Shatranj Ke Khiladi Summary: Premchand’s Chess Players, Characters and Themes

About this novel

Shatranj Ke Khiladi (“The Chess Players”) is a famous short story by Munshi Premchand, published in Hindi in 1924. Premchand also wrote an Urdu version, Shatranj ki Bazi (شطرنج کی بازی). Set in Lucknow on the eve of the British annexation of Awadh in 1856, it is a sharp satire on a ruling class too busy with its pleasures to defend its own kingdom.

Summary of Shatranj Ke Khiladi

Lucknow in the days of Wajid Ali Shah

Under Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, Lucknow is a city of pleasure. From the palace to the bazaar, everyone is lost in music, dance, poetry, kite-flying and games. Two noblemen, Mirza Sajjad Ali and Mir Roshan Ali, spend every day playing chess. They play from morning until night, forgetting food, family and every other duty.

Trouble at home

Mirza’s wife, Begum Sahiba, is fed up with the endless games. When her husband ignores her even while she is unwell, she loses her temper and throws the chess pieces away. The two friends move their game to Mir’s house, where Mir’s wife is equally unhappy to have them around all day.

Hiding from duty

Meanwhile the British are preparing to take over Awadh. When word comes that noblemen may be called on to serve, the two friends are afraid of being dragged into a war. So they slip away to a lonely, ruined mosque across the river Gomti to play in peace.

The fall of Lucknow

While they play, British troops march into Lucknow and take Wajid Ali Shah prisoner. The kingdom falls without a fight. The two friends see the Nawab being taken away, feel a moment of pity, and then return to their game. They are far more worried about saving the king on the chessboard than the king of Awadh.

The ending

Finally, Mirza loses a game and angrily accuses Mir of cheating. The quarrel turns into insults about each other’s families, and both men draw their swords. Two noblemen who would not lift a sword for their kingdom kill each other over a game of chess. Only the chess pieces remain, sitting on the board as if mourning them.

Characters

• Mirza Sajjad Ali: a nobleman obsessed with chess.
• Mir Roshan Ali: his friend and chess partner.
• Begum Sahiba: Mirza’s frustrated wife.
• Wajid Ali Shah: the last Nawab of Awadh.

Themes

• The decline of a ruling class: pleasure and indifference cost Awadh its freedom.
• Misplaced courage: the men are brave about a game, cowardly about their country.
• Irony: the chessboard king is defended more fiercely than the real one.

The film

Satyajit Ray adapted the story into the 1977 film Shatranj Ke Khilari, which won India’s National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The film changes the ending: the two friends survive.

About Munshi Premchand

Premchand (1880–1936), born Dhanpat Rai Srivastava near Varanasi, is called the father of the modern Urdu and Hindi short story. He wrote hundreds of stories and several novels, first in Urdu and later in Hindi, about village life, justice, honesty and the struggles of ordinary people.

Frequently asked questions

Who are the chess players? Mirza Sajjad Ali and Mir Roshan Ali, two noblemen of Lucknow.

When is the story set? In 1856, when the British annexed Awadh and removed Wajid Ali Shah.

How does the story end? The two friends quarrel over the game and kill each other with their swords.

Read more guides in our Urdu Classics section, including Idgah, Kafan and Umrao Jaan Ada.