The Origin of Chess
Chess is an ancient game. However, the source of its invention is
muddied by literally thousands of different myths about its creation.
Supposed inventors range from Pythagoras to Palamedes to Moses. The
myths involve a wide range of situations and morals.
Chess Creation Myth
“It is said that in ancient India, a queen had designated her only son as heir to the throne. When the son was
assassinated, the queen’s council searched for the proper way to convey the tragic news to her. They approached a
philosopher with their predicament. He sat for three days in silent thought, and then said:
‘summon a carpenter with wood of two colors, white and black’
“The carpenter came. The philosopher instructed him to carve thirty-two small figurines from the wood. After this
was done, the philosopher said to the carpenter, ‘bring me tanned leather,’ and directed him to cut it into the shape
of a square and to etch it with sixty-four smaller squares.
“He then arranged the pieces on the board and studied them silently. Finally, he turned to his disciple and
announced, ‘This is war without bloodshed.’ He explained the game’s rules and the two began to play. Word spread
quickly about the mysterious new invention, and the queen herself summoned the philosopher for a demonstration.
She sat quietly, watching the philosopher and his student play a game. When it was over, one side having
checkmated the other, the queen understood the intended message. She turned to the philosopher and said, ‘my
son is dead.’”
( Quoted from Shenk 2006, pgs. 13-14)
According to Shenk, a game very similar to what we now consider to be chess first
emerged in Persia sometime during the 5th or 6th centuries C.E. during the Muslim
Renaissance. Shatranj was a two player war game on a board of 64 squares, with 16
pieces per player in either emerald-green or rubyred. An important influence of this version was the
two-player game Chatrang from India, based on
the earlier four-player game Chaturanga, that itself
was probably based on an earlier game from
China. The exact origin of chess itself remains a
great mystery. It is most likely that the game
evolved and travelled along the Silk Road trading routes during this time. The spread of
chess was also facilitated by the expanding Islamic empire of the time, introducing chess
into Northern Africa and Europe between 1000 and 1500 C.E.
Of important note is that the game Chaturanga developed at nearly the same time
as a new number system in India. This new number system was rooted in the invention
of the number zero, the foundation of our modern numeral system. In the following
centuries the game of chess would act as a vessel that would carry this new fundamental
math concept around the world. In the Middle East there is evidence that chessboards
were used as a modified abacus- a tool to perform calculations based on the new Indian
numeral system. Later, the Chinese and Europeans used a modified chessboard in a
similar way for accounting. By the late 12th century C.E. chess was a game many
considered to be closely related to the study of geometry as well. Chess acted as a visual
representation of a variety of mathematical systems and ideas.
The game of chess as we now recognize it in the West today was developed
through modifications to the game as it spread around Europe.
Pieces with foreign cultural references were replaced with images
more familiar to Europeans. For example, the two Elephants per
army in the Persian version of the game were replaced by the
more culturally familiar Bishop pieces in Europe. By the 12th century
C.E. chess had become a common and familiar game in Europe. It
even became one of the 7 essential skills of a medieval knight. By
the 15th and 16th centuries chess had developed into the game we
recognize today; faster paced and with more universally recognized Ancient & Modern 'Knights'
rules than its preceding variations.
Chess remained an important cultural icon during the following centuries, and the
Industrial Revolution of the 1800’s saw chess arise again- this time with the newly
wealthy middle class, especially in England where London now rivalled Paris as the chess
capital of the world. Competitive chess also reached new heights in the 19th century. The
first international tournament was held in London 1951, and the first official World
Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, was recognized in 1886.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chess as an Obsession
Chess has remained a cultural icon in Europe through the centuries, and has even
turned into obsession for some. The famous French artist Marcel Duchamp (known most
famously for his Dada-inspired “Fountain” installation) is an example of
someone who became totally consumed by the game of chess. By the
age of 30, Duchamp had produced works of art that would make him
one of the most influential artists of the 20th century; but at a time
when his career was flourishing, Duchamp turned all his focus to
chess, obsessed with playing the game. The obsession began in
earnest in his late twenties and by the time he was in his early thirties
(in the early 1920’s) he had ceased producing art altogether. All his
Duchamp, 1952
time was devoted to the game of chess. Duchamp is hardly the only
example; there are numerous examples of professional players being institutionalized,
suffering breakdowns and paranoia, and committing suicide. They are the victims of a
dangerously attractive game.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------References
Shenk, David. (2006). The Immortal Game. New York: Random House, Inc.
Murray, H.J.R. (1963). A Short History of Chess. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.