Shatranj is the second known variant of chess. It was purportedly developed from the first known variant, Chaturanga, by making a few minor changes. The game first appeared in Persia around the 7th century AD and remained immensely popular throughout the Arabic world for the next nine centuries! Shatranj is said to have supported professional players, spawned several books and inspired its own body of chess problems. The array is similar to that of Orthodox Chess, with Elephants replacing Bishops and Generals replacing Queens. The game was also played with Generals and Kings transposed; so in all cases, Kings and Generals face their own kind
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