The Long Path to Modern Chess
Chess is a game with a history that spans continents and centuries, evolving with each culture it touches
— Unknown
Chess didn't start off being as popular as it is today. Chess is actually a very old game. It started in India as Chaturanga, in 600 AD, which was 1,500 years ago! Chess was made before most inventions, before much of world history. And its form in the beginning was very different from what we know today. It has a long and rich history... even before we had world champions.
Today, we will be looking at the Long Path to Modern Chess. We will be looking at how the rules of the game evolved, and how it got so popular. This blog will start off with Chaturanga, and end when Wilhelm Steinitz becomes the first world chess champion. Enjoy!
- The Origins and Early Evolution of Chess
- The Spread of Chess's Variations
- The Europeans' Impact on Chess
- The Organization of Chess
- Conclusion
The Origins and Early Evolution of Chess
Ashtapada was played for pleasure, but chaturanga was played for war.
— Indian Proverb
We will first look at the first two forms of chess. Chaturanga and Shatranj. Both are extremely important to chess's history, as Chaturanga was the first version of chess, and Shatranj was developed and popularized where it would spread around the world.
Chaturanga
"चतुरङ्ग "Is the native Sanskrit word for Chaturanga
The very beginnings of chess started around 1,500 years ago in India. This first form of chess is called Chaturanga. The exact time when this board game was formed is debated, but it’s accepted that the game became popular around 700 AD.
Chaturanga has quite a few differences from modern chess.
The goal of the game is to capture the king, as checkmating was introduced later along with castling or en passant. Even draws don’t exist here, as stalemate is a loss for the one with the cornered king. And most pieces move differently.
- Raja (King) - Moves one square in any direction
- Mantri (Counselor/Queen) – Moves only one square diagonally
- Ratha (Chariot/Rook) – Moves just like the rook
- Gaja (Elephant/Bishop) – Moves only two squares diagonally, being able to jump over other pieces
- Ashva (Horse/Knight) – Moves just like a knight
- Padàti (Foot-soldier/Pawn) – Moves just like a pawn
If you like this early form of chess, you can try it out here.
Eventually Chaturanga spread to the west to Persia, around 500 AD. They changed around the names and rules of the pieces and called the game Shatranj.
Shatranj
"شطرنج" Is the native Arabic word for Shatranj
Shatranj was played in the Sasanian Empire, around the fifth century. This important part of chess’s evolution was from a challenge. An Indian king went to the ruler of Persia and brought Chaturanga as a gift. The set was extremely valuable, made with rubies and emeralds. The Indian king challenged the Persian scholars to play and master this complicated game.
Which they certainly did.
Chaturanga adapted to the Arabic World, with most of the rules staying, except one. The Persians added the rule that define the goal of chess, checkmate. A player must say, Shāh, when the King is directly attacked, and Shāh Māt, when the King is attacked and can’t escape. Once the King can’t escape, the game ends, and the attacker is the winner.
- Shāh (King) - Moves one square in any direction
- Firzan (Counselor/Queen) - Moves only one square diagonally
- Rukh (Chariot/Rook) - Moves just like the rook
- Fīl (Bishop/Elephant) - Moves two squares diagonally
- Faras (Horse/Knight) - Moves just like a knight
- Baidaq (Foot-soldier/Pawn) - Moves just like a pawn
Shatranj thrived in the Islamic Golden Age, as it was admired for the strategy, logic, and mental strategy behind it. The Persians also made the earliest chess books, with Al-Adli, being the first book about chess in 840, and Al-Suli being the first guide on chess in 900.
They made puzzles, which are called Mansubat, and even variants. They have four players Shatranj, Blindfolded Shatranj, and even Circular Shatranj.
This early form of chess was being developed, and wildly popularized, but it will take a while before chess goes through more changes. In a few hundred years, the Arabs will bring chess to the rest of the world, and eventually, the Europeans will turn Shatranj to Modern Chess.
