Tamerlane chess is played on a ten-by-eleven board as well as two citadels - one to the left of the ninth row, the other to the right of the second row. Many unusual pieces were included in the game - visit the individual links above for each piece - but more interestingly is the unique promotion rules.

Most versions of Shatranj - and most other chess around the world - have identical pawns. However, Tamerlane does not. Each Baidaq piece is unique and is called a Piyade. Ten of the eleven Piyade belonged to one of the greater pieces on the ranks behind it and a pawn existed for each type - including the Shah. The final Piyade was the Pawn of Pawns. Promotion for nine of the Piyade was straightforward; when they reached the final rank, they promoted to the piece they were represented of. The exceptions were the Shah's pawn and the Pawn of Pawns.

When the Shah's pawn promotes it becomes a Shahzada - a Prince. This piece had the same moves as the Shah but could place itself in check. The opponent Shahzada would need to be taken as well as the Shah in order to win the game. The Shah is allowed to be placed in check or left in check if the Shahzada is on the board. If the Shah was captured, it could exchange itself with the Shahzada.

The Pawn of Pawns is even more intricate. When this pieces reaches the final rank for the first time, it must remain there; it cannot be captured while there and can only move under two limited conditions. If a square exists where a pawn at that location would be attacking another piece that cannot escape capture, the player may put the Pawn of Pawns on that square. The other condition happens when a place exists where a pawn gives a fork - meaning it would be attacking two pieces at the same time. If a piece already exists on that square - either allied or hostile - it is removed if the Piyade is placed there with the exception of a Shah. After this, the Pawn of Pawns moves as normal until it reaches the final rank a second time. Then it is placed on the starting square of the Shah's pawn (F3 or F8 in the above staring arrangement). If it can reach the final rank a third time, it promotes to a Sha Masnu 'A - an Adventitious King. The Sha Masnu 'A moves like the Shah and needs to be captured before the game can be won. It also lets the Shah be allowed to be placed in check. Again, if the Shah was captured, it could exchange itself with the Sha Masnu 'A.

The Shah is the only piece that can enter the opposite citadel - the citadel on the opponent's side of the board. If the Shah can reach that citadel, the game may end and be declared a draw. However, some research implies the game could continue if the Shah could trade places with the Shahzada or the Sha Masnu 'A - as long as the later piece was not in the other citadel. The Sha Masnu 'A was the only piece that could enter the citadel on its player's side of the board. This action was done to prevent the opponent Shah from entering.

A further option for the Shah was to once per game exchange places with any arbitrary friendly piece - as long as that piece was not in check (presuming neither the Prince nor Adventitious King were present) and was not the Sha Masnu 'A in a citadel. This option was usually reserved for when the Shah was in check with no means of escape. If the Shah was taken but the Sha Masnu 'A was in a citadel, the player most likely placed the exchanged Shah on any unoccupied square of his choice. The exact rule is unknown but this seems probable.

It would seem that the Shah has many means of escape and the game could be lengthy to complete. However, the Shah's Pawn and Pawn of Pawn were prime targets to prevent reaching the final rank and promoting so the Shah most likely usually only had one escape option - that of the one-time exchange with an allied piece.

The rest of the rules were almost the same as in Shatranj. The only exception might have been the bare king rule; it is not known if it was used or not so that should be up to the individual players if they choose to include it. A checkmate (of all kings of one side) or a stalemate were definitely considered wins.