Who is the father of chess?
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It was a group effort.
Some people in old India came up with the idea of chess, though it was a very different game back then.
It wantered to Europe and around 1500 it was turned into modern chess.
Then new ideas got added until we reached the game we play today in 1880 when en passant became officially part of chess (but the idea of en passant was around for centuries before that point).
Unless you ask who is the GOAT among chessplayers, thats Magnus Carlsen.
Abtectous wrote:
#3, it was actually inspired by an Ancient Greek game
What is name and description of this so called inspiration?
MariasWhiteKnight wrote:
Some people in old India came up with the idea of chess, though it was a very different game back then.
Chaturanga is a very similar game to chess.
Chess is thousands of years old. Its history is lost in time. We have good guesses.
long_quach wrote:
Chess is thousands of years old. Its history is lost in time. We have good guesses.
There is an urban legend going around saying that General Han Xin invented Chinese chess. (No such thing. Chinese chess evolved from Chaturanga).
I don't know who started this rumor, but I know why. Commie Chinese want things to originate in China.
If somebody fix it on a name, it is a lie.
Also the story about some Vizier who invented chess and wanted one grain of rice on the first square, and doubled that on the next square and so on.
That's also baloney.
Chess obviously has a military origin.
That's mathematicians trying to get credit for something they did not invent, obviously.
As for who invented chess?
It would be someone like this.
The same with Go, the surrounding game.
If you fix it to a name, it is a lie.
If you're referring to the father of modern chess theory, many credit Wilhelm Steinitz.
Abtectous wrote:
Me because every time I beat somebody they call me daddy
Mar 4, 2025
0
#20
It may be more like some of the middle-ages/arab-persian masters helped develop what transitioned into more of a modern variant we see in the late 11-12th centuries as it made its way into Europe:
Abu Bakr al-Suli
A chronicler of chess who died in the 3rd century
His books are still valuable today
His tricks and openings influenced many European and Russian players
He was the strongest player of his time
He was a resident at the court of the Caliph
He was a revered teacher of the game
There are a few others, but this one likely stands out as one of the "fathers" of more modern chess. Maybe the "grandfather" of chess?
Rm
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