Tamerlane chess

It was developed in Central Asia during the reign of Emperor Timur, and its invention is also attributed to him.

Although the game is similar to modern chess,[2] it is distinctive in that there are varieties of pawn, each of which promotes in its own way.

[3] A Tamerlane chessboard is made up of 110 uncheckered squares arranged in a 10×11 pattern ("camp").

[1][4] When the opposing king occupies a player's citadel, the game is declared a draw.

[citation needed] Upon reaching the last rank on the board, a pawn is promoted to its corresponding piece.

If both a prince and a king exist simultaneously on the board, one of the two must be captured (like a regular piece) before the other can be checked/checkmated or stalemated to win the game.

This is advantageous for a losing player as being stalemated is considered a loss in Tamerlane chess.

[citation needed] The adventitious king has the special honor of being the only piece on the board that can enter his own citadel.

[citation needed] In a few manuscripts the empty squares on the back rank are filled with new types of pieces.

The following setup appears in ms 7322 (British Museum):[9] Black's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rows are arranged following rotation symmetry as in the standard setup: but the 4th row is arranged with reflection symmetry, so that the pawns of bulls face each other.

Jean-Louis Cazaux suggested in 2012 instead that the extra pieces were simple leapers: the lion a (3,0)-leaper, the bull a (3,2)-leaper, and the revealer a (3,3)-leaper.