The Traditional Board Game Series Leaflet #44: Sittuyin SITTUYIN emy piece by moving one of his tured. But if a player's king is by Damian Walker own pieces onto the enemy’s threatened with capture, a situation square, at which point the captured called check , it must be moved or piece is removed from play. This is protected on the player’s own turn. the only time a piece may land on a Ending the Game square that is not currently empty. 11. All pieces can capture 13. The game is ended if a pieces within the range of their or- player's king is threatened with cap- dinary move, except the soldier, ture, and he cannot move it to safety which must instead move diagon- or otherwise protect it on his own ally forward to capture. A soldier turn. This is checkmate , and he cannot move straight forward to loses the game. capture. 14. Stalemate is not allowed in 12. The king may not be cap- sittuyin. A player must leave his opponent with some legal move. FURTHER I NFORMATION As has already been mentioned, accounts of the game are often imprecise and contradictory. The list of books consulted for this leaflet is no excep- tion, but is given here so the reader can look further into the game. Bell, R. C. Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations , vol. 2, pp. 28-30. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1979. Bell, R. C. Discovering Old Board Games , pp. 24-26. Aylesbury: Shire Publications Ltd., 1980. Falkener, E. Games Ancient and Oriental , pp. 178-190. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1961. Murray, H. J. R. A History of Chess , pp. 108-113. Oxford: The Clar- endon Press, 1913. Parlett, D. The Oxford History of Board Games , pp. 294-295. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Copyright © Damian Walker 2011 - http://boardgames.cyningstan.org.uk/ Board Games at C YNINGSTAN Traditional Board Game Series (Second Edition) 4 Leaflet #44 The Traditional Board Game Series Leaflet #44: Sittuyin The Traditional Board Game Series Leaflet #44: Sittuyin his major pieces anywhere behind square; INTRODUCTION & H ISTORY his soldiers. (iv). the horseman moves one Sittuyin is a form of chess otherwise ity till the twentieth century, being 3. It is permissible to place a step diagonally and then one step known as Burmese chess . It is of still played in Mandalay in 1950 major piece on a square already oc- horizontally or vertically away from unknown antiquity, but chess is and in the north-west Burma even cupied by a soldier, in which case his current position, jumping over thought to have been brought from today. It is traditionally played sat the soldier is moved to another any piece in his way; India by the seventh century, with on the ground, and the board is empty square behind the soldiers’ (v). the chariot moves horizont- the migration of Buddhism. The made in the form of a shallow box line. ally or vertically as far as the player Burmese game has some similarit- to make this more comfortable for 4. When the red pieces are all wishes, though it cannot jump over ies with older Indian and Persian the players. The box usually has placed, the black player deploys his other pieces; forms of chess. But where western drawers for the black and red pieces in the same manner. (vi). the soldier moves one step chess speeds up the game by giving wooden pieces, which are ornately 5. Once all the pieces have forward to the next square, unless some of the pieces more powerful carved as realistic figures. been placed, the movement phase of capturing, when he moves one step moves, Burmese chess keeps the Sittuyin was first described in the game begins, with red making diagonally forward. older moves of the pieces but brings English in about 1800, and accounts the first move. 7. No piece may land on a square already occupied, unless it is them closer into contact at the start down the past two centuries have Moving the Pieces of the game. This gives the feeling been contradictory. This leaflet re- making a capture. of a close melee. lies mainly on the books of H. J. R. 6. In his turn a player moves 8. If a soldier sits on the diag- The game has kept its popular- Murray and David Parlett. one piece, each piece having its onal line on the far side of the own special mode of movement: board, and if the player has no com- HOW TO P LAY (i). the king may move a single mander in play, then the player may Sittuyin is played two elephants , a step in one of promote the sol- on an unchequered commander and eight directions to dier to a com- board of eight the king . an adjacent mander instead of rows of eight square; making a move. Beginning the squares. A line (ii). the com- 9. A soldier Game joins the each of mander moves one cannot be pro- the extreme diag- 1. The game step diagonally, to moted once he has onals together begins with the an adjacent passed the diagon- from corner to soldiers only set square; al line at the far corner. Pieces are on the board, in (iii). an ele- side of the board. phant may move red and black, and the layout shown Capturing one step diagon- for each side con- in Illustration 1. Enemies ally or one step sist of eight sol- 2. The red Illustration 2: the moves of the pieces. Only diers , two chari- Illustration 1: Soldiers set out for play. The player begins the directly forward, the chariot (bottom right) may move as far 10. A player ots , two horsemen , major pieces are set out at the discretion the game by placing to an adjacent as it pleases, and only the horseman (top may capture an en- players. right) can jump. 2 3.