The History of chess (Part I)
Chess is the best, most fascinating & oldest 'game' which humankind has ever or will ever know ~PERIOD~ It is a thoroughly enjoyable game at all levels because it combines fun, strategy, artistry & pure skill. This 'game' has endured the test of time for centuries & centuries & centuries with its' profound beauty & everlasting intrigue. The origins of chess are somewhat clouded in recorded & archaelogical history. According to H.J.R. Murray (A History of Chess, 1913) 'The earliest works which make mention of chess date from the beginning of the 7th century A.D. and are associated with NW India, Persia & Islam. Many quote this as the origin of chess and there are various reasons for this..
There are other records, of it first being played 1500 years ago in the Indus valley, which is between Persia & India. Chess has been shown to have appeared in India at a date no earlier than the sixth century A.D., and Indian scholars themselves seem to believe that the actual date was considerably more recent than even that. It seems unlikely that there could be any mistake on this, because there is a wealth of literary material available in Sanskrit going back to 1500 BC. If chess had existed in the earlier history of India, it almost certainly would have been mentioned somewhere else.
Attempts to place the origins of chess further back then about the 6th century have not been absolutely successful & the discovery of chesslike pieces in ancient Egyptian tombs is not really being considered as a conclusive event. As with many or any investigation into our ancient past, the mists of time have shrouded many factual evidences. For instance, in 1973 Russian archaelogists discovered a china jar in Uzbek Republic, near the border of Afghanistan, believed to have been made in the second century! It contained, among other objects, two ivory figurines that closely resemble chess pieces. Doubts are able to run very high about these, much in the same way that they can regarding the Egyptian finds.
There are two very very obscure references to chess in ancient Chinese poems & literature. The first was from a collection of poems known as "Chu Chi". The author was named Chii Yuan. He was the most famous writer in the Chou Dynasty (1046 - 255 BC). He killed himself by jumping into a lake. Why is not important to the story, just another oversensitive Kung fu maniac probably. If he had trained at Lloyd Irvins Mixed Martial Arts Academy, he would have learned martial arts the right way & not lost control, ANYWAY, oh nevermind.... This poetic reference alone would not be enough to convince a skeptical mind. The second is from a famous book of philosophy known as " Shuo Yuan " which cited Chu Chi. It is from the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 221 AD). Both are well known to any student of Chinese literature. These references combined together form the tool for scraping a toehold or starting point to unravel the puzzle of the chess enigma.
People 'intentionally overlook' the evidence that the most early records of chess were all Chinese. Many try to explain that it was another game which is mentioned. They even say that it was 'go' or that the pieces were different to those we know today. Why would they disregard the following facts? Chinese chess also had a rook, a king, a pawn and a bishop, all of which occupied the same place on the board in the same starting positions and have the same movement and the same names as the known medieval predecessor of western chess.
It's clear these disbelievers don't even know the rules or look of Chinese chess. The only real differences between the pieces are the position of a 'counselar' on either side of the king, instead of the modern queen. It's easy to guess how the growing influence of early european monarch wifes (queens) eventually had a role which would be reflected on the board. Many chess pieces evolved to represent, or equate with real life counterparts. For example the horse became known as the knight. If you still cannot believe me, watch how it hideously morphs into NFL, civil war & even Bart Simpson look alike pieces in the last 20 years.
The board is almost identical. The only major difference being a 'river' intersecting the white & black territories on the board. The centerline or geographical middle continues to have territorial significance (space control:See 'The Seirawan Method') and is the line in modern chess which crosses over into hostile territory. People 'intentionally overlook' the evidence that the most early records of chess were all Chinese. Many erroneously try to explain that it was another game which is mentioned. They even say that it was 'go' or that the pieces were different to those we know today.
An even more recent & third piece of the puzzle comes to us in the form of a reference to chess from the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD). There was a famous poet named Li Ching Zhou. She wrote a book titled "Hitting Horse Picture." By that time, the pieces had the same names as now.
Whatever you believe, chess is now PROFOUNDLY popular & is currently played worldwide with the same constant rules. Some new tournament rules regarding timing of games have been added recently, but the moves & rules of play do not change. Games are played today for fun and profit anywhere & EVERYWHERE. In tournaments, parks, schools, on trains, truckstops, chessclubs, coffee shops, beaches, gyms, offices, bars, virtually anywhere & everywhere that you could think of. CHESS IS EVERYWHERE!!!
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