|| Ancient Wisdom - Story of Chess||

Ancient Wisdom - Story of Chess

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Few thing need to know first Let us all make effort to consolidate the World heritage as one world; I wish on this earth there will be no conflict of any kind. - Harsh Vardhen Goel

|| Ancient Wisdom - Story of Chess|| .................................................................................................. 1 Few thing need to know first ....................................................................................................................2 How it started .............................................................................................................................................. 2 How it spread .............................................................................................................................................. 3 Etymology .................................................................................................................................................... 5 Stories and references .............................................................................................................................. 6

How it started

In ancient India, there was a great concern about the prevalence of gambling games using dice. A large number of people were getting addicted to it as it was just the game of luck. One day the King Balhait summoned Sissa, a Brahmin known for his high analytical repute and requested him to create a game which would require pure mental skill and would hence oppose the teaching of games in which luck decides the outcome by throw of dice. Moreover the King requested that this new game should also have the ability to enhance the mental qualities of prudence, foresight, planning, velour, judgment, and endurance, analytical and reasoning ability. Sissa invented a wonderful game called Chaturanga. It was played on board "Vastu Pusrusha Mandala" ((ancient Sanskrit name), which was the mythical board of 8x8 squares used by ancient architects to design the plan of the cities. The board representing the universe (as such in big aspect) but was redefined the by Sissa under the name of "ashtapada" (Sanskrit for "having eight feet", i.e. an 8x8 squared board), the pieces he used were based on the four categories of the Indian army: The elephants, the cavalry, the chariots and the infantry. He also used the King and his chief counselor. Sissa made the rules so those players have to use strategy and skill in order to win.

Ancient Wisdom - Story of Chess

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Legend goes on to say that King was very pleased with this new game He ordered that it be played in every temple as training in the art of war and asked Sissa that what he needs as prize in return of finding this fabulous game. Sissa replied , he wanted one grain on 1st square, 2 grains on 2nd square, and 4 grains on 3rd square and so on until 64th square. King actually laughed on the small amount but when he calculated it was18,445,744,073,709,551,515 which is the current production of grain in the world for 100 years!!. Obviously Sissa was not given the grains rather got rewarded by suitable Gold . He baffled the king and his court with chess board, without any pieces.

It has been uncovered in archaeological findings , that Chaturanga (chess) is coming from other, distantly related, board games, which might be played use dice and it have had boards of 100 squares or more. Findings in the Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa (26001500 BCE) sites of the Indus Valley Civilization show the prevalence of a board game that resembles chess. How it spread

In the 11th century Shahnameh, Ferdowsi describes a Raja visiting from India who re-enacts the past battles on the chessboard. A translation in English, based on the manuscripts in the British Museum, is given below: One day an ambassador from the king of Hind arrived at the Persian court of Chosroes, and after an oriental exchange of courtesies, the ambassador produced rich presents from his sovereign and amongst them was an elaborate board with curiously carved pieces of ebony and ivory. He then issued a challenge: "Oh great king, fetch your wise men and let them solve the mysteries of this game. If they succeed my master the king of Hind will pay tribute as an overlord, but if they fail it will be proof that the Persians are of lower intellect and we shall demand tribute from Iran." The courtiers were shown the board, and after a day and a night in deep thought one of them, Bozorgmehr, solved the mystery and was richly rewarded by his delighted sovereign. (Edward Lasker suggested that Bozorgmehr likely found the rules by bribing the other Indian envoys.) [with thanks, from Wikipedia] After Chess was introduced to Persia from India. It became a part of the princely or courtly education of Persian nobility. In Sassanid Persia around 600 the name became chatrang, which subsequently evolved to shatranj, and the rules were developed further. Players started calling "Shh!" (Persian for "King!" Sanskrit Shashak ) when attacking the opponent's king, and "Shh Mt!" (" death ( maut, murtu ) danger for king( Shashak) " when the king was attacked and could not escape from attack. These exclamations persisted in chess as it traveled to other lands.

Ancient Wisdom - Story of Chess

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Scholars in areas to which the game subsequently spread, for example the Arab Abu al-Hasan 'Al alMas'd, detailed the Indian use of chess as a tool for military strategy, mathematics, gambling and even its vague association with astronomy Mas'd notes that ivory in India was chiefly used for the production of chess and backgammon pieces, and asserts that the game was introduced to Persia from India, along with the book Kelileh va Demneh, during the reign of emperor Nushirwan.

