LUDUS

2011-11-17T03:44:00.000-08:00

Set which belonged to Welled Sellasse, Ras of Tigre in 1805
(Gareth Williams, "Master Pieces", Apple Press, London, 2000)

http://history.chess.free.fr/senterej.htm

2011-11-17T03:31:00.000-08:00

Game of Janggi

2010-09-12T04:25:00.000-07:00

2010-08-20T05:32:00.001-07:00

AN INDIAN IVORY 'MUSLIM' PATTERN CHESS SET 19TH CENTURY
Of abstract form, with lacquered dot decoration
The king -- 2in. (5cm.) high; the paw -- 3/4in. (2cm.) high.

2008-09-27T11:24:00.001-07:00

2008-09-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

Titus Burckhardt

Il simbolismo degli scacchi

Il gioco degli scacchi, come è noto, è originario dell’India. L’Occidente medievale lo ha conosciuto grazie alla mediazione dei Persiani e degli Arabi, come testimonia fra l’altro l’espressione “scacco matto” (in tedesco: Schachmatt) derivante dal persiano shah (re) e dall’arabo mat (è morto). Nel Rinascimento furono cambiate alcune regole del gioco: la regina e i due alfieri (erano in origine elefanti che trasportavano una torre fortificata) acquistarono maggiore mobilità; il gioco divenne più astratto e matematico, e si allontanò dal suo modello concreto (la strategia) senza comunque perdere i tratti essenziali del suo simbolismo.
Nella posizione iniziale dei pezzi, l’antico modello strategico resta evidente; vi si riconoscono le due armate disposte nell’ordine di battaglia in uso presso gli eserciti dell’antico Oriente: le truppe leggere, rappresentate dai pedoni, formano la prima linea, mentre il grosso dell’armata è costituito dalle truppe pesanti, i carri da guerra (le torri), i cavalieri (i cavalli) e gli elefanti da combattimento (gli alfieri); il re e la sua dama - o il suo “consigliere” - si tengono al centro delle truppe. La forma della scacchiera corrisponde al tipo “classico” del Vastu-mandala, il diagramma che costituisce anche il tracciato fondamentale di un tempio o di una città. Tale diagramma è simbolo dell’esistenza, concepita come un “campo d’azione” delle potenze divine. Il combattimento rappresentato dal gioco degli scacchi è dunque figura, nel suo significato più universale, del combattimento dei devas con gli asuras, degli “dei” con i “titani”, o degli “angeli” (i devas della mitologia indù sono infatti analoghi agli angeli delle tradizioni monoteiste) coi “demoni”: tutti gli altri significati del gioco derivano da questo.
La più antica descrizione del gioco degli scacchi che sia giunta fino a noi si trova nelle “Praterie d’Oro” dello storico arabo al-Mas’udi, vissuto a Baghdad nel IX secolo. Al-Mas’udi attribuisce l’invenzione, o la codificazione, del gioco ad un re indù chiamato “Balhit”, discendente di “Barahman”. Vi è qui una confusione evidente fra una casta, quella dei Brahmani, ed una dinastia; ma l’origine brahmanica del gioco degli scacchi è dimostrata dal carattere eminentemente sacerdotale del diagramma a 8 x 8 quadrati (ashtapada). D’altronde, il simbolismo guerriero del gioco si rivolge agli Kshatriyas, la casta dei principi e dei nobili, come del resto è indicato da al-Mas’udi quando egli scrive che gli Indù consideravano il gioco degli scacchi (shatranj) come una “scuola di governo e di difesa”. Il re Balhit avrebbe scritto un libro su questo gioco, di cui “fece una sorta di allegoria dei corpi celesti, come i pianeti e i dodici segni zodiacali, dedicando ogni pedina ad un astro.”. Notiamo che gli Indù contano otto pianeti: il sole, la luna, i cinque pianeti visibili ad occhio nudo e Rahu, l’”astro oscuro” delle eclissi; ognuno di questi “pianeti” domina una delle otto direzioni dello spazio. Continua al-Mas’udi: “Gli Indiani attribuiscono un misterioso significato alla progressione geometrica effettuata sulle caselle della scacchiera; essi stabiliscono un rapporto fra la causa prima, che domina tutte le sfere ed a cui tutto fa capo, e la somma del quadrato delle caselle della scacchiera.”. Qui, l’autore confonde probabilmente il simbolismo ciclico implicito nell’ashtapada con la famosa leggenda secondo la quale l’inventore del gioco chiese al monarca di riempire le caselle della sua scacchiera con dei chicchi di grano, ponendo un solo chicco sulla prima casella, due sulla casella successiva, quattro sulla terza e così via, fino alla 64° casella, ottenendo così un totale di 18446744073709551616 chicchi. Il simbolismo ciclico della scacchiera consiste nel fatto che essa esprime lo sviluppo dello spazio secondo il quaternario e l’ottonario delle direzioni principali (4×4x4=8×8), e che sintetizza, sotto forma “cristallina”, i due grandi cicli complementari del sole e della luna: il duodenario dello Zodiaco e le 28 case lunari; d’altra parte, il numero 64, somma delle caselle della scacchiera, è un sottomultiplo del numero ciclico fondamentale 25920, che misura la processione degli equinozi. Abbiamo visto che ciascuna fase di un ciclo, “fissata” nello schema di 8×8 quadrati, è dominata da un astro e simboleggia al contempo un aspetto divino personificato da un deva (certi testi buddhisti descrivono l’universo come una tavola di 8×8 riquadri, fissati per mezzo di corde d’oro; questi riquadri corrispondono ai 64 kalpas del Buddhismo. Nel Ramayana, la città inespugnabile degli dei, Ayodhya, è descritta come un quadrante avente otto comparti su ciascun lato. Nelle Tradizione cinese, i 64 segni derivanti dagli 8 trigrammi commentati nell’I-King. Questi 64 segni sono generalmente disposti in maniera tale che corrispondono alle otto regioni dello spazio). In tal modo questo mandala rappresenta contemporaneamente il cosmo visibile, il mondo dello Spirito e la Divinità nei suoi molteplici aspetti.
Al-Mas’udi afferma dunque con ragione che gli Indiani spiegano “con dei calcoli” basati sulla scacchiera “il cammino del tempo ed i cicli, le influenze superiori che agiscono su questo mondo ed i legami che le collegano con l’anima umana.”. Il simbolismo ciclico della scacchiera era noto ad Alfonso il Saggio, il celebre trovatore di Castiglia che compose nel 1283 i suoi Libros de Acedrex, opera che s’ispira in gran parte alle fonti orientali. Alfonso il Saggio descrive anche un’antichissima variante del gioco degli scacchi (il “gioco delle quattro stagioni”) che richiede quattro giocatori, così che le pedine, disposte ai quattro angoli della scacchiera, avanzino in un senso rotatorio analogo al movimento del sole. Le 4×8 pedine devono essere di colore verde, rosso, nero e bianco; esse corrispondono ai quattro elementi: aria, fuoco, terra ed acqua, ed ai quattro “umori” organici. Il movimento dei quattro gruppi simboleggia la trasformazione ciclica.
Questo gioco, che richiama stranamente certi riti e certe danze “solari” degli Indiani dell’America settentrionale, mette in evidenza il principio fondamentale della scacchiera. La scacchiera può essere considerata come uno sviluppo di uno schema composto da quattro quadrati alternativamente neri e bianchi, e costituisce di per sé un mandala di Shiva, Dio nel suo aspetto di “trasformatore”: il ritmo quaternario, di cui questo mandala è come la “cristallizzazione” spaziale, esprime il principio del tempo. I quattro quadrati, disposti intorno ad un centro non manifestato, simboleggiano le fasi cardinali di ogni ciclo. L’alternanza delle caselle bianche e nere, in questo schema elementare della scacchiera, ne evidenzia il significato ciclico e ne fa l’equivalente rettangolare del simbolo estremo orientale del yin-yang; essa è un’immagine del mondo visto sotto l’aspetto del suo dualismo intrinseco. Se il mondo sensibile, nel suo dispiegamento integrale, risulta in qualche modo dalla moltiplicazione delle qualità inerenti allo spazio e di quelle del tempo , il Vastu-mandala, dal canto suo, deriva dalla divisione del tempo secondo lo spazio: ricordiamo a questo proposito la genesi del Vastu-mandala a partire dal ciclo celeste indefinito, ciclo diviso dagli assi cardinali e poi “cristallizzato” in una forma rettangolare. Il mandala è dunque il riflesso inverso della sintesi principale dello spazio e del tempo, ed è in ciò che risiede la sua portata ontologica.
D’altra parte, il mondo è “intessuto” delle tre qualità fondamentali o gunas, e il mandala rappresenta questa “tessitura” in modo schematico, conformemente alle direzioni cardinali dello spazio. L’analogia tra il Vastu-mandala e la tessitura è evidenziata dall’alternanza dei colori, che ricorda un tessuto il cui ordito e la cui trama sono alternativamente apparenti o nascosti. L’alternanza del bianco e del nero corrisponde d’altro canto ai due aspetti, in linea di principio complementari ma in pratica opposti, del mandala: questo è da una parte un Purusha-mandala, cioè un simbolo dello Spirito universale (Purusha) in quanto sintesi immutabile e trascendente del cosmo; d’altra parte, esso è un simbolo dell’esistenza (Vastu) considerata come il supporto passivo delle manifestazioni divine. La qualità geometrica del simbolo esprime lo Spirito; la sua estensione puramente quantitativa esprime l’esistenza. Del pari, la sua immutabilità ideale è “spirito”, la sua fissazione limitativa è “esistenza” o materia; nella polarità considerata, quest’ultima non è la materia prima, vergine e generosa, ma la materia secunda tenebrosa e caotica, radice del dualismo esistenziale. Ricordiamo a questo proposito il mito secondo cui il Vastu-mandala rappresenterebbe un asura, personificazione dell’esistenza bruta: i devas hanno sconfitto questo demone, stabilendo le loro “dimore” sul corpo disteso della loro vittima; essi gli imprimono così la loro “forma”, ma è lui che li manifesta (il mandala di 8×8 quadrati è anche detto Manduka, la “rana”, per allusione alla Grande Rana che sostiene tutto l’universo ed è il simbolo della materia indifferenziata e oscura).
Questo doppio senso che caratterizza il Vastu-Purusha-mandala, e che si ritrova, d’altronde, in modo più o meno esplicito, in ogni simbolo, verrà per così dire “attualizzato” dal combattimento che il gioco degli scacchi rappresenta. Questo combattimento, dicevamo, è essenzialmente il conflitto fra devas e asuras, che si disputano la scacchiera del mondo. E’ qui che il simbolismo del bianco e del nero, già contenuto nell’alternanza delle caselle della scacchiera, acquista tutto il suo valore: l’armata bianca è quella della Luce, l’armata nera è quella delle tenebre. Da un punto di vista relativo, la battaglia raffigurata sulla scacchiera rappresenta sia quella di due veri e propri eserciti terreni, ciascuno dei quali combatte in nome di un principio, sia quella dello spirito e delle tenebre nell’uomo (in una guerra santa, è possibile che ciascuno dei due avversari possa legittimamente considerarsi il protagonista della lotta della Luce contro le tenebre. E’ questa un’altra conseguenza del duplice senso di ogni simbolo: quello che per l’uno è espressione dello Spirito, può essere l’immagine della materia tenebrosa agli occhi dell’altro). Sono, queste, le due “guerre sante”: la “piccola guerra santa” e la “grande guerra santa”, secondo un’espressione del Profeta. E’ da notare l’affinità fra il simbolismo del gioco degli scacchi ed il tema della Bhagavad-Gita, il libro parimenti rivolto agli Kshatriyas. Se si traspone il significato dei diversi pezzi del gioco nell’ordine spirituale, il re sarà il cuore o lo spirito e le altre figure saranno le diverse facoltà dell’anima. Le loro mosse corrispondono d’altronde a differenti modalità di realizzazione delle possibilità cosmiche rappresentate dalla scacchiera: vi è il movimento assiale delle “torri” o carri da guerra, il movimento diagonale degli “alfieri” o elefanti, che si spostano su caselle di uno stesso colore, ed il complesso movimento dei cavalieri. Il movimento assiale, che “taglia” attraverso i diversi “colori”, è logico e virile, mentre il movimento diagonale corrisponde ad una continuità “esistenziale”, perciò femminile. Il salto dei cavalieri corrisponde all’intuizione.
Ciò che più affascina l’uomo di casta nobile e guerriera, è la relazione fra volontà e destino. Ora, il gioco degli scacchi illustra proprio questa relazione, in quanto i suoi concatenamenti restano sempre intelligibili senza essere limitati nella loro varietà. Alfonso il Saggio, nel suo libro sul gioco degli scacchi, racconta che un re dell’India volle sapere se il mondo obbedisce all’intelligenza o al caso. Due saggi, suoi consiglieri, fornirono risposte contrastanti e, per provare le rispettive tesi, uno di loro prese come esempio il gioco degli scacchi, in cui l’intelligenza prevale sul caso, mentre l’altro portò dei dadi, immagine della fatalità. Del pari, al Mas’udi scrive che il re “Balhit”, il quale avrebbe codificato il gioco degli scacchi, preferì quest’ultimo al nerd, un gioco d’azzardo, poiché nel primo “l’intelligenza trionfa sempre sull’ignoranza”. Ad ogni fase del gioco, il giocatore è libero di scegliere fra varie possibilità; ma ogni mossa comporterà una serie di conseguenze ineluttabili: la necessità delimiterà vieppiù la libera scelta, facendo sì che il termine del gioco non rappresenti il frutto del caso, bensì il risultato di leggi rigorose. E’ qui che si rivela non soltanto la relazione fra volontà e destino, ma anche fra libertà e conoscenza: prescindendo da eventuali inaccortezze dell’avversario, il giocatore manterrà la propria libertà d’azione nella misura in cui le sue dimensioni coincideranno con la natura stessa del gioco, ovvero con le possibilità che questo implica. In altri termini, la libertà d’azione va in questo caso di pari passo con la preveggenza e con la conoscenza delle possibilità; l’impulso cieco, di contro, per quanto possa apparire libero e spontaneo in un primo momento, si rivela a conti fatti come una non-libertà. L’ “arte regia” sta nel governare il mondo (esteriore o interiore) in conformità con le leggi che gli sono proprie. Questa arte presuppone la sapienza, che è conoscenza delle possibilità; ora, tutte le possibilità sono contenute in sintesi nello Spirito universale e divino. La vera sapienza è l’identificazione più o meno perfetta con lo Spirito (Purusha), simboleggiato dalla qualità geometrica della scacchiera (lo Spirito o il Verbo è la “forma delle forme”, vale a dire il principio formale dell’universo), “sigillo” dell’unità essenziale delle possibilità cosmiche. Lo Spirito è la Verità: nella Verità l’uomo è libero, fuori di essa è schiavo del destino. Questo è l’insegnamento del gioco degli scacchi. Lo Kshatriya che ad esso si dedica non vi trova solo un passatempo, un modo di sublimare la sua passione guerriera e la sua sete d’avventura, ma anche (in proporzione alla sua capacità intellettuale) un supporto speculativo, una via che dall’azione porta verso la contemplazione.

