90 MALAY CHESS. 



to endeavour to force the king to move only in the'way to which 

 he is accustomed, even at the loss of a little time. 



A pawn is taken "en passant " at Malay chess, as with 

 us. That a refinement of the game such as this should exist 

 among a primitive race is curious, but it is well established. 



The rules of the game mentioned so far contain nothing 

 which might not have been naturally developed from the same 

 form of the game which produced chess as now played in 

 Europe. The curious rules in force among Malays with re- 

 gard to the promotion of a pawn appear to be peculiar to Malay 

 chess only, and to have no parallel, so far as I can discover, in 

 other forms of chess, ancient or modern. 



In Europe any pawn reaching the eighth rank can at once 

 become a queen or any other piece at the option of the player. 

 In Malay chess a rook's pawn, so reaching the 8th rank, may 

 become a menteri or any other piece immediately, except that 

 it can only become a piece which is off the board ; it cannot 

 become a menteri if the menteri has not been taken. Should, 

 however, the pawn so advancing to the eighth rank be on any 

 other file, it does not acquire the privilege until it has played 

 back diagonally a sufficient number of moves to enable it to 

 reach the rook's file. Thus a pawn reaching knight's eighth 

 has to play back diagonally one square, on reaching bishop's 

 eighth, two squares, and on king's or queen's eighth, three 

 squares. It is not necessary to actually play the pawn to the 

 rook's file, but it must play back sufficiently far to have reach- 

 ed it. This curious rule makes winning by the odd pawn more 

 difficult that in the European game. 



There are other rules which tend to make it easier for the 

 weaker force to draw. The king if left alone on the board 

 must be mated in not more than seven moves or the game is 

 drawn. When the stronger force is barely sufficient to mate, 

 or the position is such as to make it difficult to mate in a few 

 moves, Malay players of the weaker force frequently try to 

 force the capture of these last remaining pawns or pieces, in 

 the hope of escaping defeat by this rule. 



Mate cannot be given by a discovered check. It is not good 

 form to exchange queens unless the game can be immediately 



Jour. Straits Branch 



