The first
known game of Chess (Chaturanga
and then Shatranj, the Arabic form of the word) was the kind of
Chess played by the Arabian people in the middle ages. Instead
of the Queen, they had the Firzan who could only move a square
diagonally a time.
Instead of the Bishops, they had the Alfils who move
diagonally skipping a square. Pawns could only move a square a time
and could only be promoted to a Firzan. King, Rooks and
Knights moved as usual. Castling was unknown and you could win
by Checkmate and by Stalemate. The following match was played
between Abu-Bakr Muhammed Ben Yahya as-Suli and Abu'l- Faraj bin
al-Muzaffar bin Sa'-id al-Lajlaj in the 10th century.
 Firzan
(Queen)
Alfil (Bishop) |