2008-09-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

The Ambassadors from India present the Chatrang to Khosrow I Anushirwan, "Immortal Soul", King of Persia

2008-09-19T15:19:00.001-07:00

Shatranj by Bull Wall

From 638 to 651, Muslim troops defeated and conquered the Persian empire. It was during this period that Persian items became part of Muslim items.

Shatranj is an ancestor of chess. The Persian name of the game was Chatrang. The game came to Persia from the Indian game of Chaturanga around the 7th century AD. After the game spread to the Islamic world, its name changed to Shatranj. Shatranj was played in the Arab world for the next 9 centuries.

The shatranj pieces were shah (king), fers (counselor or general that later became the Queen), rukh (rook), Alfil (elephant, which later became the bishop), faras (horse or knight), and baidak (pawn). Castling was not allowed. Stalemating the opposing king resulted in a win for the player delivering stalemate.

When shatranj was played, the board was not checkered. There was no initial two-step pawn move or en passant capture option. Pawns arriving at the last rank was always promoted to a fers.

Openings in shatranj were usually called tabiya (battle array). Shatranj problems were called mansuba (position).

In 780, caliph al-Mahdi wrote a letter to Mecca religious leaders to give up shatrang as it was considered gambling and he did not want any graven images.

Harun al-Rashid (763-809), Caliph of Baghdad, may have been the first caliph to play shatranj. He was the 5th Abbasid caliph who ruled between 786 and 809. In 802, al-Rashid sent Charlemagne an ivory shatranj set as a gift.

During the reign of the Arabic caliphs, shatranj players of the highest class were called aliyat.

Around 820, Jabir al-Kufi, Rabrab, and Abun-Naam were three aliyat players during the rule of caliph Abu Jafar al-Ma’mun ibn Harun (786-833). He was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 to 833.

Al-Adli (800-870) was the strongest player (aliyat) during the reign of caliph al-Wathiq (died in 847). Al-Wathiq reigned from 842 to 847. He was also patronized by caliph al-Mutawakkil, who came to power in 847 and was murdered by the Turks in 861.

Al-Adli wrote a book on chess, Kitab ash-shatranj (book of shatranj), and a book on nard (kitab an-nard). His books have long been lost, but some of his problems, endgames, and opening systems have survived. His book also contained information on the older game of Chaturanga. His name indicates that he came from some part of the eastern Roman Empire, perhaps Turkey. He was the firs to classify chessplayers, the highest being aliyat. He was the first to categorize the openings into positions called tabiya. He was the first to compile chess problems, called mansubat. He also showed how to use the chessboard as a kind of abacus for purposes of calculation. He was the first to use coordinates to record positions and moves in chess. He may have been the first to discover the knight’s tour. He described a variation of shatranj played with dice. This is the earliest recorded instance of the use of dice to determine the moves of a game.

In 845, ar-Razi wrote Latif fi-sh shatranj (Elegance in Chess), a book of shatranj problems. He also wrote a book called Kitab ash-shatranj (Book of shatranj).

In 847, ar-Razi won a match against al-Adli in the presence of caliph al-Mutawakkil (821-861) in Baghdad.

In 866, al-Mutazz was playing shatranj when the head of his chief rival was brought to him.

In 880, Abu Muhammad ben Yahya as-Suli was born. He became a very famous Arab shatranj player. His great grandfather was the Turkish prince Sul-takin. His uncle was the poet Ibrahim (ibn al-‘Abbas as-Suli)

Between 902 and 908, as-Suli defeated al-Mawardi, the court shatranj champion of al-Muktafi (who died in 908), Caliph of Baghdad (reigned from 902 to 908). Al-Muktafi then made as-Suli the court shatranj player. As-Suli remained in favor of al-Mukafti until his death, then in the favor of caliphs al-Muqtadir (who died in 932) and ar-Radi (who died in 940). Some of the endgames of as-Suli are still in existence. As-Suli was also famous for his skill in playing shatranj blindfolded. As-Suli also taught shatranj. His most well known student was al-Lajlaj (the stammerer).

As-Suli was the author of Kitab Ash-Shatranj (Book of Chess). This was the first scientific book ever written on chess strategy. It contained information on common chess openings, middle game problems, and annotated endgames. It also contained the first known description of the knight’s tour problem.

Around 910, al-Lajlaj (Abdul Faraj Mhammad ibn Obaidallah) was the first to publish shatranj openings.

Upon the death of ar-Radi in 940, as-Suli fell in disfavor with the new ruler, Al-Muttaqi, who reigned from 940 to 944.. As-Suli went into exile at Basra where he spent the rest of his life in poverty. He died there in 946.

In 987, a general bibliography of shatanj was created by Ibn al-Nadim (who died in 995). This book, called the Kitab al-Fihrist (The Catalogue), included al-Aldi’s Kitab ash-shatranj (Book of Chess), ar-Razi’s Latif fi’sh-shatranj (elegance in chess), as-Suli’s Kitab ash-shatranj in two volumes, al-Laljlaj’s mansubat ash-shatranj (book of chess problems), and B. Aliqlidisi’s Kitab majmu’fi mansubat ash-shatranj (collection of chess problems).

In 1005, al-Hakim (996-1021) banned shatranj in Egypt and ordered all the chess sets burned.

In the 11th century, Muhammad ibn Abbad al-Mutamid (1040-1095), the Moorish king, was regarded as a shatranj patron.

Islamic writers that mention shatranj included Ali Ibn Rabban al-Tabiri (838-923), Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Masudi (896-956), Abu Mansur Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Daqiqi (945-980), Hakim Abul-Qasim Firdawsi (935-1020), al-Malik Muhammad ath-Tha’alibi (961-1038), Abu Raihan Muhammad al-Beruni (973-1048), and Mahmud al-Amuli (died in 1352).

Around 1280, Khalliken (died in 1282) wrote a biography on as-Suli.

2008-09-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

Iranian shatranj set, glazed fritware, 12th century. New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

2008-09-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

Playing Shatranj in a Persian miniature painting of Bayasanghori Shahnameh made in 1430 AD

2008-05-30T04:22:00.001-07:00

Islamic Ivory Chess Pieces, Draughtsmen and Dice

by Anna Contadini

There is no comprehensive study of Islamic gaming pieces, and information on them is scattered in general books or specialist articles. Research on their identification, their relationship to the various games, their history, and the development of types and shapes would contribute both to the study of games and gaming pieces in Islam, and also, given that many are in ivory, to the history of Islamic ivories in general. In this context the collection of ivory gaming pieces in the Ashmolean Museum (1) is of particular importance: not only are the seventeen pieces of very fine craftsmanship (fig.I), but they are also different in style, type and date. They fall into two main groups, depending on the games for which they were used, chess or table games, and will be examined accordingly.

