Shatranj was almost identical to the original Indian game of Chaturanga. The board was an eight-by-eight uncheckered gird. The number of pieces, what they represented, and their moves were the same. The only differences were now the Shah (King) and the Firzan (General) were facing their respective opponents on the same file - as they do now in modern Western chess - and the Baidaq (Pawn) always promoted to a Firzan regardless of where it began on the board, where it promoted, or if other allied Firzans were still present. Everything else was mostly the same.

The game was also very similar to the modern international chess game. The board is the same save it is now checkered. The pieces are almost the same save some represent different symbols while the movements are identical for all but three pieces. Those three differences, however, radically alter the play of the game.

The Firzan is the ancestor of the modern Queen but has a vastly more limited option of movement. It may only move one square diagonally a time, meaning it can only cover half the board - and never crossed paths with the opponent Firzan. Similarly, the Fil (Elephant) - the ancestor to the modern Bishop - was also quite limited. It could leap to the second square diagonally but this movement meant that each Fil could only reach eight squares on the entire board and could neither support its allied Fil nor attack either of the opponent Fils. The third difference in movement for individual pieces was the Baidaq, which did not have the initial double-step present in modern Pawns. These three differences alone caused the games of Shatranj to begin and play very slowly. So slowly, in fact, many players had the tendency to all but ignore the actions of their opponent in the early game and instead focus on moving their pieces into a favored position.

The en passant and castling rules had not been invented yet.

Two ways to win in Shatranj were by checkmating the opponent Shah or stalemating the opponent. Checkmate was considered the most honorable way to win and - if playing for a wager - was worth the full prize; a stalemate was worth less, usually only half. A third way to win was to bare king the opponent - meaning the only piece the opponent has not lost is the Shah; this was also considered a less favorable victory and worth only half a wager. However, if that Shah can bare king the other player on the next move after it has been bared, the game is a draw.