The uniqueness of Chakra is owed to the invention of a new fairy piece named transmitter.
The game was first featured in The Gamer magazine in 1981 (issue 3), resulting in much interest and the sale of many Chakra sets.
[1] Chakra is included in 100 Other Games to Play on a Chessboard (1983, 2002) by Stephen Addison.
Each player starts with 16 pieces: 1 emperor, 1 empress, 1 samurai, 1 monk, 2 monkeys, 2 courtesans, 2 chakras, 6 swords.
The emperor, empress, and monkey perform identically to their chess counterparts (king, queen, and knight, respectively).