A Brief History of Chess

Matt Jones — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:23:45 +0000

Chess, originally known as Chaturanga and played using dice was invented in Northwest India. Dice was thrown by a player to determine the next piece to be moved. Initially the game had four participants, which is why it was called Chaturanga “four bodies”. These four participants were elephants, horses, foot soldiers and chariots. This game is among the oldest games that are still in existence and was invented sometime between the 5th and 6th century. The Indian King (Rajah) believed that the most effective way to learn decision making, valor values, bravery, circumspection and endurance was through war. Due to this belief war became the game’s model.

Sir William Jones had the game exported into Persia from India under its name Chaturanga. The Persians changed its name to Chatrang and when Arabs took possession of the country they changed the name further to Shatranj. Chess playing spread simultaneously to Russia and Arabs continuing with the transition to the form it is today before being embraced in Europe. The most current form of chess came as a result of the above evolution. The largest chess figures in Europe are Lewis chess-pieces that date back from 12th century.

Chess book was among the first books to be printed in English on a particular subject. The book known as “The game and playe of chesse” was a 1474 publishing. During those years/times the rules of the game differed somewhat from the rules applied in modern chess. The game finally settled into the form it is currently, which it may not depart from. Checkmate is an Arab term referred to as Shah Mat. Shah means, “the king” while mat means “loss”. Shah mat therefore translates to “the king loses” which is a perfect checkmate description. Previously this game had preeminence among upper class intellectuals and is also referred to as the “royal game”.

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A Brief History of Chess