The History Of Chess

The true age of the game known to the western world as chess is some what of a mystery. Several unsubstantiated theories placed the date of the invention of chess far earlier than can be supported by historic evidence. According to one tale, the game of chess was invented about 1000 B.C., by an Indian mathematician who is also credited with the invention of the concept of powers in mathematics. Also there are unsubstantiated stories pushing the date of chess as far back as 3000 years ago, based on archeological discoveries in Egypt, Iraq, and India. However, since there is no mention of the game in ancient literature before the year A.D. 570, many historians have categorically recognized that date to be the birth date of chess. The first mention of the game of chess is in a Persian poem dated A.D. 600 according to which the advent of chess took place in India. The introduction of chess from India into ancient Iran (Persia) during the reign of King Chosroe I Anushiravan (531-579), is described in a Persian book dated 650-750. The same book describes chess terminology and the name and the functions of the pieces in great detail. Mentions of the game of chess are found in the poems of Firdousi, a Persian poet living at the turn of the 10th century A.D. In a poem he describes gifts being introduced by a convoy from the Rajah of India at the court of the Persian king Chosroe I. Anushiravan. Among these gifts, according to the poem, there was a game which depicted the battle of two armies. After the Persian empire was conquered by the Arab Moslems, the game of chess started to spread throughout the civilized world. Chess was introduced to the western world by the Moslems who conquered the lands from India and Persia to the East, and Spain to the West. The rout of the game of chess through different cultures and languages can be summed up in the following:

Indo Persian ----> Arabian ----> European.

Chess was brought to Spain by the Moors and the first reference toward chess in the Christian World is in the Catalonian Testament of A.D.1010. Although chess was known in Europe at earlier times. According to some legends, an expensive and elaborate chess set was given as a gift to Charlemagne (8th- 9th centuries) from the famous Moslem ruler Haroon-al-Rashid. There is also poetry describing chess being present at the court of the legendary King Arthur. Chess came to Germany in 10th-11th century, with the earliest reference in German literature made by a Monk, Froumund von Tegermsee written in 1030-1050. It is said that Svetoslav Surinj of Croatia beat the Venetian Doge Peter II in a game for the right to rule the Dalmatian towns. From Germany Chess spread into Italy and later England. The following diagram is the rout of Chess in Europe:

France---->Spain \ Germany---->Italy---->England
By the 10th -11th centuries, Chess was known in Scandinavia and later on in the 11th century it reach Bohemia from Italy. An essential archaeological discovery at Novgorod, Russia, which consisted of Chess pieces being of characteristically Muslim abstract, proved that before arriving from Europe, Chess had reached Russia directly through the Middle East. To this day, the names of Chess pieces in Russia indicate Persian and Arabic origins. In old Russian folk poems there are mentions of Chess as a popular game. The present day European Chess was, however, brought to Russia from Italy, through Poland. There is a theory that Chess was brought into Russia by the Tartars who were the Mogul conquerors of the Far East and Middle East and who learned the game from the Persians and Arabs.Chess was forbidden in Europe for a period of time by the Christian church because often it was used for gambling and some claimed that it has signs of paganism in it. However, nothing could stop the growing popularity of the game which is proven by a great deal of literature that has been produced throughout the years regarding it. The oldest known chess related writings are from the middle of the 9th century from the Arab author Al-Adli. These writing known a Mansubat are discussed in the next section. The popularity of chess continued to grow and soon the entire world knew and cherished this most popular game of the ancient world. The following chart outlines the route through which and time when chess reached different parts of the world: Original form of Chess: It has been historically established that chess at its origins was a four sided game, meaning there were four sets of pieces. Hence, still today in many parts of the world, the original name Shatrang (derived from Indian Sanskrit, Chatur meaning "four," and anga meaning "detachment") is used. In Persian literature during the Sassanid dynasty (A.D. 242-651) a book has been discovered written in the Pahlavi (Middle Persian) language named, Chatrang namakwor, "A Manual of Chess. In modern Persian nearly the same word shatranj is used to refer to the game. Popular historical theory is that Shatrang (chess) according to ancient Indian mysticism represents the Universe. The four sides illustrate the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water; as well as the four seasons or the four "humors" of mankind. It is also said that the word chess is Driven from the Persian word "King" (Shah) and the term checkmate is Driven from the Persian term "The King died." The following is the conversion of the European names for the pieces of chess to the oldest version of these names still used in India, Iran, and many other parts of the world It should be noted that although the names used for Chess pieces in slightly different in different parts of the world but the form and movement of the pieces are almost identical. The Arab Moslems had perhaps more influence in the game of chess than any other culture. The name 'Chess' was originally Driven from the Persian word for King Shah and the term 'Mate' from the Arabic word mat, meaning dead. The contribution of the early Moslems to the games of chess include: Blindfold play, mentioned as early as 700 A.D., the advent of the first tournaments and qualifying contests, as early as the second half of the 8th century, the first known Chess problems, nearly at the same time, the writing of the first book on Chess was by Al-Adli about A.D. The writings of Al Adli contained openings, the first chess problems called "mansubat", and discussed the differences between the Persian and Hindu rules.Unfortunately, this valuable book is lost today. However in a Yugoslav library a valuable Arabic manuscript of the early 9th century which contained mansubat was discovered and later exhibited in 1958. Some of these mansubat (chess problems) were based on legends such as one called "the Dilaram mate." According to the legend, Dilaram was a chess player who gambled all that he had on the game and eventually lost everything. In haste he gambled his wife on one final game and because of his reckless behavior he was losing the game and the odds were against him until his wife noticed that he could mate his opponent in a few moves by sacrificing both of his rooks. So she whispered this in his ear and he won the game. The following table is a table of some of the oldest knownArabic usage still popular today for chess pieces and their meaning: Byzantine chess, Zatrikion played on a round board, but the chessmen and their moves are similar to Arabic style of the same period After the introduction of chess to Europe, there appeared many popular manuscripts of the game. Perhaps the most important and valuable of these manuscripts, from the Middle ages, is one authored by the Spanish king, Alfonso the Wise in 1283.This great work contains 150 miniatures in color, based on the original Persian paintings. Its chess include a collection of end games derived from Arabian literature. Chess was, early on, introduced to many cultures each of which contributed greatly to the reform of the game. Today the official game of chess is remarkably very well preserved and not much different from the original played in Indian nearly 1430 years ago.