• Rook: Lance. Moves any number of spaces orthogonally forward. Upon reaching the 7th or 8th rank, promotes to a Gold General. Value: 5
• Knight: Dragon Horse. Moves any number of spaces diagonally, or 1 space orthogonally. Value: 21
• Alfil: Silver General. Moves 1 space diagonally, or 1 space orthogonally forwards. Value: 8
• Ferz: Gold General. Moves 1 space orthogonally, or 1 space diagonally forwards. Value: 9
• Total value: 77. 1 point weaker than the originals, but compensated by strong pawn promotion

Third are the Posh Protectors, all with high social status.

• Rook: Berolina Pawn. Moves passively one square diagonally forwards, but captures 1 square orthogonally forwards. Upon reaching the 8th rank, promotes to a Commoner. Value: 3
• Knight: Ring. Moves as a Knight, or exactly 2 spaces orthogonally, can jump. Value: 20
• Alfil: Bishop. Moves any number of squares diagonally. Value: 13, +2 pair bonus
• Ferz: Wazir. Moves 1 square orthogonally. Value: 5
• Total: 79. 1 point stronger than the originals, but compensated by weak pawn promotion

Finally, there are the Amphibian Attackers, starring pieces with some association to both land and water. It was the idea of a Crab as a Ferz substitute that inspired this, ("[In any game where the Ferz appears as a piece by itself, we should be able to substitute the Crab with interesting results. (Shatranj with different armies?)](https://www.chessvariants.com/d.betza/chessvar/pieces/cra

I am interested to know if they used the same letter and number logic a-h and 1-8.

Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977) is based on Munshi Premchand’s short story of the same name and is set in 1856. As two nobleman (Saeed Jaffrey and Sanjeev Kumar) devote themselves to chess, the British proceed to annex the kindgom of Awadh and oust its ruler Wajid Ali Shah (Amjad Khan).

My Adventures with Satyajit Ray: The Making of Shatranj Ke Khilari is based on producer Suresh Jindal’s memories of working with the celebrated Indian filmmaker on his first non-Bengali feature. The book includes the letters that flew back and forth between director and producer, production stills, and numerous anecdotes about Ray’s filmmaking process.

Excerpt from the book

As I was beginning to find out, Ray was a tireless and outstanding researcher. His capacity and love for it was prodigious. His mind was like a steel trap, focused only on the subject at hand. Every available space in his study was now piled high with books on chess, James Outram’s Blue Books from the National Library, books and reproductions of Company School paintings, the Daniells and other master printmakers and painters of Indian landscapes and architecture, miscellaneous travelogues and every other possible kind of information on the ambience, food, clothing, mannerisms, music, etc. of the period in which the story was set.

We also went to museums, the havelis of aristocratic Lucknawis and the thakur baris of north Calcutta. From the Imperial War Museum and the India Office Library to the Falaknuma Palace of the nizams of Hyderabad and the City Palace Museum in Jaipur - it was like researching the period for a PhD. One evening we would be having dinner with the Rajmata of Jaipur and the next morning searching for an expert on the Shia namaz in the winding alleys of old Lucknow. It was like a magical mystery tour: psychedelic all the way, in every way.

Everywhere we went people were awed by Ray’s talent and fame. When we finally managed to coordinate our schedules and reach Amritlal Nagar’s house in Lucknow, the aged writer welcomed us with delight and these words: ‘This is the happiest day for this small house of mine. I feel deeply respected and obliged by your visit.’ As always, Manik-da shied away from the praise, never quite able to decide what to do on these occasions.

Nagar-ji showed us around his haveli where it is believed Wajid Ali Shah spent his last evening. He also showed us his research room, which resembled an intellectual’s den from the Middle Ages. Of particular inte

I always ignored this movie as boring etc, then I watched - I was so impressed by the casting an dating

I wanted to watch similar movies, any idea - movies depicting Mughal Empire, but not commercial ones

Makruk is a chess - like game from Thailand showing rather very great similarities with Shogi. Xiangqi on the other hand has very few. I think that the origin of Shogi is makruk or shatranj from which makruk developed.

Edit:Shatranj is dissimilar. I just used it as it was the predecessor of makruk as I thought that something similar may develop from it elsewhere. Perhaps they brought the same variant to these lands.

Have a good day!

Boka_BB

Shatranj Ke Khilari was Satyajit Ray's first Hindi film. The Master set the Premchand story against the backdrop of the First War of Independence in 1857.

Bijoya Ray, his wife, reveals fascinating glimpses behind the making of the epic in this exclusive excerpt from her memoir, 'Manik And I: My Life with Satyajit Ray'

In June, Manik (as Satyajit Ray was called by his family and close friends) checked into Kenilworth Hotel for a few days to write the screenplay, script and dialogues of Shatranj Ke Khilari.

He had been discussing the possibility of making this film for a long time, but was still in two minds about it. This was primarily because making the film in Hindi meant that he would be unable to write the dialogues, and this was something he couldn't accept.

