| For a quiet and thoughtful game that relies on skill, strategy, peace and quiet – and a great deal of patience – chess has enjoyed a colorful history since its invention in the 6th Century.
When thinking of the typical chess match most people probably picture two players hunched silently over a checkered board (physically, or via a PC) engaging in an intellectual battle of wits.
But over the 1,500 years that the game has been in existence, it has sparked much controversy all over the world. It’s been banned by governments, some competitors have been imprisoned for playing, and it has even been blamed for starting a war!
The earliest form of chess was derived from the game of Chaturanga which is believed to have been invented on the orders of King Balhait of India during the 500s. Disturbed by the prevalence of gambling games involving dice at his court, the king asked his resident wise man, named Sissa, to create a game that required mental skill and judgment, rather than luck or chance, to win.
Using a checkered board as the playing surface, Sissa came up with the idea of having playing pieces represent the four branches of the Indian army – elephants, cavalry, chariots and infantry – and also featuring a king and chief counselor.
Game moves and rules were inspired by battlefield strategy and intended to teach players the importance of valor, endurance and patience.
Upon delivery of the game, King Balhait was reported to be so impressed that he ordered the game to be played in every temple in the land as the perfect training tool for future soldiers.
Chaturanga quickly grew in popularity spreading east to China, Korea, Japan and Persia. It arrived in Russia via trade routes and to western Europe following the spread of Islam to Sicily and the invasion of Spain by the Moors. By the end of the 10th century the game was well known throughout Europe and embraced as a game for kings, philosophers and poets.
The game of chess as we know it today came into being in southern Europe during the 15th century, following a few simple rule changes. Castling, the two-square pawn advance and en-passant were introduced and the powers of pieces such as the queen and the bishop increased. The game subsequently grew in popularity throughout the courts of Europe.
But this newfound popularity would not come without cost. According to an apocryphal story, chess was responsible for starting a war lasting more than a decade between England and France at the turn of the first millennium.
During a hotly-contested match for a very large wager, King Henry I of England and Louis VI of France got into a fistfight after Henry allegedly broke the chessboard over Louis’ head. Courtiers stepped in to stop the fight but the episode supposedly triggered a chain of events that kept the two nations at war for nearly 12 years.
More than two centuries later, in 1291, Britain’s Archbishop of Canterbury, John Peckman, spoke out publicly against the game, threatening his clergy with a prisoner’s diet of bread and water if they did not immediately renounce chess.
The game has also come under fire in more recent times. Along with kite-flying, playing chess was prohibited by the Taliban in Afghanistan where boards and pieces were burned and players thrown in jail. After coming to power in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini banned chess but later changed his mind, admitting that it had high educational and intellectual values.
Chess enthusiasts come from all walks of life, united by a shared passion for a game that German philosopher Goethe referred to as “the touchstone of the intellect.” Russian president Vladimir Putin, a keen player himself, credits the game with boosting his own brain power. “Chess makes man wiser and clear-sighted,” he said.
Over the years the game of chess has had its fair share of detractors too. Playwright George Bernard Shaw once called the game “a foolish expedient for making idle people believe they are doing something very clever, when they are only wasting their time”. And writer Raymond Chandler described it as “the most elaborate waste of human intelligence outside of an advertising agency.”
Yet as one of the oldest games to still be played today, chess is more popular than ever, especially since the introduction of computer and online gaming.
It has an estimated 700 million players worldwide and its governing body, the Fédération International des Échecs (FIDE), which represents more than 160 nations, is the third largest sporting organization in the world. The only sporting bodies with more member countries are the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and world soccer’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
Easy to learn but hard to master, the continued appeal and popularity of chess is easy to explain. “You can learn the moves in 15 minutes, in another 15 minutes you can get the idea of the game, and you can play the game within the hour,” said Chess Master Frank J. Marshall.
“Chess teaches patience, clear thinking and courage in contest - it also promotes good sportsmanship,” he added. “No one who has learned the game ever regretted it, for its delights and rewards are endless.”
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