Chess Variants: A peek into Chaturaji Chess

 

I have decided it's time to widen my blogging reach and delve into other things besides birds. Which is good. 

I'm not really a normal chess player, I'm just here for the variants. Which there are a lot* of, so this'll last a lot longer than expected.

(*Given the fact that Chess.com is allowing people to make their own variants, heck, there are a lot.)

Chaturaji chess is a four player chess variant that only needs one board. While it can technically be played with one chess set, I would suggest playing it with two, so as to keep the pieces distinct. (It's really annoying if you're trying to keep track of which pieces are yours if the person opposite you has extremely similar pieces.)

In four player chess, Red goes first. This means that green has a distinct disadvantage, which is a shame, but a good player can achieve an advantage before long.

Since there is no "checkmate makes you win" because there are 4 players instead of 2, the game is won by points. (These point systems are used for Chaturaji. Other four player chess may have it differently.) Pawns each are 1 point. Bishops and rooks are 5 points. Knights and kings are 3 points.

Now, why is the king worth so little? I have no idea, but it may be advantageous to take a king instead of a rook or a bishop, as it puts the player out of the game. This leads to an advantage in points. As the defeated player cannot gain any more points, the player who checkmated them gains 3 points in addition to being able to gain more later in the game.

Pawns always and only promote to a rook. There are no queens.

Recently, there has been an explosion in Chaturaji teams. This means that Red and Yellow are paired up against Blue and Green. However, since blue and green are a move behind, Red and Yellow have a guaranteed win. 

However, with the introduction of Chaturaji Alternate Teams, This means that Red and Green are paired up against Blue and Yellow. This settles the problem of being a move behind. Nobody has a guaranteed win, so it all depends on skill.

To me, Chaturaji has a certain charm that regular Four player chess lacks. It might be because the community is smaller, but maybe it's just because it's simple and, most importantly of all, fun.

Maybe you should try Chaturaji chess sometime...