Chaturanga Chess Online — the Indian Ancestor of Chess 6+

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Chaturanga chess is a board game you play, not the yoga pose of the same name: it is the Indian game of the 6th century that all modern chess grew out of, and its four arms of the army — infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots — are what gave it the name.

The pieces are deliberately weaker than the chess ones you know. The counsellor crawls one square diagonally instead of ruling the board like a queen, the elephant jumps exactly two squares diagonally over whatever stands between, and only the chariot is long-range. Nobody wins by rushing one strong piece out — you have to build a plan.

How to play

Tap your piece, then tap one of the squares the game lights up for it.
Learn one piece at a time: the foot soldier, the chariot, the horse, the jumping elephant, the counsellor.
Capture by moving onto an enemy square — the foot soldier is the exception and takes diagonally.
Win by checkmating the enemy raja, exactly as in chess.

What your child learns

Planning several moves ahead, because no single piece can decide the game alone
Reading a jump: the elephant flies over the square between, so blocking it does not work
Coordinating weak pieces into one attack instead of hunting for a quick blow
Where chess came from — the same board, an older and slower army

The science behind the games

Every Dad4Kids game is built on one simple truth: children want to play, not study — so we turn learning into a game worth replaying. The method draws on peer-reviewed research in game-based learning, motivation, and how memory works.

FAQ

Is chaturanga the same thing as the yoga pose?

No. Chaturanga Dandasana is a yoga posture that borrowed the Sanskrit word. This page is the board game — the ancient Indian ancestor of chess, played on an 8×8 board.

How do the pieces move?

The raja moves like a king and the horse like a knight. The chariot is a rook. The counsellor moves one square diagonally, the elephant exactly two squares diagonally and jumps over the square between, and the foot soldier steps one forward and captures diagonally.

Does a foot soldier become a queen at the far end?

No — it promotes only to a counsellor, which moves one square diagonally. That is why endgames here are slow and have to be calculated instead of crashed through.

Is it harder or easier than chess?

Easier to learn, slower to win. Every piece except the chariot is short-range, so a beginner cannot be blown off the board in four moves — but neither can you win by developing one strong piece.

What is in the 80 levels?

Each piece gets its own set of teaching puzzles, then forks and promotions, then mate in one, two and three moves, and finally small-army and full 32-piece games against the bot.

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By Evgeny Arsentiev, PhD · Last updated: September 2026