History of Chess 

Introduction

Chess is seen as the game of intellectuals, warriors, leaders, and thinkers for centauries. The first world chess championship was held in 1886. William Steinitz who learned how to play chess at the age of 12 and took chess a serious game when he was in his twenties; he became the first world champion of chess. Emanuel Lasker who was a mathematician and philosopher became a world chess champion and remained a chess champion for 27 years. The longest anyone has ever been able to hold a record in the history of world chess championship. Even until today Lasker is seen as one of the strongest chess players of all time in the history of word chess championship. But where did this game chess come from? Who invented it and how did it become so popular? In this blog, I will share with you who invented chess? How did chess obtain it's name 'chess?' How did chess become so popular? How did Russians become so good at chess and the reason for decline in chess in Russia and why did Armenia make chess a compulsory subject in primary schools? 

Who Invented Chess?

Cheese is approximately 1500 years old. It was invented in the 6th century in India. 

The youngest prince of the Gapta Empire was killed in a battle. His brother came up with a way to depict the scene of his brother's death to their mother.  He set a Ashtapada board (Sanskrit word for a 8x8 board which was used for other popular pastime games.) He started a new game with two key features: different rules for moving different type of pieces, and a single king piece whose fate determined the outcome. 

How Did Chess Obtain It's Name 'Chess?'

The game was originally known as chaturanga- a Sanskrit word for ‘four divisions.’ 

With the spread of Sassanid Persia also known as second Persian Empire, chess obtained its current name 'chess', derived from ‘shah’ which means king and ‘checkmate’ from ‘shah mat,’ which means the king is helpless.

How Did Chess Become So Popular?

Chess was introduced to the Arab world in the 7th centaury when the Muslims conquered Persia. The Arabs used chess as a tactical simulation (tactical simulation is a military training system which take soldiers as close to actual combat.) Diplomats and courtiers used chess terms to describe political power. Ruling caliphs became chess players themselves. 

 Chess In China

Chess arrived to the East and Southeast Asia via mediaeval trade along the silk road and many local variants of chess developed. In China, chess pieces were placed at intersections of board squares rather than inside them. 

Chess In Japan

Japanese developed their own version of chess and named it shogi. Shogi is part of Japanese culture for centuries. One key feature of shogi is that captured pieces could be used by the opposing player. 

Modern Chess

In the beginning of the 9th centaury chess arrived in Europe via Islamic sphere and spread throughout the Europe by 1000 Ad. Chess became part of courtly education and chess pieces were interpreted in a new context as the chess pieces were used to depict different social classes performing their proper roles. Chess went through many variants in Europe. By the 15th century, it developed its new form which we know today. 

Chess was seen as an expression of creativity and during the early Enlightenment era, it moved from royal courts to public places such as coffee houses. In the 19th centaury, formal competitions emerged and there was a rise of international competitions and chess took a new geopolitical importance.

Chess In Russia

During the cold war, the Soviet Union dominated the chess championships for a vey long time. Vladimir Lenin who was a political leader loved chess and viewed it as a game for leaders and intelligent ones He appointed Nikolai Kirilenko who was a politician and a military commander, to lay a foundation for state sponsored chess. The state opened chess schools and hosted tournaments to promote chess. 

Six years later of opening the state sponsored chess schools, Alexander Alkaline became the first Russian to won the world chess championship. His victory led 500,000 people to enroll in the chess schools. Chess was introduced to children at a young age. Instead of playing checkers like rest of the world, Russians devoted themselves to perfect their chess skills. 

Fall Of Soviet Union & Decline Of Chess In Russia 

When the Soviet Union broke, the well trained chess players at the time, started to migrate to other countries. They shared their knowledge and skills with others. This caused the break of the closed system training of chess and others also started to learn more about chess and started developing their chess skills. With end of the Soviet Union, state sponsored schools also ended. When Garry Kasparov a Russian chess master lost the chess match against IBM’s deep blue computer in 1997, this caused a further decline in chess popularity in Russia. Today Russia still has fine chess players but it doesn’t dominate the world of chess anymore as it used to. 

Chess In Armenia 

Armenia is a small country in the southern Caucasus lies at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and bordered by some small and some powerful countries but when it comes to chess Armenia is world class. It is the only country in the world which has made chess a mandatory subject in the primary school. The second graders have to take chess as a compulsory subject since 2011. Their reason for making chess part of primary school curriculum is that chess teaches logical thinking and making good decisions. It strengthens the memory and teaches children from a young age how to win and how to handle defeat.