The history of chess is as complex as the game's rules and strategy themselves. While there are no definitive origins of chess - for example who, where, which particular year, as they all relate to invention - there is adequate historical evidence available to narrow down to a general time frame of its first appearances. Originating in the east and gradually spreading westward, following the historical arc of military and monarchical domination, chess began as a game reflecting the art of war but eventually evolved into one symbolic of European class structures by the end of the medieval age.

First Appearance in India

Texts written in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, and Chinese mention the game of chess, proving its existence as early as the year 600 A.D. Yet they often refer to it in name only and offer little in the way of rules, function of pieces, et cetera. Regardless of the specifics, however, we can gather that the modern game's ancestors existed by the 7th century, and that the first incarnations of the game came from India.

Chess was called chaturanga in the 600s, meaning both "chess" and "army," or an army's formation. The pieces were divided into four military divisions: infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry, which correspond to the modern day pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. The Indian game also depended on the fate of one particular piece, the modern game's king, and was commonly played on an 8x8 board, as it is today.

On the other hand, there were differences from the modern game. Evidence exists that chaturanga was often played by four people, sometimes incorporating dice to determine which pieces could be played at a given time. It is unclear, however, whether this was the case in widespread playing of chess.

Persian Adoption

The Indian game was popular, it seems, and was adopted by the Persians, thought to have traveled westward thanks to merchants and transcontinental trading routes. The majority of evidence of the game in Persia comes from a book called the Shahnama, or Book of Kings, (1011 A.D.) in which there is a description of an Indian Raja's visit at the Persian Shah's court. In a gesture of intellectual chivalry, he challenged the Shah to correctly identify the game's pieces as well as its rules. If the Shah succeeded, the Indians would pay tribute to the Persian; if they failed, it would be vice versa. Thanks to Bozorgmehr, an advisor, the Shah humbled the Indians.

Other Persian myths regarding the game's origins exist. One goes that chess was created to help a queen mourn the death of her son. Another story is of the "doubling of the squares," in which the alleged inventor of chess asks his king, as a reward for his invention, for a quantity of grain for the first square on the chessboard, two for the second, four for the third, and so on. The king obliged him, according to the legend, only to discover that for the last square the quantity would be around 18 million million million. While these myths are just that, myths, they help confirm that chess did originate in India and was gradually adopted by more westerly-situated neighbors.

Muslim Take Over of Persia (And Chess)

The Islamic invasion of Persia and the dissemination of Islam led to further spreading of the game of chess. The Arabic word for chess (shatranj) derives from the Persia (chatrang), which in turn comes from the aforementioned chaturanga of 7th century India. Shatranj spread linguistically through the Mediterranean, becoming shaterej in Moorish culture in North Africa. This subsequently led to the Spanish ajedrez, Portugese xadrez, and Greek zatrikion. Another trend, however, was for the Persian word for king (Shah) to be rendered into various European languages. For instance, schach in German, scacchi in Italian, and ?checs in French. It is the latter linage that gives the game its English name: chess.

Another important Islamic change to the game was the exclusion of dice as part of the game, due to the fact that the dice aspect was related to gambling, which was frowned upon by both the religion and the culture it so pervaded. Additionally, there was the eradication of animals' likenesses carved into chess pieces. As Islam does not allow portrayals of animals or human beings in art, chess pieces were given abstract shapes. This would change, however, once the game hit Europe around 1000 A.D.

European Expansion of Chess

Chess traveled to Europe thanks to invading armies, such as the Normans, who conquered Britain in 1066 A.D. The game had caught on with the noble classes by 1100 A.D., after figure pieces had been introduced, and was widely accepted as a regular part of life. Though we can now trace chess's roots back to the east, as discussed above, medieval writers and historians were eager to attribute the game's creation to other sources. These include the court of Charlemagne, the court of King Arthur, and the sack of Troy, the third being a most popular option. While these muddy the historical waters a bit, we can be fairly certain, given what evidence exists, that the game did originate in India and spread westward over time. The medieval tendency to credit chess to Europe's great kings and legends - as well as to Homer's antiquity - reflects egotism of intellect more than it does historical accuracy.

Popularity and Literary References

The game really took off in the 12th century, proven by numerous surviving works discussing it, including Alexander Neckam's De scaccis and Jacob de Cessolis's "Book of the Customs of Men and the Duties of Nobles, or the Book of Chess." Chess also appeared in various literary texts, insinuating its acceptance as a "natural" part of society: Most famous are Gottfried von Strassburg's German "Tristan" poem and The Book of the Duchess by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Also showing chess's significant place in medieval noble circles is its inclusion in Petrus Alfonsi's Disciplina Clericalis. Here Alfonsi lays out the seven skills one must master in order to be a true knight: "riding, swimming, archery, boxing, hawking, chess and verse writing." Clearly the aristocracy of the Middle Ages had adopted chess as their own and promoted it from a simulation of war to something to be learned in order to prove status and rank.

Chess as Society

An important transition took place during the Middle Ages, namely that war-themed pieces like elephants and chariots, which had been metamorphosed into abstract shapes under Islam, were replaced with monarchical ones. The inclusion of queens and bishops made the chess a game version of the state, and what's more, a game version of society as a whole. Even though the king is the most powerful piece on the board (as he is the most powerful person in medieval society), his power is only created by the presence of the lowly, less powerful pawns. That is, without the foot soldiers, without common people, a king's prestige would have been far less than it was with the commoners around. It takes all levels and classes to make society function as a whole.

In terms of popularity, it is important to remember that while chess came to prominence between the 12th and 15th centuries in Europe, it only did so among approximately 10 percent of the population. The game was widespread among only a minority of society. This would change, however, as Europe emerged out of what have been erroneously dubbed "The Dark Ages" and underwent an intellectual rebirth - which will be discussed in next week?s article.

Sources:

Eade, James. Chess for Dummies. New York: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., 1996
Eales, Richard. Chess: The History of a Game. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985
www.wikipedia.org("History of Chess")