The Spread of Chess's Variations
When the game of chess travels. it changes its clothes
— Popular Historical Saying
Chess spreads to other parts of the world, before Europe. But, like the Persians, other people make variations of the old form of chess.
China's Xiangqi
"象棋 "is the Chinese native word for Xiangqi
Shatranj was not the only game that descends from Chaturanga. China also took Chaturanga and made it into another game, which is Xiangqi. This “Chinese Chess” game is very popular in China, even to this day, and has almost the same pieces, while having a very different board. Instead of squares, they have intersections.
There is even a “river” that divides the board, and only certain pieces can cross and a “palace” that certain pieces can’t leave. And the board is 9x10.
- Shuài (General) - Moves just like a king, but stays in the palace
- Shì (Guard/Adviser) - Only can move one square diagonally, and stays in the palace
- Xiàng (Elephant) - Moves two squares diagonally, but can’t cross the river
- Mà (Horse/Knight) - Moves a square straight, then a square diagonally
- Jū (Chariot) - Moves just like a rook
- Pào (Cannon) - Moves just like the Chariot, but has to jump over a piece to capture
- Bīng (Soldier) - Can move forward or sideways, but only forward before crossing the river
Japan's Shogi
"将棋" is the native Japanese name for Shogi
Japan took Xiangqi and used it as inspiration for another game, which is Shogi, the Japanese version of chess. Shogi is also popular in Japan, but much less then Xiangqi and modern Chess.
It was played on a 9x9 board, with actual squares, and it introduced a new rule which is being able to take captured pieces back, like the Crazyhouse variant. It had a different promoting system, and pieces can only move or capture forward. Speaking of pieces, they also have unique pieces like Gold/Silver Generals, and Lances.
- Gyokushō (King) - Moves just like a king in chess
- Kinshō (Gold General) - Moves just like the king except diagonally backwards
- Ginshō (Silver General) - Moves just like the king except any backward moves
- Keima (Knight) - Moves just like the knight but can’t move backward or sideways
- Kyōsha (Lance) - Can freely move forward, but not any other direction
- Hisha (Rook) - Moves just like the rook in chess
- Kakugyō (Bishop) - Moves just like the bishop in chess
- Fuhyō (Pawn) - Only moves one space forward
Mongolia's Shatar
" ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ ᠰᠢᠲᠠᠷᠠ" Is the Mongolian native word for Shatar. (Text Always Glitched for Some Reason)
Shatranj also spread to the Mongolians, through the Silk Road. They changed it to Shatar, another variant inspired by Shatranj.
What’s interesting about this variant is how much the pieces resemble Mongolian life. The Rook, for example, is changed to a Tereg, or Cart, which resembles the carts that the oxen used. This game was played on an 8x8 board, and resembles Shatranj more than modern chess, as the queen is much weaker. Aside from that, you also can’t castle, and promotion is very limited.
- Noyon (King) - Moves just like the King in chess
- Bers (Queen) - Moves like the queen in chess, but only one space diagonally
- Tereg (Rook) - Moves just like the rook in chess
- Teme (Bishop) - Moves just like the bishop
- Mori (Knight) - Moves just like the knight, except you can’t jump over pieces
- Küü (Pawn) - Moves just like the pawn
The European's Impact on Chess
Chess is the touchstone of the intellect
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Chess was formed in India. But the chess we know today, was modernized in Europe. Where the final rules and pieces were put in place.
Shatranj entered Europe through a series of historical events. The Islamic Empire conquered parts of Spain, which was the start of the spread. Then, the Normans brought chess to England, and during the Crusades, knights brought back Shatranj from the territory they fought from. Once the game reaches the Byzantine Empire, it was renamed to Zatrikion.
The Europeans renamed the pieces and remodeled the pieces to match the medieval scenery. The Elephant was remodeled to the bishop, resembling a jester, and the Rook was remodeled from a chariot to a tower, resembling a fortress. And the foot soldier was renamed to the pawn, which represented the peasants.
By the year 1200, it became popular among nobles and the rich. And another hundred years later, new rules will appear.
