Turkish Great Chess II — Atranj / Qatranj
Turkish Great Chess II (Atranj) — starting position
https://engine.moddable.games/play/?game=chess&variant=turkish-great-chess-ii
Turkish Great Chess, Variation II — known as Atranj or Qatranj — is a historical large chess variant described by H. J. R. Murray in A History of Chess (1913). Despite its classification under Turkish chess in Murray’s survey, the source manuscript is Indian. The game is played on a 10×10 board with an expanded piece set that includes three pieces not found in standard chess.
Note: John Gollon, in mining Murray’s book for his Chess Variations, inadvertently omitted each player’s two central knights. The version described here is the correct full game.
The Board
10×10 (100 squares). Presumed uncoloured in the original; shown checkered on chessvariants.com for clarity.
Starting Position
Rank 1 (White):
| Square | Piece |
|---|---|
| a1 | Rook |
| b1 | Ghora (Knight) |
| c1 | Fil (Elephant/Bishop) |
| d1 | Wazir |
| e1 | Shahzadeh |
| f1 | Padshah (King) |
| g1 | Kotwal |
| h1 | Fil (Elephant/Bishop) |
| i1 | Ghora (Knight) |
| j1 | Rook |
| e2, f2 | Urdabegini (2 pieces) |
| e3, f3 | Ghora (Knight) — 2 more |
| a2–d2, g2–j2 | Pawns (8 pieces) |
Black: mirror on ranks 10, 9, 8.
Pieces
| Piece | Name(s) | Movement | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Padshah | King | As King in chess | 1 per side |
| Shahzadeh | Prince | As Rook, Bishop, OR Knight | 1 per side |
| Wazir | Vizir / Minister | As Bishop or Rook | 1 per side |
| Kotwal | Police Chief / Paymaster | As Bishop or Knight | 1 per side |
| Fil | Elephant | As Bishop | 2 per side |
| Ghora | Horse | As Knight | 4 per side (b1,i1,e3,f3) |
| Rook | Chariot | As Rook | 2 per side |
| Urdabegini | Armed female attendant | 1 square toward opposing Padshah | 2 per side (e2,f2) |
| Pawn | — | As Pawn (no double first move) | 8 per side |
Key Piece Notes
Shahzadeh (Prince): Moves as Rook, Bishop, or Knight combined — effectively an Amazon (the strongest compound piece in many chess variants). The most powerful attacking piece on the board.
Urdabegini: A unique homing piece that always moves one square in the direction that reduces distance to the opposing Padshah. Its movement is dictated by the King’s position.
Wazir: Moves as Bishop or Rook (equivalent to the modern Queen).
Kotwal: Moves as Bishop or Knight (a compound piece not found in standard chess).
Rules
- No castling
- Pawns have no double first move
- Stalemate rule unknown from historical sources (may follow Shatranj convention: stalemate = win)
- Pawn promotion: reaches last rank and is promoted to Wazir (implied, not explicit in source)
- Win: Checkmate the opponent’s Padshah
Attribution
Turkish Great Chess, Variation II (Atranj / Qatranj). Described by H. J. R. Murray in A History of Chess; source is Indian. Documented by John Ayer on chessvariants.com/large.dir/greatchessii.html.