Today, one of the world’s most popular board games is Chess. It is a range of many things from a little kid’s game to a professional sport. However, many people don’t realize it’s deep and profound history. This article will cover the origins of the popular board game.
Chess originated in the Indian subcontinent as a game called chaturanga. The origins of chaturanga is mysterious, however. 8×8 boards called ashtapadas have been found in the ruins of Lothal, in the Indus Valley, dated to 5000 years ago. It is uncertain whether the boards were used for chaturanga or some other game.
During the Middle Ages, chaturanga passed to the Sasanian Empire of Iran, where things resemblingmodern chess finally began to show up. The word chess comes from chatranj, the Persian word for the game. In Iran, the words ‘check’ and ‘checkmate’ originated. The Persian word ‘Shah‘ was used for check, and means King. Checkmate comes from the words ‘Shah mat‘, ‘the king is helpless’.
From here onwards, chess spread throughout Eurasia. Traders from the Middle East brought it to Europe and China, from where it spread into Russia, Korea, and Japan. Many variants and pieces were produced. Later, in 1475 AD, the moves started to change and the queen and bishop started to look like their modern forms.
And those are the origins of chess!
Anay Ganesh 