History of Chess:
Origin of the Game
Origin of Chess
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Fig. 1: A modern day Chess Board
Today, we will take
a look at where it
all started.
Which country is
believed to have
invented the game
of chess? Any
guesses?
It all started in India
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In the 6th century A.D., when the
Gupta Empire ruled in India, a
game called Chaturaṅga was fast
gaining popularity
Chaturaṅga, translates as "four
divisions (of the military)":
infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and
chariotry, represented by the
pieces that would evolve into the
modern pawn, knight, bishop,
and rook, respectively
Fig. 2: An illustration of one of
the supposed ways in which
Chaturanga was played
Why Chaturaṅga was similar to Chess
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The four divisions in Chaturaṅga
(infantry, cavalry, elephantry and
chariotry) are found in modern Chess
Chaturaṅga was also played on a 8 x
8 board
Both games are played with different
pieces having different powers
Victory depended on the fate of one
piece, just like the king in modern
chess
Fig. 3: Modern day Chess has
a lot of similarities to the
ancient Indian game
Chaturaṅga
How Chaturaṅga changed to Chess
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When the game spread to Persia
in the 7th century A.D., it began
to be called Chatrang which
changed with time to Shatranj
The term Shah Maat to describe
what is now known as Check
mate also evolved at that time
and it is the word 'Shah' meaning
King, which is gradually believed
to have evolved into the word
'Chess
Fig. 4: The word 'Chess' is
thought to have been
derived from the Persian
word 'Shah' meaning King
Other theories for Origin of Chess
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Many people claim that Chess was first
invented in their country including
Russians, Chinese, Turks and Greeks
However most scholars now agree
that India gave birth to Chess through
Chaturaṅga
The theories regarding the origin of
Chess has given rise to many
interesting though untrue tales. Now
we will take a look at two such stories
Fig. 5: An illustration of
the Chinese game of
Xiangqi, an early form of
which is also claimed by
some to have led to the
game of Chess
Ravana's Queen Mandodari
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In the great epic Ramayana, the
demon king Ravana invents chess
to amuse his wife Mandodari.
A brilliant mind, she promptly beats
him at it.
Some other versions credit
Mandodari for inventing the game
herself while Ravana was busy
fighting wars
Fig. 6: In mythology,
Mandodari the wife of
Lanka's king Ravana is
supposed to have invented
Chess
The story of Talhand and Gav
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This story appears in Persian poet Ferdowsi's Shah-nama
written in the 11th century.
Talhand and Gav, two half-brothers battle for the throne of
Hind (India). They meet in battle and Talhand dies on his
elephant without a wound.
Their mother is sad that Gav killed his brother but Gav tells
her that he did not kill Talhand
To convince her the sages of the court invent the game of
chess, detailing the pieces and how they move, to show the
mother of the princes how the battle unfolded and how
Talhand died of fatigue when surrounded by his enemies.
Chess has come a long way
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The game has spread all over the
world in the last fifteen hundred
years
Despite being the country of origin,
India had to wait a long time before
we produced an official World
Champion of the game –
Vishwanathan Anand in 2000.
In the next lesson on Chess History,
we will look at how the game spread
outside India
Fig. 7: Vishwanathan Anand
became the first Indian
world champion of Chess in
2000