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Tamerlane Chess Set

$ 25.87

Availability: 43 in stock
  • Age Level: 12-16 Years, 17 Years & Up, 8-11 Years
  • Material: Plastic
  • Color: Multi-Color
  • Condition: New

    Description

    Tamerlane chess is a medieval chess variant created by Timur, founder of the Timurid Empire in what is now Central Asia and the Middle East.
    It is played on a 10x11 board and features pieces no longer used in modern chess as well as citadels, special squares that can be used to force a stalemate. Additionally, each pawn corresponds to a piece and promotes to that piece when it reaches the last row. The pawn of pawns has a special promotion: Once it reaches the last file it is immobilized until a board state where 2 opponents pieces are in a position to be forked by a pawn. Then the pawn of pawns is immediately moved to that square. If the pawn of pawns again reaches the last file it is promoted to an adventitious king which moves like the king. If more than one king exists on the board for a player (the king, the promoted pawn of kings, or the adventitious king) then check may be ignored until only one king remains.
    Pieces per side:
    1x King
    1x Ferz or General/Counselor
    1x Vizier or Wazir/Governor
    2x Knight
    2x Rook
    2x Zurafa or Giraffe
    2x Dababba or Siege Engine (depicted as a bombard)
    2x Camel
    2x Picket or Scout (similar to modern bishop, but must move at least 2 spaces)
    2x Elephant
    11x Pawns
    11x Pawn promotion pedestals
    There are 3 starting arrangements that can be played. Pictured above is the "masculine" array, there is also the "feminine" array, and the "third" array which may not use the citadels.
    For a full set of rules and variations, I recommend A World of Chess by Jean-Louis Cazaux and Rick Knowlton. Pages 30-35 describe the piece move sets, starting arrays, pawn promotion, citadel stalemate, etc. in detail.
    You can also find rules on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamerlane_chess