88 MALAY CHESS. 



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The rooks in this set are not of the usual flat description. 

 As a rule the carving of the pieces is very rough, and it is seldom 

 that one sees an elaborate set like that here illustrated. A set 

 often suffices for a village. It is difficult to procure a genuine 

 set of Malay chessmen. 



In some parts of the Peninsula very few Malays play 

 chess, in others a large proportion of the inhabitants. On the 

 whole the proportion of men who can play chess more or less 

 is probably greater than with most races. The same game is 

 played in Sumatra as in the Peninsula, and I believe also in 

 Borneo. 



How the Malays acquired the game is a mystery. They 

 may have done so from the Arabs, or they may have learnt it 

 directly from natives of India. Neither the peculiar rules of the 

 game, nor the names of pieces and terms used in play throw 

 any light on this point. I give at the end of these notes a list 

 of the words most commonly used in the game, and the lan- 

 guages from which they are derived, as given in Wilkinson's 

 dictionary. The Sanscrit words seem as likely to have come 

 through the Arabs, who learnt the game from India, as direct. 

 Nor do Malay records shed any light on the way in which the 

 game was introduced, so far as I have been able to discover. 

 The most interesting points about the game are the similarities 

 to, and the differences from, the game as now played in Europe, 

 and as formerly played. 



The board is 8 by 8 as in European chess, and the men 

 except for the modifications to be pointed out, have the same 

 moves and powers. They are the King (raja) the Queen 

 (menteri, minister), two Bishops (gajali, elephant), two 

 knights {kuda, horse), two Books (tir, a name which appears 

 to have no other meaning), and 8 pawns (bidak, also only the 

 name of this piece). 



The first great difference between the Malay game and 

 ours, and one which entirely upsets all book knowledge of the 

 openings which may have been acquired by a student of- our 

 game, when he attempts to play the Malay game, is in the 

 arrangements of the pieces. With us king stands opposite king 

 and queen opposite queen. In Malay chess the menteri stands 



Jour. Straits Branch 