Chess (2)
Chess pieces during the Islamic era fall into two broad families as far as shape is concerned. In one, the pieces are more or less naturalistic representations of figures (3) while in the other they have abstract forms. When, where and why chess pieces started to become abstract is still a matter for debate. (4) It is probable that both types were already in use soon before the Islamic era, but unfortunately our knowledge of this period is very limited.(5) Setting aside the Venafro and S. Sebastiano's catacomb pieces, which are probably of tenth or eleventh-century Italian manufacture, (6) one can cite as possibly relevant only the chess set excavated at Afrasiyab and datable, according to the archaeological context, to the seventh century AD.(7) Our knowledge of pre-Islamic times thus relies essentially on literary references.(8)

In the Islamic period we have no object certainly identifiable as a chess piece before the ninth century. Possibly the earliest are those excavated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Iranian Expedition at Nishapur, which are now in the Museum.(9) They are in ivory and of abstract design, with virtually no decoration apart from carved vertical lines (fig.4). There is one interesting exception: the horse (Knight), even if stylized, is still recognizable as a horse. Another Knight, in stone, very similar in its stylized form, is in Kuwait, Dar in

(p.111)

(Figure 1 The Islamic ivory chess pieces, draughtsmen and dice in the Ashmolean Museum.)

al-Athar al-Islamiyya, published here for the first time (fig 5).(10) Those in other sets of abstract pieces are different, however, having a conical shape with one symbolic protuberance at the front (fig.6). But this does not necessarily mean that the shape of the Nishapur piece is archaic, even though there is a temptation to assume that the abstract Nishapur designs derive from earlier figurative styles. In the present state of our knowledge it is not possible to determine the relative chronology of these two types.

All twelve chess pieces in the Ashmolean collection are abstract, and only four probably belong to the same set. Therefore, the first problem is that of identifying the pieces. Unfortunately, in board diagrams in early Islamic treatises on chess the pieces are usually not represented, being identified only by their names, which in Arabic are: shah (King), firman (Queen), fil (bishop), faros (Knight), rukhkh (Rook) and baidaq (Pawn). (11)

It is in a Western manuscript of 1283, the treatise on chess of Alfonso X the Wise, (12) that the pieces are first found clearly drawn (fig.7), (13) with board positions enabling the correct identification to be made. The treatise illustrates in detail every phase of the game, and also the making of chessmen, which are apparently turned on a bow-lathe (fig.8). (14) Other Western manuscripts portray pieces with a (p.112) strong resemblance to those shown here. The Manesse manuscript, a collection of Middle High German love lyrics of the first quarter of the fourteenth century, contains a painting of a chess match between Margrave Otto IV of Brandenburg and a lady, with clearly drawn pieces.(15) A manuscript in Kassel, dated 1334, has a miniature of a couple playing chess.(16) Those in all three manuscripts may be assigned to style set B defined below (see p.8), except for the Bishop and Knight, which belong to set A (fig.9b).

In the Islamic world, later illustrated treatises on chess contain accurate representations of boards and positions, but the pieces are not represented, again only the names being given. They are sometimes shown on the board in miniatures from the Shahnama, illustrating the passage on how the game passed from India to Persia (17) but the painter is concerned with the scene as a whole, especially with the two players. In some the pieces are not readily identifiable, or are only named.(18) However, two Shahnama manuscripts in Berlin, one dated 1489 and the other 1593, include miniatures in which it is possible to recognize a few of them. (19) These all correspond to style set B, including the Bishop and Knight.

Figure 2 (left) Figure of an elephant, ivory, possibly a chess piece. Iraq, late 9th-early l0th century AD. Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, inv. no.63C.

Figure 3 (right) Chariot (Rook), ivory. Reportedly from the Samarkand area, 7th century (?) AD. London, British Museum, inv. no. OA 1991.10-12.1.

(p. 113)

Figure 4 (top) Ivory chess pieces excavated at Nishapur, 9th century AD. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no.40.170.148.151 (after Wilkinson (1943)).
Style set A.

Figure 5 (bottom) Knight, stone. 9th century AD. Kuwait, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyya, inv. no.50 Sb (photograph courtesy of the Al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyya, Kuwait National Museum). Style set A.

(p. 114)

Figure 6 Knight, ceramic, c.11th century AD. Kuwait, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyya, inv. no. LNS 2730 (photograph courtesy of the Al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyya, Kuwait National Museum). Style set A.

The Ashmolean pieces may be approached initially through comparison with other Islamic abstract examples which, in general, have been identified by their resemblance either to modern Islamic abstract chessmen or to their earlier European counterparts. It is helpful, as a first step, to consider each piece in context, that is, to assign it to a particular style set and relate it to pieces in other col lections. Two sets may be distinguished; a list of the pieces belonging to each is given in Appendix I.

2008-05-29T18:31:00.001-07:00

The History of Xiangqi

Most people believe that Xiangqi and Shogi are variants of International Chess which was invented by the Indians in the 6th Century. This is simply not true. According to recent research, both Xiangqi and Backgammon evolved from an ancient Chinese game called Liubo that was invented some 3,500 years ago. Like Liubo, the modern Xiangqi consists of one general and five pawns, and the game is decided by the capturing of the general. Unlike Liubo, the moves of the modern Xiangqi are not determined by the roll of dice. The dice part of the game eventually evolved into another famous game, the Backgammon. Based on this revelation, Xiangqi predated both Shogi and International Chess, and the latter are obviously variants of the former instead.

There are two possible reasons why Xiangqi is called the Elephant Game (with Xiang meaning elephant and Qi meaning chess). First of all, the game pieces of general and pawns in Liubo were made of ivory. Since the games pieces were called Qi and ivory came from elephants, these pieces were called Xiangqi. Secondly, Chinese were known to incorporate elephants in military. The legendary Huang Di (>4000 years ago) allegedly had a fleet of elephants in his army. It was also recorded that elephants were used in combats during the Han Dynasty (approx. the time of Christ).

The term Xiangqi was mentioned repeatedly throughout literatures in the Chinese history. The first historical figure to be mentioned as playing Liubo (from which Xiangqi was evolved)was Emperor Shang Wu Yi. Zhou Mu Wang was also known to play Libo. In Zhao Hun of Chu Ci, the phrase "Qun Pi Xiangqi" was mentioned, and in Liu Xian's Shuo Yuan, Meng Changjun was described as playing Xiangqi and dancing with Lady Zheng.

During the Han Dynasty, a new game called GeWu or Saizhang emerged from Liubo making it one step closer to the rules of modern Xiangqi. The GeWu game was essentially the same as that of Liubo but without the use of dice. Like the modern Xiangqi, GeWu was a game of skill and not luck. Han Wu Dai was a great fan of GeWu and he established a Game Official position in his administration, just for that purpose.

By Tang Dynasty, we know that Xiangqi had evolved into a game with many game pieces (other than generals and pawns). Niu ZengYu of the Tang Dynasty mentioned a game called Xiang Xi in Xuan Qui Lu. He wrote, 'according to the legend, in Ba Zhou of the Sichuan province, there lived a family who had two odd looking mandarins growing out of a mandarin-tree garden. Each mandarin was as big as a bowl, and inside were two old men playing 'Xiang Xi', a game with many different game pieces. Xuan Qui Lu did not describe the rules of the game, but mentioned that this incidence occurred during the Chen-Zhui period. Thus, this game, probably belonged to that of the BeiZhou Dynasty. Any rate, the term "Joy inside a mandarin" has been used as a nickname of Xiangqi for centuries.

During the Bei Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Wu (Di) summarized and improved on this popular game of Xiang Xi, and documented in an article called Xiang Jin. In the third year of Tian He (568 A.D.), he summoned all his officials and demonstrated his new version of the game. Unfortunately, both Xiang Jin and any artifacts of Xiang Xi had been lost. The above was recorded in Xiang Jin Xu by Wang Bao and Xiang Xi Fu, by Yu Shin. However, both of the literatures are scholiastic in nature and did not mention the rules nor the setup of the game. Based on the information, one can only deduce that Xiang Xi was played on an 8 by 8 board with square grids. There were the outside and the inside layers. The outside layer was subdivided into two layers with East, South, West, North, South-East, South-West, North-East, and North-West on the outside, which matches the Ba Gua on the inside. The inner layer (third layer from the outside) was comprised of 12 squares, one for each month. The game pieces consisted of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, and were known as horses. Other pieces consisted of sun, moon and star, and were known as dragons. Horses were on the outside and dragons on the inside. The movements of the pieces were determined by the ying-yang of the wu shin (gold, wood, water, fire and earth) and ba gua, which directed the movements of the sun, moon, and star. Since wu shin all have their own nemesis, it's conceivable that the pieces could capture each other. However, dragons could not capture horses, much like 'rich should not mock the poor, and bend the rules', as mentioned in Xiang Jin Xu. Horses, on the other hand could be promoted to dragons, and vice versa, as alluded to in Xiang Jin Xu, 'promotions are rewarded to the righteous and demotion afflicted upon the evil.' Sun, moon and stars are often refered to as Xiang (Tian Xiang, or astronomy) which is the same character as elephant in Chinese. Together with horses (knights) as pieces, it's very possible that this is an early version of the of the modern Xiangqi...

Books of early Tang Dynasty, for example Yi Wen Lei Ju only mentioned the above game of Xiang Xi. However, during mid period of Tang Dynasty, the modern game of Xiang Qi began to take shape. Cen Shun of Xuan Qui Lu, provides an invaluable piece of information as far as the history of modern Xiang Qi is concerned.

In the story, Cen Shun, a native of Yu Nan, lived in a deserted house in Xia Zhou, in which he heard sounds like that of military drums every night. One night, he dreamt of a messenger from the Golden Elephant Kingdom, who told him that they would soon engage in a war against the Tian Na Kingdom, and invited Cen to watch. All of a sudden, the mouse hole at the foot of the wall became a gate of a castle, with two armies facing each other outside the castle. A military advisor came to the Golden Elephant King, informing him about the military strategy and said, 'The flying horse (knight) goes diagonally and stops at three (third line), the general moves all over the field, the wagon (rook) proceeds straight into the enemy's territory, and soldiers should not move sideway.' The King agreed. Indeed, the drums sounded and a horse jumped three feet diagonally. The drums sounded again and a soldier marched side way one foot. The drums sounded a third time and the wagon rolls forward. Like this, the war lasted less than one day, and the Tian Na Kingdom was badly defeated, forcing the king to flee to the south-west. Cen's family members felt funny about the whole thing, dug open the mouse hole and found an ancient tomb. Inside the tomb was a game board full of game pieces made of gold and copper. They finally realized that so-called the military strategy given by the advisor, were the movements of game pieces of this game. This story happened in the first year of Bao Yin (762 A.D.)

The above article is similar to what's described in Xuan Xi Zhi, in which a new game and its rules were introduced by a fairy tale, implying how the game was originated. From the story of Cen Shun, one knows that during the Bao Yin period, the pieces bore the names of general, wagon (rook), horse (knight), and pawn. Moreover, the horse moves diagonally, the wagon moves forward and backward, the pawn moves one step at a time, and the general is free to move all over the board. These rules are already very similar to that of the modern Xiangqi. This version, known as the Bao Yin Xiangqi, is unmistakably an early form of the modern game.

Zeng Nian Chang recorded in Xu Cang Jing, 'Shen Nong invented (Tian) Xiang (astronomy) of sun, moon and stars, and Niu Zeng Yu of Tang Dynasty replaced Xiang with wagons, horses, general, advisors, pawns and cannons.' This took place during Emperor Tang Wen Zhong's reign in 839 A.D. At that time, Niu had once again become the Prime Minister of Tang dynasty and was given the duty of laying down the rules of Xiangqi. The above seems to imply that the modern Xiangqi was invented in 839 A.D. However, this contradicts the contents of Bai JuYi's Twenty Poems of Deep Spring written in 829 A.D. In the 16th poem, Bai mentioned Xiangqi which was played with pawns and wagons as the fourth game behind Weiqi, and Liubo. From this, one can see that the modern Xiangqi was invented much earlier. With Niu's contribution in documenting the rules, it is not surprising that Niu was given the credit of inventing the game. This helped to shed light on Cen Shun's story. It was quite clear that the true inventor of the modern Xiangqi made up an interesting story about the ancient tomb to help spread the game. The game was then documented by Niu ZengYu after a few decades. By then, Xiangqi has already become more popular than the fairy tale which started the whole thing.

