Thursday, 4 October 2012

Where Did Chess Originate And The Story Behind It

By Doris Rivas


The oldest skill game in the entire planet is chess. However, chess is not just a skill game, it has the ability to tell a story on the peoples way of life during the medieval times. By looking at how the board is set up, studying the pieces and how the players use them, you will definitely be able to answer the question where did chess originate from because this game is a miniature medieval time history. It has 6 different pieces with each representing a medieval life cross section with many wars, grandeur and ceremonies.

The game was played many centuries ago by the Persians, Chinese and Indian people. However, its exact origin is not known. But during the 18th century Moors the Arab armies invaded Persia and it is during this time that they learnt about chess. The game was brought to the Spanish people when the Moors invaded them.

From Spain the game spread quickly to the rest of the European people. The Europeans gave the pieces the names we known today maybe because they had trouble spelling and pronouncing the names given by the Persians. The pieces were modernized the way they lived.

A thousand years later these names may no be so modern anymore but they still reflect how ordinary people as well as people of rank lived then. Laborers or serfs are represented on the board by the pawns. These pieces are many compared to the rest and to protect the more valuable ones they are often sacrificed. Serfs were property of the landowners also referred to as chattel.

For serfs life was definitely brutally hard in this era, they worked very hard and died very young. At times of war they would often be left unprotected, they would simply be used as diversion, traded or sacrificed allowing chattel to escape unharmed. Refuge or home was represented by the castle piece on the board. The game has two castles on each side and they are sometimes referred to as rooks.

On the board there is also a knight piece that represents a professional soldier during the medieval times whose job was simply to protect persons of rank. Each side of the board has two knight pieces which are of more importance than pawns but of less importance than queens, bishops or kings. The sole purpose of the knight is to protect the important pieces and just like pawns they can be sacrificed to save these pieces.

There was a mighty and rich force that came with the church in the ancient times and this is represented by the bishop on the board. Before priests became bishops they had to rise through the ranks within the Catholic Church. On the board there every side has two of these pieces. The queen is represented by the only female piece on the board and this piece holds the most power.

Though not many might know this, the queen held a precarious and powerful position in medieval times where her advice often guided the king. The tallest piece is the king and just like in medieval times its well defended on the board. If the king surrendered it meant the kingdom has lost to the invading army.

Surrendering was not an option because this made things even worse. For this reason everyone from the serf to the official that is most ranked protected the king by all means necessary. This is an attempt to answer the question where did chess originate from.




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