Zoë Blade's notebook

Chess

The Chess Game, Ludwig Deutsch, 1896
The Chess Game, Ludwig Deutsch, 1896

Chess is a very old board game, which has evolved substantially over the centuries. In a symbolic microcosm of war, two opposing armies each try to kill their enemy's King.

It originated with the Indian game chaturanga (चतुरङ्ग), which spread out across neighbouring countries, evolving into various regional variations along the way. To the north-east, these include the Chinese xiangqi (象棋) and Japanese shogi (将棋).

Meanwhile, to the north-west, it evolved into the Persian shatranj (شطرنج). Note how, for example, "Rook" is the Persian "رخ", possibly from the Sanskrit "रथ" meaning "Chariot". Similarly, "checkmate" may well be a Nadsat-style phonetic version of "shāh māt" or "شاه مات", Persian for "the King is helpless".

By the time chess settled down in 17th century Europe, the Elephants had evolved into Bishops, and the Counsellor had evolved into the Queen, both of which are more nimble than their predecessors.

To my mind, it seems most romantic to associate chess with Viennese coffeehouses of the 1880s to 1920s, where caffeinated intellectuals played friendly games... which seems to currently (as of the 2020s) be enjoying something of a resurgence.

Chess enjoyed a surge of popularity during the Cold War, as it was used extensively as a metaphor for politics, and indeed the Russian government cultivated their citizens' chess prowess as a political flex. See, for example, the unprecedented public interest in Fischer vs. Spassky in 1972, when an American threatened their dominance of the world leaderboard.

It got another boost in the 2020s, as miniseries The Queen's Gambit coincided with the global COVID pandemic, inspiring people to play the game during lockdown.

Chess: Chessmen