This is a "strong" variant of Shatranj, the first form of chess to which we have the rules. It was created as a bridge between modern Western [FIDE] chess and the historic game of Shatranj. It is meant to retain the flavor of Shatranj while having some of the flow of modern chess. To this end, there are two movement changes to the historic Shatranj, with the elephants and general becoming more powerful, and a change in the promotion rules. All else is as the historic game. It is not "modern" except in relation to the historic game. Modern Shatranj is the first in a series of shatranj variants that together offer a brief alternate history of chess. This game may be played using a standard chess set. http://www.chessvariants.org/index/msdisplay.php?itemid=MSmodernshatranj