---
title: Maharaja & Sepoys
slug: maharaja
board: "8×8"
players: "2"
parent: chess
win: Checkmate
special: One player has a full army. The other has one piece that moves as queen + knight.
engine:
  topology:
    type: grid
    rows: 8
    cols: 8
  players: [white, black]
  setup: "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/8/4M3"
---

## Maharaja & Sepoys

One Queen+Knight super-piece (the Maharaja) vs a full standard army. The ultimate asymmetric challenge.


{{svg:maharaja-board.svg "Maharaja & Sepoys — starting position"}}

### Setup

**Board:** Standard 8×8.

**Setup:**

**FEN:** `rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/8/4M3 w kq - 0 1`
- **Black (Sepoys):** Full standard chess army on ranks 7–8. Pawns on rank 7.
- **White (Maharaja):** A single piece — the Maharaja — placed on any square of rank 1. No other pieces.

**The Maharaja:**
- Moves like a Queen AND a Knight combined (can slide any distance orthogonally/diagonally, or jump in an L-shape).
- It is the only piece White has. It is royal — if captured or checkmated, White loses.

### Rules

- Standard chess rules apply to Black's army (including castling and pawn promotion).
- White has only the Maharaja — every turn, White moves it.
- The Maharaja cannot castle.
- If the Maharaja is checkmated (surrounded with no legal escape), Black wins.

### Win Condition

- **Black wins:** Checkmate or capture the Maharaja.
- **White wins:** Checkmate Black's King using the Maharaja alone.

### Strategy

The Maharaja is incredibly powerful but alone. Black must coordinate pieces to trap it in a net. White must pick off Black's pieces one by one while avoiding getting cornered. In practice, a well-played Black army wins — but careless play lets the Maharaja dominate.

### Attribution

Traditional Indian variant ("Maharaja and the Sepoys"), 19th century. Public domain.