 
Early Chess
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The true origin of the game of Chess is not
clear. Some Legends attribute its invention to the Biblical King
Solomon, or to the Greek god Hermes, or to the Chinese mandarin
Hansing. But most probably originated in India sometime around the 6th or 7th
century AD. From there the game crossed into Persia (now Iran), then to Europe. The
word Chess is thought to be derived from "shah," the Persian word for king, and
the word checkmate from shah mat, meaning "the king is dead."
The earliest written mention of a Chesslike game appeared around 600 AD, and
the fact that it was mentioned without an explanation suggests that it was already well
known by that time. Chess is one of a group of games related from Chaturanga,
a game believed to have originated in India in the 6th century
or perhaps earlier, which itself may be related to a much older
Chinese game. Chaturanga is a Sanskrit word referring to the
four arms (or divisions) of an Indian army:
elephants, cavalry, chariots, and infantry, from which come the four types
of pieces in that game.
It was not
only two quoted texts that strengthened the belief for China as the birthplace of
Chess, but also the circular bronze and ivory counters for the
astrological Hsiang Hsi and for the war game Hsiang Chhi found during
excavations. Similar finds are totally lacking in India. Indeed, India is
a Chess Sahara Desert for archaeological finds, written documents, literature, early
references, legends or anything akin.
Chaturanga
spreaded eastward from Korea to Japan. It also appeared in Persia after the
Islamic conquest (638-651). In Persia the game was
first called chatrang, the Persian form of chaturanga and then shatranj the
Arabic form of the word. The spread of Islam to
Sicily and the invasion of Spain by the Moors brought shatranj to
Western Europe. It reached Russia through trade routes from several
directions. By the end of the 10th
century, the game was wel l known throughout Europe. It
attracted the serious interest of kings, philosophers and poets, and the best players
recorded their games for posterity. Problems, or puzzles, in which the solver has to find
a solution (such as a forced Check- mate in a
given number of moves) became very popular during the
12th and 13th centuries.
Modern Chess
The game of Chess as it
exists today emerged in southern Europe toward the end of the 15th
century. Some of the old shatranj rules were modified, new rules were added
such as Castling, the two-square Pawn advance, and the 'en passant' capture, and the
powers of certain pieces were increased. The most important
changes turned the fers counselor a weak piece in shatranj,
into the Queen, the strongest piece in Chess, and the alfil which moved
in two-square steps into the far-ranging Chess Bishop. The
new game achieved popularity all over Europe. Some of the best
players of the15th and sixteenth centuries, notably Ruy Lopez of
Spain and Damiano of Portugal, recorded their games
and theories in widely circulated books of chess instruction.
The Chess game
had settled exactly into its modern form, from which it is unlikely to
depart. An interesting encounter between the players of the modern form of
chess and a player of the old Indian version occured between 1929 and 1933 when Mir
Sultan Khan became British Champion and defeated the World
Champion Alkehine, and the former World Champion Jose Capablanca. In
practice, the variations within the given laws are inexhaustible, so while
there are many Chess variants, there is neither reason nor temptation
to alter the modern game.
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