Some Curiosities about the Oldest Board Game

 

If you are wondering which game I mean, it is chess! A legend about chess is narrated in Shahnameh (Kings’ book), written by the Indian poet Firdūsī, and that's the oldest literary mention of the game. Below, you can read an excerpt.

"A king in India died and left an only son named Gav, still an infant. Then the citizens wanted a king who was already mature, wise, and vigorous, and elected the dead man's brother, named May. As soon as he was made king, May married the widowed queen and had by her a son, who was called Talhend. Gav and Talhend grew up together, and when one of them asked their mother aside which of them would reign, she promised only him the kingdom. So it came to pass that each of the two, holding onto their mother's promise, grew up with the conviction of being one day the king. Therefore, when they reached the age of reigning, a stubborn conflict arose between them, since no one wanted to give in, and each had his own partisans and advisors. At last, they came to arms, and after a desperate struggle, Talhend lay slain in the field. His miserable mother was inconsolable and blamed his brother's death on her surviving Gav, who, no matter how much he did, could in no way persuade her that all her misfortune was the fault of fate and not of him.

 

Finally, having consulted the wise men of his kingdom, one day they brought him a square wooden tablet with the image of the battlefield, with the ditches marked out to defend the army. On that table were two armies made of wood and ivory, captained by their kings, with horses, elephants, and ministers. As the two armies advanced according to their established moves, they fought, and one of their kings, in the end, had to succumb. Having brought the wonderful game to his mother, she, playing, also came to understand that, fighting two kings, one would certainly succumb. So she spent entire days and nights playing that game, which represented the fate of her two children, grieving and crying until, exhausted by vigils and fasting, she died. This is the origin of the game of chess.”

This legend talks about the “grandfather” of chess, which is chaturanga, meaning “four divisions”, referring to the kind of pieces and to the number of players.

 

1)      How many possible chess matches can exist?

We don't know exactly how many, but Neil DeGrasse Tyson asserts that you have to consider a very huge number, something more than the number of electrons in the universe!

2)      What's the longest possible match?

It has been estimated that the longest match counts about 5950 moves.

3)      When does “checkmate” come from?

This expression, exclaimed at the end of a match when a player wins, comes from the Persian sentence “Shah Mat,” which means “The king is dead.”

4)      Why do towers and knights resemble their correspondent in reality, but the other pieces don't resemble human figures?

It is something about a religious Islamic matter because chess came to Europe through Arabians. Islam forbade the crafts of statues and sculptures that could show human characteristics, so chess pieces were treated the same way as wooden sculptures.

5)      What's the strangest story about the best chess players during World War Two?

 I don't know if you believe in this, but the best chess players were engaged to decrypt secret Nazis’ codified messages.

6) How was the first folding chess board created?

It dates back to 1125 when the Church forbade playing chess because it retained this game diabolical, so a priest invented a chessboard that could resemble two books put together.

6)      What's the most exciting record about chess?

Surely Janos Flesch’s record: he played against 52 opponents at the same time while being blindfolded, and surprisingly he won 31 matches.

7)      What are the benefits of chess?

Chess is proven to benefit your memory - for this reason, some psychologists use them for their patients - your tactical and strategic imagination, your patience, your attention, and your capability of prediction.

8)      Who developed the first chess computer program?

The invention comes from Alan Turing, the same inventor of Enigma, the first machine capable of decrypting military messages used during World War Two.

Today’s Blogger

I'm Luca Malagesi, a student in the 5th Liceo Classico. I have a deep passion for both mathematics and music, and I enjoy indulging in various hobbies, including reading books, listening to music, playing the flute, and even juggling with balls. I find great joy in sharing my interests with others, and I'm excited to contribute to this blog in the hopes of introducing you to new and beautiful discoveries.