Chess spread throughout the world and many variants of the game soon began taking shape. Buddhist pilgrims, Silk Road traders and others carried it to the Far East where it was transformed and assimilated into a game often played on the intersection of the lines of the board rather than within the squares. Chaturanga (shatar or senterej or shakhmaty reached Europe through Persia, the Byzantine empire and the expanding Arabian empire. carried chess to North Africa, Sicily, and Iberia by the 10th century. The game reached Western Europe and Russia, the earliest are in the 9th century. By the year 1000 it had spread throughout Europe. Introduced into the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors in the 10th century, it was described in a famous 13th century manuscript covering shatranj, backgammon and dice named the Libro de los juegos. The game was developed extensively in Europe, and by the late 15th century, it had survived a series of prohibitions and Christian Church sanctions to almost take the shape of the modern game. Modern history saw reliable reference works, competitive chess tournaments and exciting new variants which added to the game's popularity, further bolstered by reliable timing mechanisms (first introduced in 1861), effective rules and charismatic players. In early chess the moves of the pieces were:

King: as now. Queen: one square diagonally, only. Bishop: o In the version that went into Persia: two squares diagonally (no more or less), but could jump over a piece between o In a version sometimes found in India in former times: two squares sideways or front-andback (no more or less), but could jump over a piece between. o In versions found in Southeast Asia: one square diagonally, or one square forwards. Knight: as now. Rook: as now. Pawn: one square forwards (not two), capturing one square diagonally forward; promoted to queen only.

The Karnamak-i Ardeshir-i Papakan, a Pahlavi epical treatise about the founder of the Sassanid Persian Empire, mentions the game of chatrang as one of the accomplishments of the legendary hero, Ardashir I, founder of the Empire. The oldest recorded game in chess history is a 10th century game played between a historian from Baghdad and a pupil

Ancient Wisdom - Story of Chess

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Etymology

In Sanskrit, "chaturanga" () literally means "having four limbs (or parts), in epic poetry often army termed as chaturangi sena (the four parts are elephants, chariots, horsemen, foot soldiers). In epic book Mahabharata . The game Chaturanga was used as a battle simulation game, which rendered Indian military strategy of the time. chaturaga, which translates as "four divisions (of the military)": infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry, represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. Mongols - shatar Ethiopia - senterej Russia - shakhmaty Annamese - chhoen trang Persia - Chatrang Japan - Sho-gi Malay - chator Mongol - 'shatara Chinese - siang k'i'

Ancient Wisdom - Story of Chess

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korean - tjyang keui Burmese sittu-yin Siamese - makruk Tibetan - chandaraki

Stories and references

From the 'Vasavadatta' by Subandhu (~600 A.D.), 'The time of the rains played its game with frogs for chessmen which yellow and green in color, as if mottled by lac, leapt up on the black field squares'. From the 'Harshacharita' by Bana (~625): 'under this king only bees (shatpada) quarrel in collecting dews (dues), the only feet cut off are those in meter, only chess boards (ashtapada) teach the positions of the chaturanga (army or chess). The 'Shahnama' tells us that Bozorgmehr, the vizier of King Nushirwan, deduced the secret of the riddle ('To find out how that goodly game is played, To find out what the name is of each piece, The way to move it and its proper square, To find out footman, elephant, and host, Rukh, horse, and how to move wazr and king') and described the game of chess. It also tells us how chess

Ancient Wisdom - Story of Chess

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was used to explain the death of a Queen's son Talhand at the hand of her first son Gav ('Once on a time there lived a king in Hind...). In 1912, the Archbishop of Canterbury threatened British clergy with a bread and water diet if they did not give up the game. In Venezuela, it is to raise the IQ of their youth. Frank J. Marshall, a Chess Master, says, as an aid to ease of mind, Chess is invaluable, since it takes the mind off the many little things in daily life that frequently disturb and irritate. Chess teaches patience, clear thinking and courage in contest. It also promotes good sportsmanship. No one who has learned the game ever regretted it, for its delights and rewards are endless., Chess has many uses that can help you. J.H. Blackburne, a British Chess Champion, called Chess a kind of mental alcohol unless a man has supreme self-control, it is better that he should not learn to play Chess. I have never allowed my children to learn it, for I have seen too much of its evil results. There is a story of a game of chess between Henry I of England and Louis VI of France. Henry was beating Louis badly,. Louis called Henry a bad name and threw the chessboard in his face. Henry grabbed the board and hit Louis on the head, cutting open his scalp. This incident was the beginning of a chain of events that caused a dozen years of war. Persian poem Chatrang-namak (The book of chatrang ) describe the chess playing in Persia. Another manuscript explaining the rules of the game called "Matikan-i-chatrang" (the book of chess) in Middle Persian still exists

Ancient Wisdom - Story of Chess

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