Chess is one of the most intelligent games invented in the history of mankind. She trains logic, endurance, teaches to calculate each turn and adapt to the changing situation on the playing field. The game has more than a thousand years of its history, and it is difficult to answer scientifically the question of where chess was invented, but we will still try to at least slightly open the veil of secrecy.
With the advent of chess, there is a legend. According to this legend, the game appeared about a thousand years before our era, being the invention of an Indian mathematician who also invented a mathematical action, such as exponentiation. What it was specifically for the game, this legend does not say, but it is mentioned that for the game it was used a board divided into 64 cells. A grateful sheikh who fell in love with this game, invited him to choose any reward that he would like. Then he asked for a certain number of grains that would fit on the game board, if in each next cell put them twice as much as in the previous one. Sheikh rashly agreed, but after final calculations it was found out that he should remain to the wise man over a hundred cubic kilometers of grain (for the sake of accuracy, say that the last cage would have 9 223 372 036 854 775 808 grains, so the sum of the grains from all the cells should To represent a truly astronomical number).
If you believe the above legend, the answer to the question of where they invented chess is unambiguous - in India. However, archaeological excavations show that a similar game existed even in Egypt for several thousand years before our era, so scientists still can not exactly name the country where chess was invented. How did the first chess look like, what rules did they have, how did the chess game take place in those days?
If we turn to the history of chess, we will see that not only the rules, the names of the figures and the game itself differed, but also the arrangement of chess. Initially, the game was calculated on four players, under the leadership of each there were four pawns and one horse, elephant, rook and king. Figures of each player lined up in the corner of the game board of 64 cells. Played two by two, walked in turn, each throwing dice, thanks to which the game was present some element of chance. In the game of only two players, the arrangement of figures was similar to modern chess (one of the kings changed to the figure of the vizier, the king's adviser). The victory was counted:
- With the complete destruction of all enemy troops.
- When taking an enemy king (when playing one on one).
- With the destruction of all enemy troops, except the king.
This Indian game was called Chaturanga ("four sides"). Once in Persia, she transformed into a new game - shatranj. From Persia shtranj moved to Western Europe, where it turned into modern chess, from where they gradually spread throughout the world, becoming the most popular intellectual game of all time.
This concludes our journey in search of the country where chess was invented. We hope that you also liked reading it, as well as us - writing.