The Spread of Xiangqi

The early version of Bao Yin Xiangqi, laid down the foundations for the rules of the modern Xiangqi during the Song Dynasty. The bronze game pieces unearthed from the Song Dynasty contains general, advisors (guards), elephants (ministers, or bishops), wagons (rooks), horses (knights), cannon, and pawns. However, unlike the modern Xiangqi, each piece has a picture carved onto the back. The general carries a sword dressed in his uniform, sitting in a military tent. Guards were females, wearing armors. The ministers are literally elephants. Rooks are wagons for transporting rocks for the rock-slingers. Knights are horses. Cannons are actually rock-slinging machines. Pawns are depicted to hold spears. This set was unearthed in Kai Feng in Beijing.

The documentation of Xiangqi was generally attributed to Niu ZengYu who was the Prime Minister of Tang Dynasty. Did Niu name the game after Elephant which rhymes with the word Minister (thus indirectly naming the game after himself) or is it just a coincidence; nobody knows

Cheng Jing of Bei Song (960-1126 A.D.) wrote a poem on Xiangqi called Xiang Xi Shi: "Liu Bo and Xiangqi are the games of big cities, through Xiang Xi one can also learn military strategy. Wagons and horses provide all around attacks, Minister and advisors are official titles of the Han Dynasty. The wellbeing of the general inside the nine-space palace determines the outcome of the game, pawns swiftly move across the river diagonally. Smiling in front of a Catalpa Xiangqi table, even powerful leaders like Liu and Han can fight it out casually."

The poem mentions Generals (in both characters of general as in modern the game), Wagons, Horses, and Pawns. The game differs from the previous version of Bao Yin Xiangqi in that the generals are confined to palaces and pawns are allowed to step side way after crossing the river. (Although the poem uses the word 'diagonally', it is generally agreed that in those day pawns don't physically step diagonally, but appear to move diagonally after stepping side way.) The mentioning of Liu (Bang) and Han (Yu) in the poem implies that the inscription of Chu He (Han Yu's territory) and Han Jie (Liu Bang's territory) was probably quite popular at that time.

About the same time as Cheng Jing, Zhao Bu Zhi alluded to a game which he learned as a kid in Guang Xiang Xi Xu, "The game is played on a 11 X 11 board with 32 game pieces and is very inspiring." It mentions that the author tried to expand the game into 19 x 19 with 98 game pieces to increase its complexity. From this, most people deduced that the board size in Bei Song (960-1126 A.D.) was 11x11 and did not become the current size until some time in Nan Song (1127-1279 A.D.). However, Lee Qing Zhao, who was about 30 years younger than Cheng Jing, attached a Xiangqi board in her publication Da Ma Tu Jing that was identical to the modern board. This contradicted Zhao Jing's writing. However since Lee actually showed the board, her account of the board size tends to be more credible. Thus it is safe to conclude that the modern board size was arrived at before the Bei Song Dynasty.

Let's look at how 32 game pieces can be arranged on a 11x11 board as suggested by Zhao Jing, which seems puzzling. Having empty spaces next to the rooks will give Red (who plays first) a tremendous advantage over the opponent in the deployment of the rooks and is almost impossible to have a balance game. Moreover, the route of the Minister will be all over the place on a 11 x 11 board. Reading Guang Xiang Xi Xu carefully one realizes that the way the game was played was to place pieces in-between the lines (like the Western Chess) instead of on the intersections. Thus a board of 11 line x 11 lines, is only 10 x 10 physically. However, with a 10x10 board, it's impossible to have a palace of nine-spaces in the center of the two sides. This lead to the suspicion that Zhao was sloppy in his description of the board size; what he meant to say was a board size of 10 x 11 (which is identical to the modern boards of 9x10). Otherwise, it is difficult to explain the discrepancy between Lee and Zhao's accounts on the board size. One interest point is that ancient Xiangqi was probably played with pieces in-between lines like the Western Chess and did not convert to the current way until some time around the turn of the first millenium.

http://www.yutopian.com/chinesechess/history.html

Pezzi antichi - Europa

2008-05-28T04:38:00.000-07:00

South Italian Kings, black and red, front and back-side elephant ivory, beg. 12th c.,Museo Bargello, Florence, Italy

Scandinavian Chess pieces: Knight, King, King and Rook - Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Italy

2008-05-24T17:05:00.000-07:00

Burma, 18th century, ivory, red and green paint. The Metropolitan Museum Of Art

Sittuyin, the Burmese Chess
Les échecs birmans - Scacchi Birmani

2008-05-18T03:16:00.000-07:00

History of Weiqi

Nobody knows for sure when Weiqi (Go) was invented. According to the legend, Emperor Yao (2357-2255 B.C.) invented Weiqi to enlighten his son Dan Zhu. It was also recorded that Shun's son Shang Jun was not bright and Shun (2255-2205 B.C.) invented Weiqi to teach him. The Encyclopedia Britannica records that it was invented in China in 2306 B.C. (Encyclopedia Americana, 2300 B.C.). Ancient literatures like Zuo Zhuan, Lun Yu, and Meng Zi, mentioned 'Yi' (Yutopian uses Yi as our logo), the ancient word for Weiqi. Yi has become the official name for Weiqi during the Han Dynasty (approximately the time of Christ, 2000 years ago). Xu Shen wrote in Shuo Wen, 'Yi is Wei Qi'. Yang Xiong wrote in Fang Yan, 'Wei Qi is known as Yi, people from Guan Dong to Qi Lu call this game Yi.' Yi Zhi (written by Ban Gu) mentioned 'Northerners call this (game) Yi.' In ancient Chinese language, it's not common to replace a single character name (Yi) by a compound name (Wei Qi). However Weiqi is an exception, because the name Wei means to surround, and it gives a nice description of the game. Surrounding, is a key element in the game of Weiqi. From this, we can understand why Wei Qi has replaced Yi and become the official name.
Weiqi in Ancient China

The earliest mentioning of Weiqi in history can be found in '25th Year of Xiang Gong in Zuo Zhuan'. In 559 B.C. (during Dongzhou Dynasty), official Shu Yi used an analog of Weiqi to describe a person who cannot make up his mind. The phrase, 'Ju Qi Bu Ding' has become a famous idiom or proverb. (Note: Ju Qi Bu Ding means a person who picks up a stone and is undecided as where to make a move.)

In 'Gao Zi of Meng Zi', it recorded a story about Yi Qiu, the best Weiqi player in Zhan Guo, who taught his two students to play Weiqi. One of them paid great attention and the other daydreamt and imagined a condor flying by the window and he was shooting at it with a bow and arrows. Although both of them have the same teacher, their progress in learning differed greatly. This has nothing to do with one's intelligence Meng Zi explained, 'Even a simple game like Weiqi demands one's full attention.'
Weiqi During the Han Dynasty

During the Xihan Dynasty, the popularity of Weiqi continued. The founder of Xihan, Emperor Liu Bang was described as playing Weiqi and admiring flowers with his concubine Qi in 'Xi Jing Za Ji'. Unfortunately, there is only a handful of such stories in history. Most upper class people at the time criticized Weiqi as being addictive. For example, in 'Han Shu', Jia Yi described Weiqi as a disgrace because of it's addictive nature. Shi You of 'Ji Ju Pian' also criticized Weiqi and Liubo players as being frivolous. In 'San Pu Huang Tu', it was recorded that Weiqi was played in the Han Palace as fortune telling, with the winner being healthy and prosperous the entire year and the loser gets sick and poor. Basically, during the Xihan Dynasty, most people still grouped Weiqi as in the same category as Liubo, a game of luck and gamble. This greatly harmed the image of Weiqi for years.

Scholars in the Donghan Dynasty tried to give Weiqi a good name by emphasizing on its theory and strategy. One example is Ban Gu's 'Yi Zhi', which first stated the basics of Weiqi, followed by the differences between Weiqi and Liubo, Weiqi's variations, and how it conforms to the teachings of Confucius. According to ancient Chinese tradition, everything has to conform to the teaching of Dao or it is wrong. With 'Yi Zhi' trying to correct the image of Weiqi, the game became even more popular. Both 'Xin Lun' (by Hen Tan) and 'Jing Zhi Zi' of 'Sui Su' went one step further and attested Weiqi as a game of military stratagem. Ma Yong, also pointed out in 'Weiqi Fu', 'Weiqi is a game of military deployment, with the three feet table as the battle field.' This helped to raise the social status of Weiqi, stressing the scientific and practicality aspects of the game. It is noteworthy to point out a passage in 'Xin Lun' on Weiqi theory. It says, 'A topnotch player takes control of the whole board and wins without a fight; a so-so player cuts and attacks making it difficult to tell the outcome; a low level player defends the corner and sides and tries to make life passively.' These Weiqi concepts are quite applicable even after 2000 years.

One of the reasons why scholars of Donghan rejected Weiqi was because the game was perceived as cunning (tricking the opponent to claim victory). This opposed the teaching of Confucius, requiring one to work hard the old fashion way. Huang Xian wrote in 'Ji Lun', 'The secret of winning Weiqi is trickery, the side that fails to trick the opponent losestrickery in Weiqi is not to let the opponent know one's real planEverything in this world is trickery!' Trickery requires wit and that's the main difference between Weiqi and Liubo (which requires luck). Huang laid the foundation which eventually led to the awareness of the difference between Weiqi and Liubo.

Between Donghan and the Three Kingdoms, the popularity of Weiqi grew by leaps and bounce. Weiqi seemed to have finally shed its bad image and became a game of military stratagem. The world is a chaotic Weiqi game, and there are countless games that took place on the board. A number of such events are recorded in history.

Weiqi During the Three Kingdoms

The Wei Kingdom- Cao Cao was a great Weiqi player during the Three Kingdom Period, and was evenly matched with great players like Shan Zidao, Guo Kai, and Wang Jiuzhen. Recently, the tomb of Cao Cao's grandfather, Cao Teng was excavated, finding a set of pebble Weiqi stones. From this, one can see that Cao's family had a long history of playing Weiqi. Cao Cao had 25 sons and among them, Cao Pi and Cao Zhang were known to play Weiqi with the former killing the latter in a game.

With Cao Cao being a Weiqi fan, it's not surprising that his followers also liked the game. Among the Seven Scholars of Jiangan, Ying Yi (or Ying Yang) wrote Yi Shi, and Wang Can wrote Weiqi Fu Xu. Wang Can was also known for his great memory on moves. The Tale of the Red Mansion mentioned that Xi Chun studied Kong Rong's games. In reality, there is no support to claim that Kong Rong played Weiqi. However, his two sons were said to be playing Weiqi, when Cao Cao arrested them.

