Game of Kings Making a Comeback in the 21st Century
For those who haven’t followed the game in the last quarter of a century, it may seem that the classic confrontations between American Bobby Fischer and Russian Boris Spassky represented the pinnacle of competitive chess and that the complex board game is slowly dying. Nothing could be further from the truth. With hit movies such as The Queen’s Gambit, as well as the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, people looking for things to do during lockdown rediscovered chess. Though much of it is either online or played using software, there’s no doubt that the game’s popularity has exploded. According to Chess.com, the number of active monthly users doubled over the two-year period following the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, and has shown no signs of slowing down.
The Origins of Chess
Scholars generally agree that the earliest iteration of the game can be traced back to India around the 6th century CE, with a game known as “chaturanga,” loosely defined as “four divisions of the military. In chaturanga, those divisions were infantry, elephantry, cavalry and chariotry, which in the modern game are represented by the pawns, bishops, knights and rooks.
From India, the game traveled to the Persian Empire, where the rules became more well-defined. It was during this period that players first called out “shah” when attacking an opponent’s king, and “shah mat” when achieving what is now referred to as “checkmate.”
From Persia, the game spread throughout the rest of the known world, as Islam grew and expanded, and as traders from the West learned it and brought it home.
The Religious Objections to Chess
The game has not been without its detractors, though, often including the church.
- 655 CE—Even though many Muslims played the game and took it on their travels, Mohammed’s son-in-law, Caliph Ali Ben Abu-Talib, did not allow chess within his sect, alleging that it involved a veneration of graven images.
- 900 CE—As betting became more intertwined with chess, both the Catholic Church and religious leaders in Egypt banned the game. Egyptian leader al-Hakim had all chess sets in the kingdom burned.
- Near the end of the 11th century CE, the Eastern Orthodox church banned the game, insisting that it was a vestige of heathenism.
- In 1195, Rabbi Maimonides listed chess among the activities prohibited among members of the Jewish faith
- The Puritans opposed chess, contending that it took the player’s focus away from God
- As recently as 2001, chess was illegal in Afghanistan, banned by the Taliban as a form of gambling
