|
by Fran Black
Chess, the game of kings, has its origins appropriately
shrouded in mystery.
The chess board and it's pieces are indicative of
medieval life. The six different chess pieces on the
board represent a cross section of medieval life with
its many ceremonies, grandeur, and wars. The castle
piece on a chess board is the home, or the refuge,
just as it was a home in medieval times. The pawns
on the chess board represent serfs, or laborers. The
is a bishop in the game of chess, who represents the
church. The king is the tallest piece on the board,
and is as well defended on the chessboard as in medieval
life. The king is the most important, but not the
most powerful piece in chess.
The squares on the chess board were all the same
color until the 13th century. This afforded the players
the illusion that the chessmen were floating across
the board. Europe was ultimately responsible for chess'
move to a checkered board.
The laws of chess and the rules governing movements
of the pieces have been standard since the sixth century.
It was during the 8th century in India, considered
the birthplace of Chess, that the game evolved to
sixteen pieces on a side. In the eighth century, the
Moors invaded Persia and, as the two cultures intertwined,
chess became popular with the Moorish soldiers. The
Muslim world, on the threshold of its greatest scientific
and cultural accomplishments, welcomed chess with
unbounded delight. As the Muslims expanded their empire,
in the seventh through eleventh centuries, again,
chess traveled with them.
When the Moors later invaded Spain, the soldiers
brought the game of chess with them. The Spanish were
soon also playing chess, and from there, it quickly
(in historical terms) spread throughout all of Europe.
About the middle of the 15th century, the French
made the single most profound change in the evolution
of the game of Chess, two hundred years after Arab
conquerors brought chess to southern Europe, a chess
queen appear on the board. In the 16th and 17th centuries
the evolution of chess took a quantum leap; the queen
became the most powerful piece on the board. The queen,
the only piece to represent a woman in the game of
chess held a powerful yet precarious position.
From 1600-1850, it was believed that chess originated
from Persia. but evidence clearly shows that chess
did originate in India,rather than China or Persia
as some have claimed. So by the eighteenth century
chess had completely broken away from its medieval
inheritance.
Since the late eighteenth century the popularity
chess has increased dramatically, especially with
the introduction of matches and tournaments. The current
rules of chess were finalized in the early 19th century,
except for the exact conditions for a draw and today
it thrives as an intellectual game.
About the Author
Francesca Black works in marketing at the Puzzle Place
http://www.puzzle-place.net
and Chess Strategies http://www.chess-strategies.net
leading puzzle and strategy portals.
|
