History of Chess

You might be quite surprised to know that chess, one of the most popular games of contemporary times, history can be traced back to an Indian board game called Chaturanga. To know more about it read on.

a painting of Radha and Krishna playing Chaturanga (image source: wikipedia)

Chess is one of the most popular board games of the present times. The history of chess is as fascinating as the game itself. Its origins can be traced back to an Indian game called chaturanga which is believed to have been around for more than 1500 years. Despite some ambiguity, it is believed that chaturanga is the common ancestor of the board games chess (European), xiangqi (Chinese), janggi (Korean), shogi (Japanese), sittuyin (Burmese), and makruk (Thai).

According to a widely accepted hypothesis, India's mathematical innovation involving the invention of the number zero is what led to the development of the game. There have been also discoveries of pieces on a board that resemble chaturanga from the city of Lothal in the Indus Valley civilization from between 2000 and 3000 B.C. However, the earliest explicit mention of Chaturanga is found the Gupta empire around the 6th century CE. It was modified by Arabians as Shatranj in Sassanid Persia in the 7th century. It was this variation of the game which was later adopted by the Europeans during the Middle Ages and, with some adjustments, is now known as chess.

Chaturanga starting set up from Rajasthan (image source: wikipedia)

The Sanskrit word chaturanga means "having four limbs or parts". The name is derived from a battle configuration stated in the Mahabharata, an Indian epic, which referred to four army divisions: elephantry, chariotry, cavalry, and infantry.

A carpet with ashtapada board details displayed in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha (image source: wikipedia)

Traditionally, chaturanga is played on an *ashtapada (*which in Sanskrit meant ‘having eight feet’), an 8x8 board resembling the chess board but with additional markings. Although two or three players may also participate, chaturanga is often played by four people. It is well suited for team play 2 vs. 2. Temporal alliances are subject to a few different game rules, although given the nature of human nature, these rules typically come into play spontaneously.

There are six Chaturanga pieces in the game : Raja (King), Mantri or Senapati (ancestor of ferz; early form of queen), Ratha (chariot; rook), Gaja (elephant), Ashva (horse, knight), Bhata (foot soldier, pawn). Each participant assumes the character of an old Indian king called a Rajah. The goal of the game is to defeat your rivals in order to checkmate the opponent's Raja and become the Maharajah, or "great king." This is accomplished through a deft blending of politics and military employing basic yet deft dice-throwing and strategic positional play.

Modern day chess (image source: www.chessset.com)

The first introduction of the modern chess in the West was by Thomas Hyde's De ludis orientalibus libri duo, which was released in 1694. Later, Sir William Jones released translations of the game's Sanskrit accounts. Chess became popular all throughout the world, and numerous variations of the game soon emerged.

Reliable reference materials, competitive chess tournaments, intriguing new variations, and more can all be found in modern history. These elements helped to increase the game's appeal, which was then supported by dependable timing mechanisms (first developed in 1861), useful rules, and engaging players.

The most popular playing method from the late 18th century through the 1880s was known as "romantic chess." Chess games during this time period prioritized short tactical moves over long-term strategic preparation. Modern chess tournament play started in the second half of the 19th century, and the first recognised World Chess Championship took place in 1886. The World Chess Federation was founded in July 20, 1924 in Paris, France. In the widely popular match of 1997 between Deep Blue, an IBM supercomputer defeated Garry Kasparov, the reigning world chess champion ushering the game into an era of computer domination.

Since then, computer analysis, which began in the 1970s with the release of the first commercially available programmed chess games, has greatly influenced the growth of chess theory and grown to be a crucial component of professional human chess preparation. The public now has access to computer analysis techniques that are far superior to those of any human player thanks to later breakthroughs in the 21st century. In the twenty-first century, online gaming, which originally appeared in the middle of the 1990s, has also gained a lot of popularity.