Another great game sent to us by Dr. Rene Gralla from Hamburg, Germany. This game “Mat-al-Magnun” translated: “The mate of the foolish people” in Shatranj, has been reconstructed by Mr. Gralla and it is supposed to be the oldest game ever, even older than the famous game between as-Suli and al-Lajlaj that is already in our data bank. It is highly probable that some unsuspecting players have fallen into the trap of the “Mat-al-Magnun” for it is a given fact that as long as it is possible to goof a game like this, there will always be some unlucky players who will throw away their games like that - like the dreaded “Scholar’s Mate” that happens OTB over and over again at the amateur level.

Fers (Queen), moves one square diagonally

Al-fil (Bishop), moves 2 squares diagonally