Shatranj Opening Theory: Muraddad, Post #294/2025--History and Opening Theory.

Miss Andalucía, Ana Rosas Rodriguez.

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Muraddad--To and Fro CLICk THIS LINK!

Muraddad

Muraddad, 19 moves--it takes 19 moves to reach the tabiya. - Moved to and fro

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The name "moved to-and-fro" comes from the maneuver of the knights: first they jump to a3 and h3, then back to c2 and f2. What are the problems of playing the opening in shatranj?

For one, the pawns get in the way of the only really powerful pieces, the rooks and knights, which are stuck in the corners of the board. The slowness of the pawns--they only advance one square at a time--insures that the rooks and knights cannot get out for several moves.

The slowness of the game complicates the Yasser Seirawan dictum, "invite everybody to the party." Getting all your men into action is often so maddening as to be futile, as the fils only control 8 squares on the board anyway. In chess, the bishops can chop off knights almost willy-nilly; the fils only can catch knights if the opponent is not paying attention.

Gambits don't exist in shatranj. Loss by Bare King is a rule, so giving up one pawn is like giving up the game completely. How then, to play the opening? Much as you see here. The pawns advance in a mass, seeking to block the opponent's play. In doing this, shatranj more closely mimics actual medieval military strategy than does chess. Exchanging pawns only serves to free the rooks, as the other pieces can all creep around the pawn structure.

It is noteworthy that in this opening White is expanded on the kingside, and is bringing his knights to bear. The apex of Shatranj tactics was shah-rukh, forking the king and rook with a knight. The Muraddad may look slow, but in shatranj terms it is quite aggressive, as White sends his knights up the board seeking shah-rukh.

Remember, White is not going to castle queenside. That rule hadn't been invented yet.

How will White proceed? Probably something along the lines of h4, then Fh3, Kc2 and Raf1, bringing the other rook behind the f-pawn. Of course all this depends on what Black does, and Black can choose any of the sixteen tabiyat in the literature. I'll try to get to that at the end of the series.