In Spain names derived from Arabic lasted for centuries (alfil, aufin, orfil.). The greatest variety of names was for the elephant, p424 which was not seen in Europe, and so not used in war. Most changed were the pieces which had no equivalent in Europe, such as the elephant, the visier (an advisor: the firzan or wazir), and the chariot (rukhkh). The following table provides a glimpse of the changes in the names and character of chess pieces, as they passed from one culture to another, from India through Persia to Europe: p221Ĭhanges in the Arabic names of pieces happened over several centuries after the game arrived in Europe. In all other languages, the name of the game is derived either from shatranj or from shah.Ĭhanges in names of pieces The game was taken up by the Muslim world after the Islamic conquest of Persia, with the pieces largely retaining their Persian names in Arabic "māt" or "māta" مَاتَ means "died", "is dead". These exclamations persisted in chess as it traveled to other lands. In Sassanid Persia around 600 the name became Chatrang and the rules were developed further, and players started calling Shāh! (Persian for 'King') when threatening the opponent's king, and Shāh māt! (Persian for 'the king is finished') when the king could not escape from attack. This translates as 'the four divisions', meaning infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry, represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. The precursors of chess originated in northern India during the Gupta empire, where its early form in the 6th century was known as Chaturanga. The origin of the game Īlso Libro de los juegos, Alfonso X of Castile, showing Christian vs Muslim 1960: Numerical rating of players becomes standard.1927: First chess Olympiad, with FIDE as the organisers.
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