Shatranj Kamil
Shatranj Kamil — starting position
https://engine.moddable.games/play/?game=chess&variant=shatranj-kamil
Shatranj Kamil (شطرنج كامل, “Complete Chess” or “Perfect Chess”) is a historical Arabic chess variant approximately 1000 years old, described by John Gollon based on Murray’s reconstruction from an old manuscript. It expands the standard Shatranj board from 8×8 to 10×10 and adds two War Machine (Dabbabah) pieces per side, plus two extra Pawns.
Two historical versions are documented on chessvariants.com: one adds a Camel piece (shkam1), the other — documented here — adds a War Machine (shkam2). The War Machine version has the unusual rule that the piece moves as a King but is immune to check.
The Board
10 files (a–j) × 10 ranks = 100 squares.
Starting Position
White (rank 1): Rook a1 · Knight b1 · Elephant c1 · War Machine d1 · King e1 · General f1 · War Machine g1 · Elephant h1 · Knight i1 · Rook j1
White pawns (rank 2): a2–j2 (10 pawns)
Black (rank 10): Rook a10 · Knight b10 · Elephant c10 · War Machine d10 · King e10 · General f10 · War Machine g10 · Elephant h10 · Knight i10 · Rook j10
Black pawns (rank 9): a9–j9 (10 pawns)
Pieces
Standard Shatranj pieces plus the War Machine:
| Piece | Arabic | Movement |
|---|---|---|
| King (Shah) | شاه | One square in any direction |
| General (Firzan) | فرزان | One square diagonally |
| Elephant (Fil) | فيل | Leaps exactly 2 squares diagonally; can jump the intervening square |
| Knight (Faras) | فرس | L-shaped leap (as in standard chess) |
| Rook (Rukh) | رخ | Slides any distance orthogonally |
| Pawn | بيدق | One square forward; captures one square diagonally; no double first step |
| War Machine (Dabbabah) | دبابة | Moves one square in any direction (as a King) but is not affected by check |
Promotion
A Pawn reaching the last rank promotes to a General — only if the player currently has no General on the board. If the player still has a General, the Pawn reaching the last rank is removed from the board without promotion.
Special Rules
- No castling, no en passant.
- No bare King rule — the game continues normally even when one player has only the King remaining.
- Win: Checkmate the opponent’s King, or stalemate the opponent (stalemate is a win for the stalemating player).
Attribution
Shatranj Kamil (War Machine version) documented at chessvariants.com/historic.dir/shkam2.html (Hans Bodlaender, from Gollon/Murray). Camel version at chessvariants.com/historic.dir/shkam1.html.