PARALYSED...The Art of Madrasi Chess with IM Narayan Shankar Ram!
19/10/2024 - What happens when pieces of the same type but opposite colour attack each other? In standard chess, nothing out of the ordinary occurs, besides it sometimes heightening the tension on the board or lending a dash of visual drama. There's, however, a fascinating variant of chess where such a confrontation leaves both pieces paralysed — that is, unable to move, capture, or even check! The delightful peculiarities spawned by invoking this condition were first explored by the Indian problemist Abdul Jabbar Karwatkar in 1979. Karwatkar lived in southern India, in Vaniyambadi near Chennai, formerly known as Madras. Hence, the variant came to be known as Madrasi Chess. While it's possible to play entire games of Madrasi chess, its primary appeal lies in the uncanny possibilities it offers problem composers. In this article, we delve into some of these possibilities through the creations of India's first International Master of Chess Composition, Narayan Shankar Ram.
