It was invented in India and its original INDIAN name was Chaturanga. Centuries later, the French called it Esches, which became simply Chess. John Chess, Inventor of Chess, Named Chess after his last name.
As per legend, chess originated around 200 B.C. Hán Xin, a commander, invented chess to represent an important battle in the history of China. The game was soon forgotten and resurfaced in China with new rules in the 7th century A.D. Chess became popular with the name XiangQi, which meant elephant game.
Legend has it that chess was invented around 200 B. C. by a commander, Hán Xin, who invented the game as a battle simulator. Soon after winning the battle, the game was forgotten, but it resurfaced in the 7th century. For the Chinese, Chess was invented by the mythical Emperor Shennong or by his successor, Huangdi.
Chess (chaturanga) is thought to have originated in India around 600 CE. The Indian game was adopted by the Persians (as shatranj) and then reached the West through the Arab conquest of Spain. Simply put, in chess, two opposing teams of white and black pieces face each other on an 8 x 8 chequered square board.
Chess first appeared in India about the 6th century CE. By the 10th century it had spread from Asia to the Middle East and Europe. Some regard the game chaturanga to be the precursor of modern chess because of the different piece abilities and the win condition being the capture of a singular piece (king).
Chaturanga was flourishing in northwestern India by the 7th century and is regarded as the earliest precursor of modern chess because it had two key features found in all later chess variants—different pieces had different powers (unlike checkers and go), and victory was based on one piece, the king of modern chess.
Where Did Chess Originate? The earliest form of the game that's now called chess can be dated back to India in the sixth century. Like the modern game, this predecessor, called chaturanga (or catur) was played on an 8x8 grid and featured pieces generally similar to those of modern chess.
Muslim scholars tend to place chess, a skill-based game, in a different category from games of chance, such as dice, but frown upon it if it distracts a person from performing the five daily prayers. Placing bets under any circumstances is forbidden.
The history of chess can be traced back nearly 1500 years to its earliest known predecessor, called chaturanga, in India; its prehistory is the subject of speculation. From India it spread to Persia.
The Royal Game of Ur
The Royal Game of Ur is the oldest playable boardgame in the world, originating around 4,600 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. The game's rules were written on a cuneiform tablet by a Babylonian astronomer in 177 BC.
The queen (♕, ♛) is the most powerful piece in the game of chess. It can move any number of squares vertically, horizontally or diagonally , combining the powers of the rook and bishop. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of the first rank next to the king.
Chess has been called the “game of kings” and pious Christian legend attributed its invention to King Solomon himself. Hindu legend says that it came from a wise man who invented the game to instruct a tyrannical king named Shimram what his subjects were actually like, hence the variety of characters on the board.
Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Champion, widely considered the "father of modern chess," extensively analyzed various double king-pawn openings (beginning 1. e4 e5) in his book The Modern Chess Instructor, published in 1889 and 1895.
It's also known that Einstein could play chess, though he reportedly disliked the competitive aspect. That said, he was a great player, even though he never really pursued the game.
Archaeological finds in Novgorod confirm that chess came to Russia from the Middle East, not during the Mongol invasion of the Rus'. The names of chess pieces have Persian and Arabian roots. Unique chess pieces made by Novgorod masters in the 14th century make unique finds.
The original chess was invented in China, right around 200 B.C., by a military commander named Hán Xin ("Hahn Sheen"). The game was designed to represent a particular battle, anticipated by Hán Xin's troops as they waited out the winter holding their ground.
Beethoven's music, chess and everything that was interpreted as a sign of “decadent capitalism” was banned in China during the Cultural Revolution (1965-1976) — a sociopolitical movement that saw millions arrested and killed during the last years of Mao Zedong's regime.
1. Russia - 211. Another 22 players currently competing under the "FIDE" flag used to represent Russia until recently.
1. The Pawn. The pawn is the lowest-value piece on the chessboard, and there are eight pawns per player.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has withdrawn from the world's biggest international chess tournament in protest at hosts India holding a torch relay for the event through the disputed Kashmir valley, officials said Thursday.
Is chess “haram” and “unIslamic”? For brief while, fundamentalist Islamic “scholars” — from both Sunni and Shia camps — decreed it is and banned the game. Saudi Arabia's grand mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh once ruled that chess is forbidden in Islam, saying it encourages gambling and is a waste of time.
Historical accounts about chess vary as many claim that Arabs taught it to westerners through Andalusia and during the Crusades. However, it remains unclear where the game originated from as many trace its roots to India while others trace them to China.
For a long time chess was a predominantly male activity and players achieved ratings by playing in all male tournaments. When women started to play they were at a much lower level and so all female tournaments started to get organised, which resulted in women achieving 'female' ratings.
It's not often that people associate Vikings with playing games. So it might surprise you to know that they played a version of chess for more than 1000 years. These chess-like games were known as Tafl games and they were once popular in medieval Scandinavia.
Then at some point, it became customary and later a rule for white to move first. Supposedly black is the lucky color, and they said it would be too much of an advantage for a player to have the lucky color (black) AND move first!