History of Chess
INDIAN CHESS HISTORY
The history of chess has a legend that may or may not be true. It is about a sage who wanted to convince king "Shihram" that every inhabitant of his nation was important. For this he designed the game science that represented the kingdom, composed of its own king, queen, towers, horses, bishops and pawns, the latter although they were weak, they kept a value of high importance, but undervalued.
The king was fascinated and delighted, and realizing that the game was like real life, he ordered every inhabitant to play it. On the other hand, he offered the sage all the gold and silver he wanted; but he surprised his majesty by asking only one grain of wheat for the first square on the board, two for the second, four for the third, eight for the fourth and so on. Amazed, and feeling a little offended, the king ordered the petition to be granted.After a while he asked his servants if they had already paid the sage the wheat he asked for, to which his servants reply that they are working together with the mathematicians of the kingdom to be able to pay him the exorbitant amount of wheat that this demanded. Before this answer the king was perplexed and confused, since he did not understand the complex situation in which they found themselves.
After a few days, the servants and mathematicians conclude that in the homes, warehouses and storehouses of the kingdom there is no such quantity of wheat, and that even gathering all the wheat stored in the world, it would not be possible to grant man his request. It was there that the king learned another lesson: "In life as well as in chess, small things should not be underestimated".
ORIGIN IN NORTHERN INDIA
H. J. R. Murray
On the other hand, historian H. J. R. Murray stated that the game may have originated in northern India, where it became an important part of education in that region. It is then said that he may have traveled from the Middle East to Russia, and then arrived in Western Europe and settled there.
CHINESE ROOTS IN CHESS
Another theory suggests that this game could have been invented in China in approximately 200 B.C. by the hand of Commander Han Xin, who made it in order to represent a particular battle.
However, this sport was popularized under the name "Xiang Qi", which means in our language "The Elephant Game". His pieces, rules and even the board were very different from what we see in chess today.
