A (probably) brief history of chess
As we all know, chess is a game of strategy. It requires tactics, patience, and even creativity. But when has this fabulous game that we all know came to life? Who set the rules? Or even, when did it became popular? Today we are going to find out.
Asia
The game originated from 7th century CE (approximately 1500 years ago!) It came from India, where this game is called "Chaturanga", or in English, four divisions. The four divisions refer to infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry. (Which is a pawn, knight, bishop, and rook). Then, chess spread through Persia and became part of the Persian nobilities. The game was a part of the courtly education, and considered a game of intelligence. In Persia, the game is known as "Chatrang". After the Arabs conquered the Persians, the Arabs named this game as "Shatranj".
Above is a starting position of the game. Notice the king's position.
While the rules were still developing, the king was named "Shah". By that logic, "Shah Mat" means checkmate. (That's quite familiar, isn't it?) However, before the Persians considered chess a game, they considered it as a battle stimulator. This came from an account of the Indian story of Talhand and Gav, two brothers who compete for the throne of India. Talhand died in battle, leading to their mother thinking Gav killed him. So, he invented the game to explained how the battle unfolded, revealing that his brother passed away due to tiredness. The game was also used to plan battles in ancient India.
Note: The queen (or advisor) in Chaturanga moves one square diagonally, and the elephant two squares diagonally and can jump over pieces.
Europe
The Arab empire brought this game to Europe, where it was first introduced to the Byzantine empire. The game became widely popular in Southern Europe. It spread mostly by conquests, like the Norman conquest of England, where the Duke of Normandy became William I of England. Typically, the players are called White and Black, but sometimes in notation, they are called Red and Black due to the lack of ink colors. The game is still attached to nobles and princes. Petrus Alfonsi, a famous author, wrote that this was one of the skills a good knight must have. Lots of English kings were chess patrons. Alfonso X, King of Castile (part of Spain) was also one, similar to Tsar Ivan IV of Russia.
The rules started to change, for instance, en passant and castling became legal.
Modern era
. This also led to the rule of pawn promotion. The rules were made official in the late 19th century. The first full work of how to win at chess in different patterns is written at this time by François-André Danican Philidor and is called "The Analysis of Chess" (L'Analyse des échecs) The theory of playing chess can be dated back to the Medieval era, but is not fully detailed. Chess puzzles were also famous in this era; appearing in the newspaper. Not unlike crossword in nowadays.Chess as a competitive sport
Post-World War 2 to Nowadays
After the great war, the Soviet Union gained dominance in FIDE, leading players such as Mikhail Botvinnik were from the USSR. The streak was ended only by the collapse of the union. There was only one US champion in this Period: Robert "Bobby" Fischer.
However, Fischer lost his title to Anatoly Karpov, who dominated the 70's and 80's. Then, came the legendary Garry Kasparov, who ended his reign. Kasparov was later defeated by Vladimir Kramnik. Then the list goes on: Anand, and then Carlsen.
I hope you learned something new today, if you have any comments, feel free to tell me.
If there were any mistakes, I sincerely apologize.
I would like to thank Wikipedia: History of chess and this video
I'm out!