The Shu Kingdom- Among the three blood brothers, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Guan was known to play Weiqi during an arm surgery. General Fei Wei, Zhuge Liang's appointed successor for himself used Weiqi to deploy his army. Whether Zhuge Kong Ming himself played Weiqi has been a question of great interest. There is no indication in history pointing one way or the other. Allegedly, there are carvings of boards on rocks, left behind by him in Chengdu of Sichuan, Jiangling of Hubei, and Shaoyang of Hunan. The author of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms created a poem and accredited that to Zhuge Liang, 'The round (bowl) lid is like the sky and the board the land. The world is in black and white fighting over glory and name.'

The Wu Kingdom- Weiqi was very active in the Wu Kingdom with Yan Wu being known as one of the eight greatest players in Wu. He was known as the 'Qi Saint' together with Ma Suiming. The earliest Weiqi game record came from Wu and was known as the Wu Diagram, as mentioned in Du Mu's poem (Tang Dynasty). This game played between Sun Ce and Lu Fan, was recorded in Wang You Qing Yue Ji of the Song Dynasty. Because the board size is 19x19, a lot of people doubt its authenticity. Regardless whether it was played between Sun Ce and Lu Fan, it is the oldest Weiqi record in the world. Lu Sun of the Wu Kingdom was known as to trick the Wei Army With Weiqi.

One literature of the Wu Kingdom worth mentioning is Wei Yao's Bo Yi Lun, which recorded Prince Sun He as criticizing Weiqi as a bad influence within the palace. He said, 'In search of Weiqi as a war stratagem, it is not as profound as that of the Wu Kingdom; In examining Weiqi as a theory of Dao, it is not in same the class as Confucianism; Labeling the game as trickery, it is not what a trustworthy perso would do . Labeling the game as ko (original Chinese word for ko means to rob), it is not what a righteous person would do.' From his criticism, we can imagine the popularity of Weiqi in the Wu Kingdom.

Weiqi During the Jin Dynasties:

We know that the first emperor of the Jin Dynasty, Sima Yan, was a great Weiqi fan. This helps to shed light on the popularity of Weiqi during this period. There are two incidences about him in history. The first one happened in 279 AD when General Du Yu came to see Sima Yan urging him to attack the Wu Kingdom. Sima Yan was playing Weiqi with Zhang Hua at the time and Du illustrated on the board how a fast pace attack could bring a swift end to Wu. As a result, the Wu kingdom was eliminated. The second incidence happened right at the heels of the first with Sun Hao, the king of Wu brought in front of Sima Yan, who was playing Weiqi with his son-in-law Wang Ji. Wang Ji tried to mock Sun Hao by asking why he liked to skin people alive. Sun replied, 'Those who has no respect for the king, deserve to be skinned' (implying that Wang Ji showed no respect to him). Wang was stunned and for a long time could not make a move on the Weiqi board. Unfortunately, Sima Yan's son Jin Hui Di was a dumb king and he almost gave up the kingdom that his father had established. The Jin Dynasty never did recover from this.

There were two famous families in Weiqi during the Jin Dynasty, the Wangs and the Xies. Wang Dao was a high ranking official and had a prominent position (next to the king) in the administration of Dong Jin. He loved to play Weiqi with his oldest son Wang Yue, who was known for his piety and was approved by his father. However, Wang Yue became dead serious while playing Weiqi. One time, Wang Yue grabbed his father's hand and won't let him make a move during an argument over the game. Wang Dao was amused by his son's serious attitude and began to laugh, saying, 'Good thing I am your father. I hate to imagine what will happen if we were strangers.' Wang Yue's little brother, Wang Tian, was considered as one of the best players at the time. Wang Dao once played a game with Jiang Ban, who had the same reputation as Wang Tian. From this, one can conclude that Wang Dao was quite a player himself.

As far as the Xie family is concerned, Xie An was the most famous. During the Battle of Fei Shui, Xie An bet his villa on a game of Weiqi against his nephew Xian Zuan, to illustrate that if one is determined one can overcome a stronger opponent. As a result, although they were outnumbered by the Qin army, they won the battle. This story was recorded in Xie An Zhuan of Jin Shu.

For other stories of the Jin Dynasty, please click here.

Evolution of Weiqi Equipment
Wei Qi Boards

The rule of surrounding and capturing remain essentially unchanged throughout history, but the board had evolved. Nowadays, Weiqi boards are 19 x 19. But boards unearthed in China suggested that early boards were smaller. A board from the Liao Dynasty discovered in 1977 in Inner Mongolia is 13 x 13. On the other hand, a 17 x 17 board from Han Dynasty (25A.D.-220A.D.) was unearthed in WangDu, Hebei in 1954. A 17 x 17 board is also seen in an ancient painting, Tang Lady Playing Go, unearthed in Xin Jiang. In 1971, a 19 x 19 boardfrom the Sui Dynasty (581 - 618 A.D.) was unearthed in An Yang of Hunan.

Although the number of grids is different on these ancient boards, it's always an odd number. There are two possible reasons for this. First of all, odd number grids can prevent tie games. Second, in early days (dating back to prehistoric times) the Chinese were known to start the game by playing in the center of the board; and this is only possible with odd number grids.

From the development of Weiqi throughout history, one can conclude that 17x17 and 19x19 boards were most popular. Two literatures during the NanBei Dynasty, YiJing and DuQuGe both mentioned 17 x 17 boards, indicating that it was quite popular at that time. Even today, 17 x 17 boards can still be seen in Tibet and XiJin. The earliest 19 x 19 board unearthed to date is the porcelain table of Sui Dynasty (581-618 A.D.) found in Hunan. However, SunZi Suan Jing of DongHan (or BeiZhou) alluded to a 19 x 19 board, thus it is possible that 19 x 19 boards were invented as early as the Han Dynasty (time of Christ). Comparing the two board sizes, 19 x 19 is more scientific. First of all, it allows a balance of territory between the third and the fourth lines. For example, if White takes the outward influence by playing his stones on the fourth line along each side to form a square, and Black gets the real territory by playing on the third line around the board. White forms 169 points of territory with 48 stones for an efficiency of 3.52 points per stone, and Black gets 192 points with 56 stones for an efficiency of 3.43 points per stone. The stone efficiencies (3.52~3.43) are very close. The same cannot be said on a 17 x 17 board. White gets 121 points with 40 stones for an efficiency of 3.03 points per stone, and Black gets 168 points with 48 for an efficiency of 3.5 points per stone. In other words, it is much more beneficial to crawl along the third line on a 17 x 17 board because the stone efficiency of getting real territory is larger than that of taking the outward influence (3.5>3.03). This makes cosmic style far less attractive on a 17 x 17 board. Moreover, it is far easier for Black to maintain the advantage of playing first, on a smaller board. Thus it was not surprising that the 17 X 17 board was eventually abolished towards the end of the NanBei Dynasty.

As we have pointed out, the 19 X 19 board has its scientific merit. However, historically, Chinese tried to justify this board size by other means. In the Thirteen Passages of Wei Qi, Zhang Yi wrote, "There are 360 plus 1 intersections, and 1 is the beginning of all numbers. It occupies the Tengen (center point) and drives the whole board. There are 360 days in a year. With four corners of the board symbolizing the four seasons, and the 90 intersections in each quadrant for each of the 90 days in every season. The 72 intersections along the edge of the board, symbolize the weather." Thus the Chinese tried to correlate astronomy and meteorology with Wei Qi. Although not exact (e.g., there are 365 days in a year instead of 360), it does reflect the common thinking of the ancient Chinese.

Another interesting point is the presence of setup stones at the four corners of the board in ancient games. As we mentioned earlier, the prehistoric Chinese probably started the game at the center of the board. It is thus conceivable that players can easily delineate territory from the center of the board, at the onset of the game, making it quite uninteresting. Thus it is possible that the setup stones were introduced to prevent this. The fact that opposite corners are occupied by setup stones of the same color tend to support this theory. With the setup stones, the development of the game is greatly limited. Thus the setup stones have been considered as the main reason why the strength of Chinese players had fallen behind the Japanese (who abolished the setup stones much earlier). On the other hand, it's not true to say that all ancient Chinese games involved setup stones. Stronger players usually do not put setup stones in the corners in handicap games, known as the "flowerless corner game records". The ancient Chinese did a lot of research on the opening of these games. The presence of the setup stones also reflects the intense fighting nature of the ancient Chinese players. Bao Ding of the Qing Dynasty wrote, "In games with the setup stones, it's important to attack immediately while defending; In games without the setup stones, one can leisurely set up one's territory."

Click here for a picture of the Decorated Table, a gift from the Chinese Tang Dynasty Emperor to Japan.

Wei Qi Stones

Wood and Pebble Stones

The fact that "wood" and "stone" are used separately in the two versions of the Chinese character of Qi (short for Wei Qi), tends to indicate that wood and stone were the two most popular materials used for making Go stones. Yang Xiong wrote in Fa Yan, "chop branches into Qi." Although some think that Yang was referring to another game Liu Bo, it's likely that wood was also used for the game of Go. Wei Yao wrote in Bo Yi Lun, 'three hundred pieces of Qi made from branches', shows that at least during the Three Kingdoms (220-265 A.D.), wooden stones were readily available. Bai Kung Liu Tie mentioned that stones made of precious wood like the purple sandalwood and Rui Long Nao were available in the Gui family in Guan Cheng. The other popular material used for ancient stones is rock or pebbles. A pebble go set that belonged to a famous general (301 A.D.) in Xi Jin was unearthed in China.
Stones made of Ivory and Rhino Horns

Yu Lou Zhi recorded that Emperor Yao (2356-2255 B.C.) taught his son Dan Zhu the game of go using "mulberry wood as board, and rhino horns and ivory as stones." Although it's highly unlikely that the author would know what materials were used by Yao for the equipment, the materials alluded to above are not completely out of the question. Cao Lu of Xi Jin (265-316 A.D.) mentioned using rhino horns and ivory as black and white stones, indicating that these exotic material have been used as go stones as early as 1700 years ago. Since then, a vast variety of precious and exquisite go stones have been manufactured throughout history.
Clam-Shell and Jade Stones

Tang Ji wrote in Xie Ren Hui Qi, "Qi cut out of clam shells, look like stars falling from the sky." In 1987, twenty-two lens shape clam shell and green jade stones of the Tang Dynasty were unearthed in Xian. (Note: Clam-shell stones are still used by the Japanese nowadays. The above discovery tends to indicate that the lens shape clam-shell stones were invented by the Chinese, and were introduced to Japan together with the game of Go). Xin Tang Su- Di Li Zhi recorded that jade stones were available in Ru Nan of the Chai Province. Du Mu (803 - 852 A.D.) a famous poet wrote a poem about playing a farewell game of go with his friend using jade stones and catalpa table. Jade was commonly used for Go stones in upper classes, in China. Nowadays, jade stones are still used in important games in China, e.g., the third game of the 5th Sino-Japanese Super Go (1989) between Sonoda Yuichi 9 dan and Zhang Wendong was played using a jade set.
Crystal, Quartz and Yunnan Weiqi Stones

Song Shi recorded that Emperor Song Tai Zhong (976-997 A.D.) awarded a set of crystal go stones to Qian Shu. Lee Dongyang of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.) talked about "watching a battle of Qi with crystal stones" in his poem. Quartz stones were introduced during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 A.D.), as supported by artifact unearthed recently in China. It is worth mentioning here that the Yunnan Weiqi stones have earned itself a fine reputation in the history of go equipment. Nan Zhong Za Zhi says, "A lot of places around Tian Nan make Weiqi stones, but only Yong Chang is the best The white stones look like egg shell in color, and the black ones are jet black but look green (when held up against a strong beam of light.)" The Yunnan Weiqi stones were used as gift to the royal family as early as the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.), and they are often compared to jade stones as far as quality is concerned.

http://www.yutopian.com/go/misc/gohistory.html

2008-05-17T16:13:00.000-07:00

Shatranj by Bull Wall

From 638 to 651, Muslim troops defeated and conquered the Persian empire. It was during this period that Persian items became part of Muslim items.

