View source for Shatranj

===Notable players===
During the reign of the [[Arab]] [[caliph]]s, shatranj players of highest class were called ''aliyat'' or grandees.{{sfn|Murray|1913}} There were only a few players in this category including:
* '''Jabir al-Kufi''', '''Rabrab''' and '''Abun-Naam''' were three aliyat players during the rule of caliph [[al-Ma'mun]].
* '''[[Al-Adli ar-Rumi|Al-Adli]]''' was the strongest player during the rule of caliph [[al-Wathiq]]. At this time he was the only player in aliyat category.
* '''[[Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi|Al-Razi]]''' ([[Persians|Persian]] [[polymath]]) in 847 won a match against an already old al-Adli in the presence of caliph [[al-Mutawakkil]] and so become a player of aliyat category.
* '''[[Abu-Bakr Muhammad ben Yahya as-Suli|As-Suli]]''' was the strongest player during the reign of caliph [[al-Muktafi]]. Al-Razi was already dead and there were no players of comparable strength before as-Suli appeared on the scene. In the presence of al-Muktafi he easily won a match against a certain al-Mawardi and thus proved that he was the best player of that time. As-Suli considered Rabrab and al-Razi as the greatest of his predecessors.
* '''Al-Lajlaj''' was a pupil of as-Suli and also a great shatranj master of his time.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}