Dialogue is such a crucial part of a film, and I doubt that anyone could write better dialogues than he did. He was a bit hesitant leaving this to somebody else.

Bansi (Chandragupta, Ray's art director) however, said, 'This is hardly a problem. You'll write the dialogues in Bengali and they will then be translated into Hindi - and when you listen to them you can judge their quality because you can understand Hindi quite well.' He finally agreed with Bansi and began to write the screenplay.

Bansi and (producer) Suresh Jindal came down from Bombay to finalise all the details for Shatranj Ke Khilari. Everything was settled, but initially I had no idea about Manik's own fee, or whether he had even discussed it at all. Later, Bansi gave Manik a severe talking to on the issue of money.

Apparently, when Suresh Jindal had asked Manik about his own fee, he had become confused as he never discussed money matters directly with any producer. Anil Babu (Ray's production controller Anil Choudhury) was the one who dealt with the producers and settled the fees. But this time, upon being asked directly, Manik timidly quoted a sum that pleased Suresh so much that he agreed to it instantly.

Bansi was livid. He said, 'Manik, you could have at least asked me about this. I've been in Bombay for so long that I know how they work. This is your first Hindi film, you're such a distinguished personality, yet the amount you quote is even less than what the fourth-rate artists of Bombay ask for! Does it make any sense?'

Looking extremely sheepish, Manik said, 'What could I do? I'm absolutely clueless about money matters. I thought I had asked for too much money!'

I never found out the exact sum Manik had

A friend of mine who is working on a project related to Satyajit Ray mentioned about this connection, I was curious about it..If any local has idea or stories about it. Please mention !

Salom ba shoma !

I'm looking to watch the movie Shatranj-e Baad/Chess of the Wind from 1976.

Does anyone know where is can find the torrent ?

So I can watch it with Persian and English subtitles.

Cheers !

Compound Shatranj is a game on a 10x8 board using only shortrange pieces.

Instead of rooks there are war machines, which can leap one or two squares orthogonally. Similarly bishops are replaced by elephants, which can leap one or two squares diagonally.

The knight, war machine and elephant are also added together to make stronger pieces. Pawns can promote to any compound piece when reaching the last rank.

Pawns do not have a double step, and there is no castling. A player loses when they have no legal moves, which can be due to checkmate or stalemate.

Based on Great Shatranj by Joe Joyce, with setup inspired by Schoolbook Chess by Sam Trenholme to keep all pawns protected in the opening array.

I just watched this relatively less known film by Satyajit Ray. For those who don't know, Satyajit Ray is a Indian filmmaker who is widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, easily the best of Indian cinema and honorary Oscar recipient. If you don't know him, definitely check him out. But for those who do know him, he is known for the Apu Trilogy and some other films, but Shatranj Ke Khiladi is very often overlooked.

Shatranj Ke Khiladi has a fascinating plot. Set during the British conquest of India, the story revolves around two friends of the traditional nobility obsessed with playing chess. These 2 friends battle it out on the chessboard while their country slowly gets taken over. The story provides a vivid portrayal of how the East India Company subjugated this vast subcontinent, the frivolous nature of the kings and lords, and the empty pride of the upper classes. It portrays how the imperial powers viewed their subjects, not just in India but everywhere, and the hypocrisy and the empty "civilizing mission" of their rule. Importantly, it showcases an important part of the Indian mindset, even today, of clinging on to grand traditions of the past, noble lineages and martial exploits of old while forgetting the realities of today. It is a story of colonialism, class division and imperialism.

Though it is not nearly as good as some of the other movies Ray has made, and a viewer might need some understanding of the country to fully grasp the parable, it is still a good movie, great dialogue and nice cinematography, and definitely worth giving a look.

Shatranj rules + these ones :

1. Example of elephant's move : an elephant on d4 can jump/move on b6, f6, b2, f2, c3 and e3.

2. Example of prime minister's move : a PM on d4 can move on c5, e5, c3, e3 and d3.

3. Example of knight's move : a knight on d4 can move on b5, c6, e6, f5, b3 and f3 but it cannot move on c2 and e2.

4. Pawns are promoted (promotion is mandatory) to the 7th line. A pawn is promoted to a rook on a7 or h7, a knight on b7 or g7, an elephant on c7 or f7 and a PM on d7 or e7.

5. There's draw match either by repetition of moves 3 times or there's not enough pieces of both sides and the Kings are unable to enter the throne of the other after 50 moves or by stalemating.

6. A player wins either by checkmating the opponent's King or if its King manages to enter the throne of the opponent's King.

For example, at the very beginning Kings are on their respective throne (white King is on e1 and black King is on e8), white wins if he manages to bring its King to the opponent's throne on e8. A King can't enter the opponent's throne if it leads him being checked.

Salom ba shoma !

I'm looking to watch the movie Shatranj-e Baad/Chess of the Wind from 1976.

Does anyone know where is can find the torrent ?

So I can watch it with Persian and English subtitles.

Cheers !