Shatranj is an ancestor of chess. The Persian name of the game was Chatrang. The game came to Persia from the Indian game of Chaturanga around the 7^th century AD. After the game spread to the Islamic world, its name changed to Shatranj. Shatranj was played in the Arab world for the next 9 centuries.

The shatranj pieces were shah (king), fers (counselor or general that later became the Queen), rukh (rook), Alfil (elephant, which later became the bishop), faras (horse or knight), and baidak (pawn). Castling was not allowed. Stalemating the opposing king resulted in a win for the player delivering stalemate.

When shatranj was played, the board was not checkered. There was no initial two-step pawn move or en passant capture option. Pawns arriving at the last rank was always promoted to a fers.

Openings in shatranj were usually called tabiya (battle array). Shatranj problems were called mansuba (position).

In 780, caliph al-Mahdi wrote a letter to Mecca religious leaders to give up shatrang as it was considered gambling and he did not want any graven images.

Harun al-Rashid (763-809), Caliph of Baghdad, may have been the first caliph to play shatranj. He was the 5^th Abbasid caliph who ruled between 786 and 809. In 802, al-Rashid sent Charlemagne an ivory shatranj set as a gift.

During the reign of the Arabic caliphs, shatranj players of the highest class were called aliyat.

Around 820, Jabir al-Kufi, Rabrab, and Abun-Naam were three aliyat players during the rule of caliph Abu Jafar al-Ma’mun ibn Harun (786-833). He was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 to 833.

Al-Adli (800-870) was the strongest player (aliyat) during the reign of caliph al-Wathiq (died in 847). Al-Wathiq reigned from 842 to 847. He was also patronized by caliph al-Mutawakkil, who came to power in 847 and was murdered by the Turks in 861.

Al-Adli wrote a book on chess, Kitab ash-shatranj (book of shatranj), and a book on nard (kitab an-nard). His books have long been lost, but some of his problems, endgames, and opening systems have survived. His book also contained information on the older game of Chaturanga. His name indicates that he came from some part of the eastern Roman Empire, perhaps Turkey. He was the firs to classify chessplayers, the highest being aliyat. He was the first to categorize the openings into positions called tabiya. He was the first to compile chess problems, called mansubat. He also showed how to use the chessboard as a kind of abacus for purposes of calculation. He was the first to use coordinates to record positions and moves in chess. He may have been the first to discover the knight’s tour. He described a variation of shatranj played with dice. This is the earliest recorded instance of the use of dice to determine the moves of a game.

In 845, ar-Razi wrote Latif fi-sh shatranj (Elegance in Chess), a book of shatranj problems. He also wrote a book called Kitab ash-shatranj (Book of shatranj).

In 847, ar-Razi won a match against al-Adli in the presence of caliph al-Mutawakkil (821-861) in Baghdad.

In 866, al-Mutazz was playing shatranj when the head of his chief rival was brought to him.

In 880, Abu Muhammad ben Yahya as-Suli was born. He became a very famous Arab shatranj player. His great grandfather was the Turkish prince Sul-takin. His uncle was the poet Ibrahim (ibn al-‘Abbas as-Suli)

Between 902 and 908, as-Suli defeated al-Mawardi, the court shatranj champion of al-Muktafi (who died in 908), Caliph of Baghdad (reigned from 902 to 908). Al-Muktafi then made as-Suli the court shatranj player. As-Suli remained in favor of al-Mukafti until his death, then in the favor of caliphs al-Muqtadir (who died in 932) and ar-Radi (who died in 940). Some of the endgames of as-Suli are still in existence. As-Suli was also famous for his skill in playing shatranj blindfolded. As-Suli also taught shatranj. His most well known student was al-Lajlaj (the stammerer).

As-Suli was the author of Kitab Ash-Shatranj (Book of Chess). This was the first scientific book ever written on chess strategy. It contained information on common chess openings, middle game problems, and annotated endgames. It also contained the first known description of the knight’s tour problem.

Around 910, al-Lajlaj (Abdul Faraj Mhammad ibn Obaidallah) was the first to publish shatranj openings.

Upon the death of ar-Radi in 940, as-Suli fell in disfavor with the new ruler, Al-Muttaqi, who reigned from 940 to 944.. As-Suli went into exile at Basra where he spent the rest of his life in poverty. He died there in 946.

In 987, a general bibliography of shatanj was created by Ibn al-Nadim (who died in 995). This book, called the Kitab al-Fihrist (The Catalogue), included al-Aldi’s Kitab ash-shatranj (Book of Chess), ar-Razi’s Latif fi’sh-shatranj (elegance in chess), as-Suli’s Kitab ash-shatranj in two volumes, al-Laljlaj’s mansubat ash-shatranj (book of chess problems), and B. Aliqlidisi’s Kitab majmu’fi mansubat ash-shatranj (collection of chess problems).

In 1005, al-Hakim (996-1021) banned shatranj in Egypt and ordered all the chess sets burned.

In the 11^th century, Muhammad ibn Abbad al-Mutamid (1040-1095), the Moorish king, was regarded as a shatranj patron.

Islamic writers that mention shatranj included Ali Ibn Rabban al-Tabiri (838-923), Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Masudi (896-956), Abu Mansur Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Daqiqi (945-980), Hakim Abul-Qasim Firdawsi (935-1020), al-Malik Muhammad ath-Tha’alibi (961-1038), Abu Raihan Muhammad al-Beruni (973-1048), and Mahmud al-Amuli (died in 1352).

Around 1280, Khalliken (died in 1282) wrote a biography on as-Suli.

:::

http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lab/7378/shatranj.htm

2008-05-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Chess History and Chronology by Bill Wall (April 24, 2008)

