Page:Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (IA journalof495019071908roya).pdf/116

 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 mentĕri or any other piece immediately, except that it can only become a piece which is off the board; it cannot become a mentĕri if the mentěri 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