The History of Chess

Chess is a simple-looking game until you actually start playing. When you delve into the world of chess, you notice the intricacies that could leave you baffled. If you have already played chess you might know how beautifully complex the game is. This game has changed and developed in many ways over the years. But owing to its complexity and sheer intelligence its origin is indeed intriguing to many people. Who must have started a game that helps sharpen your mind? And why? Who had the opportunity to play it? Questions like these arise when you continue to think about it. 

Chess, or as it was called Chaturanga originated in northern India in the 6th century AD and spread to Persia. The history of Chess goes back to almost 1500 years, while some of the famous theories that we use today can be traced back to the 14th-15th century. Just to give a perspective, Football and Cricket both started in the late 19th century. Many chess historians believe that chaturanga is the common ancestor to board games like xiangqi, janggi, shogi, sittuyin, and of course, modern-day CHESS. Chaturanga is a Sanskrit word that means 'four-limbed' or 'four arms' which refers to the ancient army divisions of infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry. In modern chess, the infantry has developed into a pawn, cavalry into the knight, elephantry into the bishop, and chariotry into the rook.

Chess spread to the Muslim world when the Arabs conquered Persia and because of the Moorish conquest of Spain, it spread to Southern Europe. The name Chaturanga evolved into Shatranj due to the lack of ch and ng sounds in the Arabic language. The rules were also changed during this time. The opponent tried to threaten and attack the king which was called 'Shāh' and when there is an attack and the King is unable to save himself or is helpless then it is called 'Shāh Māt'. 'Shāh' is the modern-day 'check' to the king and 'Shāh Māt' is checkmate.

Chess came to Russia from the Middle East according to the archaeological findings in  Novgorod and not during the Mongol invasion of the Rus'. The names of the chess pieces also have Persian and Arabic roots. It is believed that many Russian rulers were fascinated by this game. In Europe, the movements of the pieces subsequently changed in the 15th century and modern-day Chess is much closer to this. In modern-day Chess, the king is the most powerful, and without who there is no game of Chess. Second to it is the Queen. Queen is the most powerful piece on the board controlling the maximum number of squares. Although two rooks sometimes have greater power than a single queen. But this was not the case earlier. The queen and even the rook remained relatively weak until the late 15th century. The increase in the power of the queen can be paralleled against the rise of Queen Isabella of Spain. Queen Isabella was the Queen of Castile, who inspired the figure of the queen in modern chess.

Chess tournaments began only in the second half of the 19th century. Now, in every game of chess we have the clock but not until 1883 where they used it. The first world chess championship was held in 1886. And before this, there was no official championship that was held even though some among many were considered to be elite players. In 1927, chess Olympiads were conducted. They are chess events open to all national teams. They are also conducted under the guidance of FIDE. Since 1950 they are conducted once every two years. From 1948 the world chess federation or FIDE as it is popularly known was held. FIDE(Fédération Internationale des Échecs) is the world chess organization. It decides and regulates the rules and conducts the world championships. It was founded on 20 July 1924 in Paris, France.

Today chess has gained significant popularity and is extremely accessible. The popularity of the Netflix show "The Queen's Gambit" shows how much the game is beloved today. Unlike the olden times, anybody can learn and play chess. Are you also inspired to learn chess after reading about its origin?