0531 Khosrau I (Chosroes I or Anushirvan) becomes king of Persia until 579; under his reign, chess was introduced from India
0550 Chaturanga, earliest chess precursor, created in the Punjab.
0570 FABLES OF PILPAY written for Chosroes I, king of Persia; mentions chess
0570 Form of chess being played in China with dice.
0570 Mohammad, founder of Islam, born. Died in 632. Had an impact on chess.
0590 Chatrang was an accepted noble accomplishment.
0600 Chessmen mentioned in the Sanskrit fantasy romance, Vasavadatta by Subandhu.
0600 1st reference to chess (shatranj) in literature, the Persian romantic KARNAMAK.
0610 Earliest chess pieces identified.
0620 Chess introduced in Egypt.
0625 Chaturanga mentioned in the Sanskrit, Harshacharita, by Bana.
0630 Chatrang (old Persian word for chess) developed from chaturanga.
0632 Mohammad died (born in 570).
0634 Abu Bekr, first caliph, succeeded as caliph by Omar I; conquers Syria, Persia, and Egypt
0638 The Caliph Omar (584-644) sanctions chess among the Islamic people.
0638 Islamic conquest of Persia changes chatrang to shatranj.
0640 Buddhists spread chatrang eastward.
0650 Short romance written in Persian, Chatrang-namak, describing chess.
0656 Ali Ben Abu Talib (600-661) becomes caliph; disapproves of chess for Muslims.
0665 Sa'id Bin Jubair born. 1st to play blindfold.
0665 Amr ibn al-Asi, Muslim general and conqueror of Egypt died. Chessplayer.
0680 50th rule of the canons forbids chess.
0685 Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan reigned. A chessplayer.
0690 Chess prohibited in Japan by the Emperor Jito.
0700 Sa'id Bin Jubair, a Black judge, plays blindfold chess.
0705 Abdalmalik b. Marwan died. Earliest Umayyad calph associated with chess.
0710 Walid I kills chessplayer when the player purposely played bad against him.
0712 Seville conquered by Arabs. Moorish invaders bring chess to Iberia.
0714 Sa'id Bin Jubair died.
0715 al-Waldi I died. Killed a chessplayer who avoided beating the caliph.
0720 1st literary references to chess in Arabic.
0725 Sulaiman ibn Yashar died. Disapproved chess.
0728 Arabic poet al-Farazdaq died. His will mentions pawns of chess.
0735 Living chess introduced in Europe by Charles Martel (688-741).
0742 az-Zuhi died. Great laywer of the Umayyad period and chessplayer.
0743 Hisham ibn Abdal-Malik died. Caliph and chessplayer. Ruled 724-743
0750 Abbasid caliphs come to power in Baghdad. Document chess.
0763 Harun ar-Rashid born. Abbasid caliph of Islam 786-809. Chessplayer
0770 1st mention of women chessplayers.
0776 Poet Abu Hafs Omar ibn Abdalaziz called ash-Shatranji, the chessplayer.
0780 Moorish invaders of Spain introduce chess to Western Europe.
0780 al-Mahdi write a letter to Mecca to give up chess, dice, and archery.
0790 Earliest known chess piece dates to this period.
0795 1st reference to Chinese chess in the HUAN KWAI LU (Book of Marvels).
0800 Chinese chess (Hsiang ch'i) introduced.
0800 Moors bring chess to Spain. Chess reaches Italy.
0800 Corr. game by Emperor Nicephorus and Haron Al-Rashid.
0800 Al-Rushid (786-809), Caliph of Baghdad, 1st caliph to play chess.
0800? al-Adli ar-Rumi born. Chessplayer
0801 Charlemagne (742-814) introduced to chess.
0802 Nicephorus of Byzantium (Byzantime emperor from 802 to 811) writes to al-Rashid about chess.
0805 Ash-shafi'i, famous muslim lawyer, plays blindfold.
0808 Al Amon, Caliph of Baghdad protested at being disturbed while playing.
0809 Harun ar-Rashid died. Abbasid caliph of Islam 786-809. 1st in his dynasty to play chess.
0813 Abdullah al-Mamum (786-833), son of Harun ar-Rashid, reigned. Chessplayer.
0818 Top players were Jabir al-Kufi, Rabrab, and Abu'n-Na'am. (aliyat)
0819 al-Mamum watched Rabrab, Jabir al-Kufi, and Abdalghaffar al-Ansari play chess in Baghdad.
0819 Caliph Al-Ma'mun (Abdullah alMa'mun) gives 4 players the grandmaster title.
0820 Chess introduced in Russia thru the Caspian-Volga trade route.
0821 Chess introduced by Ziriab (Abul Hassan Ali ben Nafi) in Cordoba. He was a Persian musician who lived in Baghdad.
0840 1st chess problem composed by the caliph Al-Aziz Billah.
0840 al-Aldi is considered the best chessplayer (aliyat)
0842 al-Aldi, authors 'a book of chess.'
0842 al-Mutasim ibn Harun ar-Rashid died. Chess problem attributed to him.
0848 ar-Razi defeats al-Aldi in the presence of al-Mutawakki.
0848 Yahya ben Hahya died in Cordoba. Chess author.
0849 Reference to chess in Kashmir Hara-vijaya (Victory of Siva) by Ratnakara.
0850 Decimal chess invented. Board is 10 x 10. 1st use of dice in chess.
0860 Mohammed I, Emir of Cordoba from 852 to 886, is a passionate chess player.
0866 Abdullah Ibn Al-Mutazz was playing chess when the head of his chief arrival was brought to him.
0875 1st reference to knight's tour (turaga) in the Sanskrit Kavyalankara (ornaments of poetry) by Rudrata.
0880 Abu-Bakr Muhammad ben Yahya as-Suli born (880-946). Author of 1st book on shatranj.
0880 Coordinate notation used in the Arab countries.
0892 al-Mutadid (Ah mad alMutadid) comes to power. Chessplayer.
0895 Chess introduced to the Greeks; call it zatrikion.
0900 Chessplayers in India wages their fingers in chess matches.
0900 Chess introduced into Europe.
0902 al-Muktafi reigns (902-908); as-Suli is his best chess player.
0905 as-Suli defeats al-Mawardi in front of al-Muktafi.
0905 Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Yahya as-Suli, historian and top chess player.
0910 al-lajlaj (the stammerer) is the first to publish openings.
0920 Chess pieces are given Persian names.
0932 ar-Radi reigns. Taught chess by as-Suli.
0936 Saint Genadio died. First Christian saint related with chess. Was Bishop of Astorga.
0938 Chess pieces donated to the Celanova monastary.
0946 As-Suli died at Basra; strongest shatranj player in Baghdad.
0947 al-Ma'sudi, writes on the history of chess in India and Byzantine chess.
0950 Einsiedeln manuscript mentions the colored chessboard as a recent invention
0960 Further references of Chinese chess in the sung period.
0970 Abul Faraj Muhammad ibn Obaidallah, or al Lajlaj (the Stammerer) died. Pupil of as-Suli.
0973 Al-Beruni born. Wrote INDIA, which mentioned chess.
0975 Daqiqi begins the SHAHAMA, national epic of Persia
0975 Saint Rosendo (907-975) died. Was a chessplayer. He was Bishop of Mondonedo.
0980 Rabbi Abu Yachia describes chess in his Hebrew writings.
0988 Ibn an-Nadim writes on a whole succession of leading players and chessbooks.
0999 Versus de scachis is a 98-line poem describing the game & its rules.
0999 Earlist known literary account of chess in Europe, the Einsiedeln Verses, Switzerland.
1000 Chess is widely known throughout Europe.
1000? A series of documents appear in the county of Urgell (Urgel), Spain (Catalan county) mentioning chess.
1000 Chess reaches Russia from Byzantium and from the the Vikings.
1000 The daughter of Otto II (955-983) was "won" from a chess match.
1005 Chess is banned in Egypt by al-Hakim; and all chess sets were burned.
1007 Petrus Damiani born.
1008.07.28 1st written reference to chess in Europe, from a will of Ermengaud (Armengol) I, Count of Urgell.
1011 Firdausi (Ferdowsi) (935-1020) completes Shahnama or Book of Kings. Written in Persian. References to chess.
1013 Chess brought to England with the Danish invasion.
1027 Canute (995-1035), King of Denmark and England, learns to play chess from pilgrimmage to Rome.
1030 al-Beruni writes of an Indian form of 4-handed chess and dice. - INDIA
1033 Chess pieces donated by Sancho II of Navarra to the church of San Millan de la Cogolla.
1035 Canute died.
1045 Priest from Urgell called Seniofredo donates chess set to the church of San Julian de Bar.
1045.10.22 Testimony drawn up by Ramon Levita of Badalona, bequesting his chess set to his brother.
1048 Al-Beruni died. Wrote INDIA which mentioned chess.
1050 Earliest reference of chess in the German literature, the Latin epic Ruodlieb.
1055 Chess poem, Ludus scacorum or Elgia de Ludo Scachorum, written.
1058 al-Mawardi died. Wrote about chess.
1058 Countess Ermessinda, widow of Count Ramon Borell (972-1017) wills her chess set to the abbey of San Egidio
1060 William the Conqueror (1027-1087) breaks chessboard over the head of the dauphin of France
1061.12 Cardinal Bishop Pedro Damiani (1007-1072) of Ostia writes to Pope Alexander II to forbid chess from the clergy
1066 Chess introduced into Britain.
1068 testament of Arsenda, wife of Arnau de Tost, stating that her chess board remains with her husband
1070 al-mutamid, Moorish king, regarded as a chess patron.
1071 Arnau Mir de Tost lists his 13 chess sets as part of his assets prior to him going on a pilgrimage
1072 Damiani died.
1078 ibn Ammar defeats King Alfonso VI (1040-1109) of Castile in a game of chess. Was spared Seville. (Muslim origin)
1080 Normans name the financial departments exchequer.
1081 Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Commenus (1048-1118) comes to power. Plays chess (zakitron) with his court.
1082 Regulations of chess in persia are published.
1089 Jayyash leads revolt after disguising himself as indian chessplayer.
1090 Boards with alternating light and dark squares are introduced.
1092 Abraham Ben Ezra b. in Tudela, Spain. Author of Hebrew chess works.
1093 Chess is condemned by the eastern orthodox church.
1097 1st French reference to chess by Fouche de Chartes and Robert de St. Remi, who mention chess as a pastime
1098 Turkish General Karbuga was playing chess during the siege of Antioch by Peter the Hermit.
1100 Abu 'l-Fath Ahmad as-Sinjari writes chess manuscript containing 287 mansubat.
1100 1st Central European reference to chess.
1100 Chess becomes accepted as a regular featue of noble life.
1100 Chess introduced in Poland.
1100 Shogi played in Japan.
1100 The French Carolingian epic, Song of Roland, mentions chess.
1105 Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) writes the 'rubaiyat,' using a chess game.
1106 Chess included in a list of knightly accomplishments by Peter Alfonsi (Petrus Alphonsus) (1062-1110)
1106 Henry I (1068-1135) allowed his brother Robert Curthouse, Duke of Normandy, to play chess while imprisoned for 28 years.
1106 Exchequer at Westminster created; referred to as the scaccarium or chessboard.
1107 A chess problem is represented in the mosaic floor in the Saint Savino Church in Piacenza
1108 ar-Raghib died. Wrote that the Medinese refused to give their daughters in marriage to chessplayers.
1110 John Zonares, Eastern Church monk, excommunicated chessplayers.
1110 Louis VI of France almost made a prisoner. Escaped, saying that in chess the king cannot be captured.
1112 Dauphin throws chess pieces at King Henry I after losing.
1115 The emperor of the Byzantine empire is a chess addict.
1119 1st corr game: Henry I (1068-1135) of England & Louis VI (1081-1137).
1120 Oldest known chess set, the Lewis chessmen, from this period.
1123 Kyayyam wrote the RUBAIYAT with chess references
1125 Chess is banned in some byzantine churches.
1128 St. Bernard (1090-1153) forbids the knights templars from chess.
1130 Draughts, a variant of chess, invented in the south of France using backgammon pieces.
1140 The fers's (queen')s leap is introduced in Spain by Ezra.
1140 1st chess poems in Hebrew, by Ezra.
1140 Al-Mubarak writes Arabic manuscript for Abd-al-Hamid (AH manuscript)
1140 The Franciscan William de Malsmesbury mentions chess.
1144 Hyde Abbey, Winchester, destroyed by fire. Chessmen from King Cnut.
1148 Alexiad of Anna Comnena mentions Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus playing chess.
1150 Bone chessmen were being made. Lewis chessmen dated here.
1150 Draughts (checkers) started in France.
1157 A danish king saved himself by using a chessboard as a shield.
1157 Alexander Neckam (1157-1217) born. Abbot of the Augustine Monastary of Cirencester. Wrote of chess.
1167 Earliest spanish reference to chess.
1167 Abraham Ezra died in London. Wrote several Hebrew works on chess.
1173 A French manuscript uses algebraic notation.
1180 1st British reference to chess, by a Winchester monk.
1189 1st European reference to chess problems, by Gerald of Wales.
1190 King Richard I (1157-99) learns chess while on the crusades.
1190 Alexander Neckam devotes a chapter to chess in his treatise, On the Nature of Things.
1190 Neckam condemns chess for being frivolous.
1195 The rabbi Maimonides includes chess among the forbidden games.
1197 Abbot of Persigny writes to Countess of Perche warning her against chess.
1199 John Lackland, King of England, was a keen chess player.
1200 Courier chess, played on a 12x8 board, introduced.
1200 Great chess, played on a 100 square board, introduced.
1202 4th Crusade (1202-1204)
1208 The bishop of Paris, Odo Sully, bans chess from the clergy.
1210 Morality of chess according to Pope Innocent III (1160-1216) written.
1212 Ferrand of Portugal hit his wife Jeanne over a game of chess.
1213 King John was playing chess when his deputies from Rouen arrived to ask for his help against King Augustus.
1217 Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, born.
1220 Chess is no longer played with dice to determine moves.
1230 Icelandic ST OLAF'S SAGA (Snorri Sturluson) contains chess reference. 1st appearance of chess in the Norse lands.
1230 Astronomical chess introduced.
1240 Chess forbidden to the clergy in Worcester, England.
1242 Al-Mustasim, Abbasid caliph, reigned
1250 King Louis of France throws a chess set overboard during a trip from Egypt to the Holy Land.
1250 King Louis IX (1214-1270) receives a fine chess set from Aladdin.
1250 The king of Denmark was captured while playing chess.
1250 Latin verse romance, the Vetula, by Richard de Fournival. Mentions chess.
1250 Mabinogion, Welsh epic, attains written form. Chess mentioned.
1250? Cessole, Jacopo da, (Cessolis), born in Italy. Author of the most famous of chess moralities.
1252 THE INNOCENT MORALITY chess allegory written by John of Wales.
1254.08.16 Court case about a chessplayer who stabbed his opponent to death.
1254.12 St Louis IX of France restricts chess to laymen and forbids all games in his kingdoms.
1255.05.08 Provincial Council of Beziers in France forbids chess.
1257 Arabic manuscript now in British museum (BM manuscript)
1258 Al-Mustasim put to death by invading Mongols.
1258 end of Abbasid caliphs.
1260 King Henry III (1207-72) instructs the clergy to leave chess alone.
1262 Russian word for chess (shakmatny) is introduced.
1264 Quarrel over chess game; man stabs woman to death.
1265 Buzecca played 2 games blindfold, 1 OTB (+2=1) in Florence.
1265 Hulagu Khan died.
1268 Conradon was playing chess in prison before being executed.
1271 Ruling dalmation towns of Yugoslavia was determined by a chess match.
1273 Cotton MS is the earliest English collection of chess problems.
1275 Cessole writes the most important of all moralities and most copied.
1275 Option of pawn double move on the 1st move introduced in Italy.
1279 Chinese introduce new pieces to Chinese chess (siang ki)
1283 Alfonso manuscript prescribed the use of a checkered board.
1283 Dice chess explained by King Alfonso X in his manuscript.
1283 Alfonso manuscript completed. Compiled for Alfonso X, Castile King. Called Libro del Acedrex.
1290 Lombard lawyer, Guido de Baysio, formulate rules to govern chess.
1291 The Archbishop of Cantebury, John Peckman, forbids chess.
1295 BONUS SOCIUS is 1st European MS using a coordinate notation.
1295 Bonus Socius, 1st compilation of chess problems, written in Lombardy.
1299 Priests were forbidden from playing chess.
1300 Gesta Romanorum, a chess morality compiled in England, written.
1300 Cessole writes 'Book of the customs of men and the duties of nobles'. Chess morales. (liber de moribus)
1309 Ponce Hugo, Count of Ampurias, donates chessmen to the cathedral of Gerona.
1310 Chess forbidden to the clergy in Germany (Council of Trier).
1317 Cessole in charge of the inquisition in Genoa.
1320 Playing cards introduced.
1322 Jewish rabbi, Kalonymos Ben Kalonymos, condemns chess in his Eben Hohan.
1323 CHATRANG-NAMAK written; oldest of Pahlawi works
1328 ibn Taimiya (a Hanabalite) says chess can be played, but not for money.
1329 Synod of Wurzburg, Germany forbids chess.
1330 Citadel chess invented. Extra square at each corner.
1331 al-jami plays 2 games blindfolded and a 3rd, simultaneously.
1335 Robert, King of Hungary, sent John, King of Bohemia, a chess set.
1335 1st written reference of chess in Hungary. King Robert sent a chess set to the king of Bohemia.
1336 Timur born. Mongol ruler and chess enthusiast,
1337 Ammenhausen writes about courier chess.
1340 persian 'treasury of sciences' includes 3 chapters on chess.
1347 1st translation of the Cessolis morality into French.
1350 Margiolano of Florence is recognized as the leading blindfold player.
1360 Les Amoureux Eschecs written. Best example of romantic allegory.
1369 Chaucer (1343-1400) writes about chess in his poem The Book of the Duchess.
1370 Earlist known chess puzzle called arrangement.
1370 Pope Gregory xi (1329-1378) is an avid chessplayer.
1370 Arabic manuscript written; belonged to Sultan of Egypt; in Cairo; (C manuscript)
1374 Timur names his son shah-rukh after playing chess
1375 Charles V (1337-80) of France prohibits chess.
1380 William of Wykeleham, founder of Oxford, forbids chess.
1390.10.10 John I of Aragon requested a board and set at his lodging in Valencia.
1391 Orleans, Charles d' born. French prince and chessplyer.
1391 Charles D'Orleans b. Chess player and father of Louis XII.
1392 Charles VI (1368-1422) forbids chess.
1397.02.05 Louis, Duke of Orleans, purchased an elaborate chessboard.
1407 Louis, Duke of Orleans, died. Chessplayer.
1408 The Sultan Mohammed plays live chess in Grenada, Spain.
1410 Martin of Aragon is an avid collector of chess sets and books.
1412 John Lydgate wrote Reson and sensuallyte, a romantic allegory.
1416 Jews of Forli banned all games of chance except chess.
1420 German king abandons the prohibition of chess.
1422 Cracow manuscript states that stalemate is a draw.
1422 Cracow poem attributes the invention of chess to Ulysses.
1425 1st reference to chess as 'the royal game' in Lydgates translation.
1430 Charles VII (1403-61), King of France, is a chess addict.
1433 Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, born. Strong chessplayer.
1435 Bernat Fenollar born. Catalan poet from Valencia, Spain. One of the authors of "Scachs d'amor." Chess arbiter
1437 King James I of Scotland was playing chess when he was murdered.
1440 CIVIS BONONIAI, collection of chess problems, incorporated in Florentine manuscript.
1445 Narcis Vinyoles born. Catalan poet from Valenica, Spain.
1450 Custom of attaching to each problem an author.
1454 Best copy of Civis Bononiae's manuscript made. Now in Modena.
1454 Living chess played in Morostica, Italy for the hand of a lady.
1457.05 Charles, Duke of Orleans, wins a rare chess manuscript.
1460 Charles the Bold (1433-77) considered the best player of his time.
1464 statute included chessmen in a list of goods which were no onger to be imported.
1465 Orleans, Charles d' died. French prince and chessplyer. Father of Louis XII.
1464 Luis Ramirez Lucena born. Chess author.
1467 Colonna's Hypnerotomachia Poliphili describes chess balet.
1470 INNOCENT MORALITY published. 1st printed reference to chess.
1471? Gottingen manuscript published (maybe as late as 1475). 1st work devoted to modern chess.
1472 1st printing of the Gesta Romanorum morality, in Latin.
1472 1st hardback book dealing with chess published.
1474 Caxton (1422-1491) publishes 'the game and playe of chesse.'
1474.12 Gottingen manuscript in the hands of King Alfonso V of Portugal.
1475 Beginning of modern chess starts in southern Europe.
1475 Fers replaced by the queen and the aufin replaced by the bishop.
1476 At Louvaine, Charles the Bold forbids cards & dice, but not chess.
1477 Charles the Bold died.
1480? Damiano, Pedro born in Odemira, Portugal. Wrote 1st chess book in Italian.
1485 1st known modern chess game recorded.
1490 1st chess painting 'the chess players,' by a Venetian artist.

