Scientists differ in their opinions what was the first variant of chess.
Especially in the end of the 19th century, there were chess historians who believed that a variant of chess for four players, Chaturanga or Chaturaji, was the first variant. Two player variants would be, in this theory, formed by unifying two armies, replacing the second king by a different piece. The game is fun to play, with or without dice, although it seems a game of mostly luck and little skill when the game is played with dice. Go to Chaturanga for four players WWW page made by Hans Bodlaender .