I noticed the only long-ranged piece in chaturanga was the rook, so the variant depends on shuffling a lot with lower rated games, but still, fun!
Chaturaji and Chaturanga
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#3
Was chaturaji actually from ancient India? I thought it was just some variant of chaturanga that later people made up and claimed it was the actual precursor to chess :/
Chaturaji and Chaturanga: Ancient Indian Chess Precursors
Chaturanga and Chaturaji are two of the earliest known chess-like board games, originating in India around the 6th-7th century AD (with possible roots tracing back further to the Gupta Empire or even the Indus Valley Civilization). Both games symbolize the four divisions of an ancient Indian army—infantry (pawns), cavalry (horses), elephants, and chariots—played on an ashtāpada (8x8 uncheckered board). Chaturanga is the foundational two-player strategy game widely regarded as the direct ancestor of modern chess, shatranj, xiangqi, shogi, and other variants. Chaturaji ("four kings") is a four-player adaptation, often incorporating elements of chance via dice, and was described as early as 1030 AD by Al-Biruni. While exact historical rules vary due to limited records and regional differences, reconstructions by historians like H.J.R. Murray provide a clear picture of their shared heritage and divergences.
Similarities
Both games share core mechanics that influenced global chess evolution:
These overlaps make Chaturaji a direct extension of Chaturanga, with some sources even calling it "four-handed Chaturanga."
Differences
The games diverge significantly in scale, chance, and objectives, reflecting solo duels (Chaturanga) vs. multi-kingdom battles (Chaturaji).
Modern reconstructions (e.g., on Chess.com or Ludii) often simplify Chaturaji by omitting dice for strategy.
In essence, Chaturanga emphasizes tactical purity in a duel, while Chaturaji adds chaos because it has 4 players and sometimes dice. Though Chaturaji outlasted in some regions into the 20th century, both paved the way for chess's global dominance.