A Visual History of Chessmen

By the 7th Century CE, people in India were playing chaturanga ("four divisions"). The name refers to four types of solider that made up the game—infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots, commanded by a raja—that were modeled on the armies of the time. It was the innovation of these different piece types, which each moved in different ways, that distinguished chaturanga from other war games. The different piece types are the ancestors of the pieces of the modern game, and one of the reasons why we can trace chess back to chaturanga. Chaturagna spread outwards from India and is thought to be the common ancestor of many similar games. When it reaches Persia in the 8th Century, the game becomes shatranj, which would later reach Europe and develop into modern chess. A map showing the spread of chaturanga and its influence on other games around the globe, including shatranj, chess, xiàngqí (China) and shogi (Japan). If you were transported to ancient India, you would not necessarily re ... Read full article.