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Nava chess
Nava chess is a variant for four players. It is played on a regular 8 by 8 squares chess board with regular pieces. It is a chess variant invented in 2018 and is inspired by the ancient Chaturanga (resp. Chaturanji). The term Nava, which is sanskrit for new, is the short form of Chaturanga Nava, which means new Chaturanga.

The rules of Nava

It is played in two teams. Each players has eight pieces which start in one of the corners. This is the initial position. Each player has four pawns, one of each minor pieces, a tower and a king. The game works with two common chess sets with distinguishable light and dark figures. The figures must be clearly assigned to a player. There is no queen on the board at the beginning of the game. The goal is to beat both kings of the opposing team. There is no check, no mate and no stalemate, no double step for pawns, no "en passant" and no castling. The pieces move as in chess, with the exception of the pawns, two of them move in the direction of one opponent and the other two in the direction of the other opponent. The players take turns counterclockwise. White begins. The players may consult in advance, but not during the game. The king can be taken like any other figure. There is zugzwang. If a king is in a stalemate position, he has to make one last move. If a king is defeated, the associated player is out of play. Now the remaining teammate can take over the remaining pieces. Nevertheless, he is only allowed to move once and only one piece per round. Pieces of your own team can be beaten, if necessary.

Peculiarities of Nava

The pawns hardly get into the center of the board. Since each player has only one bishop and the players of a team face each other, they each have a bishop of the same square color. A bishop of the other square color can be achieved for a team only by pawn promotion. Pawns can be converted when they reach the end of the board in their moving direction. A pawn can be converted into a knight, bishop or tower by the players choice. A queen can be obtained when the king gets to the center field farthest from his starting position. The queen is placed on the appropriate center square, the king is removed from the game. The queen now has the function of the king. Any team can give up at any time or offer a draw.