Senterej
Senterej is the Ethiopian chess . It has been played for centuries. Reports date back to 1809 that the Tigre knew this game. They took over the game from the Arabs , which is also suggested by the names of the characters.
The figures
| Surname | meaning | equivalent to |
|---|---|---|
| Negus | king | king |
| Heel | minister | lady |
| Fil, Saba | elephant | runner |
| Ferese (Arabic: Faras) | horse | Jumper |
| Of the | Castle | tower |
| Medeq (Arabic: Baidaq) | Farmer | Farmer |
The heel moves one square diagonally like in Schatrandsch . The fil moves two squares diagonally and, like the knight, can jump over pieces on the square in between. (In some sources there was talk of "three fields diagonally", which can be explained by the fact that the original field was also counted.)
Unlike in the known chess there before the game a " mobilization phase " werera called. Both players can move pieces as quickly or slowly as they want - without waiting for the opponent to move! A kind of castling is also possible. Werera ends as soon as the first piece is captured. From this point both pull alternately.
swell
- Murray: A history of Chess , Oxford 1913
- Richard Parnkhust: In: Issue of Ethiopian Review Magazine ( January 2, 2012 memento in the Internet Archive ), May / June 1971