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http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/7378/history.txt

Book of Go

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江戶時代　冷泉為恭　圍棋圖浮世繪

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江戶時代女子弈棋圖

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Honinbo Sansa (本因坊算砂 Hon'inbō Sansa, 1559-1623) was a famous Go player.

Sansa was the first head of the Honinbo house and the first Meijin, taking the name Sansa. Sansa was the rival of Kashio Rigen. He was also a strong shogi player. He was a Buddhist priest of the Nichiren sect and his original name was Nikkai. He lived in a temple pavilion called Honinbo from where he taught Go.

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Honinbo Shusai (本因坊秀哉 Hon'inbō Shūsai) is the professional name of Tamura Hoju, also known as Tamura Yasuhisa (田村保寿, 1874 -– 18 January 1940), a Japanese professional Go player.

21st and last hereditary head of the Honinbo school, as well as the 10th Meijin when that title stood for the highest Go authority in Japan, rather than the winner of the current annual title duel. Shusai played a role in founding the Nihon Ki-in and turned the Honinbo title over to the Ki-in, who changed it from a hereditary title to a tournament.

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Korean Women Playing Go
Postcard, 1902

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Yoko-e print by Utamaro, published by Maruya Bunemon ca. 1794.

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Album leaf by Harunobu. Published in 1770. From Yoshiwara Shunro Bijin Awase Sugata Kagami (A Collection of Beauties of the Brothels of Yoshiwara), Vol. 1, sheet 10a. This collection featured works by both Suzuki Harunobu and Kitao Shigemasa.

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From the series Fujin Kurabe Reishiki no Zu (Ladies' Polite Behavior Compared in Pictures). This is one of the few prints that accurately show 19x19 lines on the board, although as usual the placement of the stones would baffle any real player of the game.

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弟子たちの対局を楽しそうに見つめる木谷（中央）

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本因坊の防衛戦の相手は売り出し中のホープ、張（左）。気合を込めて石をうち下ろす加藤（日本棋院提供）

　２００２年（平成１４年）

2007-09-26T06:59:00.001-07:00

爛柯的傳說：“山中方一日，世上已千年”

A Senet game from the tomb of Amenhotep III — the Brooklyn Museum, New York City

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EGYPTIAN MUSEUM, SENET

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Jeu de Senet Ebène, ivoire argent Qustul (entre le III et de VIème millénaire)

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Part of a 'senet' board - New Kingdom (1567-1085 BC)

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Tomb scenes record a great number of pastimes. Many objects recovered from tombs can often be identified as toys and games. Board games were very popular, especially 'senet', which is frequently found in tombs and shown in paintings. Sometimes the accompanying text gives instructions which has enabled the rules of the game to be reconstructed.

This piece is part of a 'senet' board, with four pieces. Senet is known from Predynastic times (5500 - 3100 BC) to the late Roman period (30 BC - AD 395). Even today in Egypt and Sudan there is a similar game.

The object of 'senet' was to get one's pieces off the board and prevent the other player from doing so. The board was divided into three rows of ten squares. It could be made of limestone, steatite or faience (like this one). Moves were determined by throwing sticks with one flat and one rounded side, or knuckle bones made of bone, ivory or steatite. Gaming pieces were often in the form of animals, gods or occasionally captive foreigners.

2007-09-24T12:24:00.002-07:00

Il Senet
La prima immagine della quale si abbia notizia, raffigurante un gioco, risale al 2650 a.C. ed è stata rinvenuta sulle pareti della tomba di un sacerdote di nome Hesy, situata nei pressi di Saqqara. L'immagine rappresenta molto chiaramente tre tavolieri a fianco dei quali vi sono dei contenitori con quelli che dovevano essere i pezzi di gioco. Si riconosce un tavoliere a forma di serpente arrotolato, uno costituito da una fila di caselle rettangolari e un terzo suddiviso in tre file da dieci caselle quadrate, alcune delle quali contraddistinte da un simbolo. Quest'ultimo è il tavoliere di un gioco conosciuto con il nome Senet, da molti ritenuto una sorta di antenato del moderno Backgammon. Si tratta di un gioco di percorso per due giocatori, che muovono i loro pezzi lungo le caselle del tavoliere, con il probabile intento di farle uscire prima dell'avversario (proprio come accade nel Backgammon). Frammenti di questo gioco e incisioni raffiguranti persone intente a giocare sono stati rinvenuti un po' ovunque nei territori che si trovavano sotto il dominio egizio e in quelli confinanti a testimonianza del fatto che il gioco doveva godere di una grande popolarità, ma la scoperta più spettacolare e preziosa è stata fatta nel 1923 nei pressi di Tebe dalla spedizione di Howard Carter e Lord Carnarvon, che riportò alla luce il tesoro del mitico faraone Tutankhamon, vissuto attorno al 1300 a.C.. Nel corredo funerario del faraone, l'unico pervenutoci perfettamente intatto e che possiamo ammirare nelle meravigliose sale del Museo Egizio del Cairo, erano presenti tre tavolieri dello stesso gioco, in formato diverso.

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Senet may be the oldest board game in the world, although it is impossible to prove which game is the oldest. The oldest remnants of any ancient board game ever unearthed however are those of Senet, found in Predynastic and First Dynasty burials of Egypt, circa 3500 BC and 3100 BC respectively. Senet is also featured in a painting from the tomb of Merknera (3300–2700 BC) Another painting of this ancient game is from the Third Dynasty tomb of Hesy (c. 2686–2613 BC). It is also depicted in a painting in the tomb of Rashepes (c. 2500 BC).

By the time of the New Kingdom in Egypt (1567–1085 BC), it had become a kind of talisman for the journey of the dead. Because of the element of luck in the game and the Egyptian belief in determinism, it was believed that a successful player was under the protection of the major gods of the national pantheon: Ra, Thoth, and sometimes Osiris. Consequently, Senet boards were often placed in the grave alongside other useful objects for the dangerous journey through the afterlife and the game is referred to in Chapter XVII of the Book of the Dead. The game was also adopted in the Levant and as far as Cyprus and Crete but with apparently less religious significance.

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Nefertari playing Senet. Painting in tomb of Egyptian Queen Nefertari (1295–1255 BC)

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