Tamerlane chess is a medieval chess variant. Like modern chess, it is derived from shatranj. It was developed in Central Asia during the reign of Emperor Timur, and its invention is also attributed to him. Because Tamerlane chess is a larger variant of chaturanga, it is also called Shatranj Al-Kabir, as opposed to Shatranj as-saghir. Although the game is similar to modern chess, it is distinctive in that there are varieties of pawn, each of which promotes in its own way.
Left to right: the faras (knight), zurafa (giraffe), pil (elephant), and tali'a (picket)
Timur The Conqueror, the inventor of the game
A chess variant is a game related to, derived from, or inspired by chess. Such variants can differ from chess in many different ways.
A three-player chess variant which uses a hexagonal board
Models for the fairy chess pieces used in Capablanca chess