Medieval Chess was quite slow, so slow, that some games would even last for days! Chess was experimented on, to get to a faster game,
Pawns can move two squares, which speeds up the opening phase and eventually lead to the formation of the En Passant rule. Another important opening rule was the new castling move, which brings the king to safety, instead of having to maneuver the pieces around to protect the king. Finally, the queen now gets a massive power boost, going from only moving two squares, to any number of squares.
Around this time, is when the final name, chess, is widely used. The word came from the Persian word, Shāh or king. So, chess literally means king.
During the Middle Ages, there was much opposition to chess from the church. This started in 1061, when Saint Peter Damian called chess a corrupt influence. Chess and board games were often linked to gambling, which the church is very against of. In 1254, King Louis IX banned chess, but nobody really followed the bans.
The chess pieces used to look rather abstract in Persia, because the Islamic world banned pieces that look like living beings. Thankfully Europe doesn’t follow the same rules, so, the pieces evolved to be much more lifelike, and understandable.
The Medieval Europeans made chess what we know today. We wouldn’t have the rules and pieces that we can play today, if it weren’t for them. But they didn’t just modernize the game. They popularized the game. And that deserves a final section to our history recap of chess.
Chess is not a game but a science and an art
— Wilhelm Steinitz
We will be looking at how chess got so popular. How masters arose and became more skilled at the game, until the first world chess champion emerges.
The first chess book that was printed was Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez. This was the start of chess books appearing in the scene, in 1497. Soon after, the first widely known chess masters started appearing, such Ruy López de Segura, Giovanni Leonardo DI Bona, or Gioacchino Greco.
These people contributed to opening theory, endgame techniques, and many other things that we still use today.
The first documented chess tournament was in 1575, in El Escorial Spain. However, we wouldn’t see many of these tournaments until the 1800s. Chess quickly became more popular around that time. New chess clubs were formed, like Paris’s Café de la Régence, or London’s Simpson's Divan. During this time, games at the master level were extremely long, as some play only a single move in hours!
This led to the formation of time controls. The first version of this was in 1862, where sandglasses were used to control the duration of the game. Eventually that lead to actual clocks, and digital clocks… much later.
Another important rule is the Adjournment Rule. People that took breaks during a tournament had to go through an unfair situation. When a game is left unfinished, the player can simply look over the position and analyze the best move to play. And of course, that is unfair to the person that played last.
So, their solution was the sealed move. Whoever makes the last move writes their move on a secret paper, instead of the chessboard. Then, that move is played automatically when they return.
The First World Chess Championship
The first famous chess tournament was in London, in 1851. The winner is Adolf Anderssen, a player known for being the best for his time. His rather aggressive chess style became very popular among masters, but one of them managed to beat the popularity of it.
Wilhelm Steinitz wasn’t like the other chess players. Instead of aimlessly attacking, he thoughtfully defended his position and thought about how to make his position a little better, instead of how to deliver an aggressive attack to his opponent. Using this idea, Steinitz won against Adolf Anderssen, Joseph Blackburne, and eventually, Johannes Zukertort.
But that wasn’t enough. It was time to pick a world chess champion. Chess continued to be more popular and competitive, and soon, there was interest in who can become an official champion. The perfect time had come, as there was a rivalry between Steinitz and Zukertort, the two considered best players in the world.
In 1886, the United States hosted the first, World Chess Championship, between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. Whoever wins the most of 20 games gets the title.
Steinitz won 10 – 5. Excluding draws, he had double the wins to his opponent. He became the first of many to hold the title of world champion.
And this, dear reader, is the end, to our history recap of chess.
Thanks for reading! I hope you had fun learning about the history of chess like I did. This is only a short summary of all the things that happened in early chess, because there is so much history to it. I will write more of chess’ history, as this blog was a lot of fun making.
Expect to see another blog like this in the future!
Comment your thoughts on this blog, and I will see you soon. I hope you enjoyed this blog. : D
