Hey my Chess Friends! I appear in this new 4-hour film series on the Culture of Chess! INFO AND DOWNLOAD AT ideasroadshow.com/chess/ WATCH THE TRAILER AT th-cam.com/video/zLnOklDkTGQ/w-d-xo.html DVD FOR PURCHASE ON AMAZON www.amazon.com//dp/B0C13M1B84/
You are my favorite Chess channel on TH-cam. Your videos about ancient chess games have literally captured me. Haha. I am very interested in Chess now and I am working on creating my own chess variant. Thank you a lot for getting me and many other chess players and fans interested in this amazing and fascinating game. Greetings from Germany, Zera
What a wonderful comment! It is the greatest pleasure to know that my work is stirring the interest in others. Contact me any time with your further thoughts ... and chess variants! www.ancientchess.com/page/contact-form.htm
Thanks for checking in! A ready list of my videos is here: ancientchess.com/page/videos.htm The video I most want people to see now is -- th-cam.com/video/HY9kxRJdutw/w-d-xo.html&feature=emb_logo
Really enjoying this! Quick note: re the Mongolian version (23:20), according to Murray, the Queen (originally, Vizier) is a Dog in Mongolian chess; though yes, it also looks like a Lion. Also: the Rook is a Cart/Wagon probably because it was originally a Chariot ("rook" or "rokh" even means chariot in Middle Persian). Now back to the video. :) ...Edit: That was fascinating, thanks for making this! I agree the Cigar Divan design is more aesthetically pleasing than the Staunton, incidentally.
Yeah, there is a mythical beast, sometimes called a 'fu dog', a mix between a dog and lion, often seen guarding Chinese restaurants. The Mongolian queen usually seems to be one of those ... and the pawns are often little ones, her offspring. And yeah, the rook in those days, also in the Chinese game, was a rook or cart. According to our research though, the word rokh did not originally mean chariot exactly. It was the ancient Persian word for 'flank', with that piece described as the general of the flank. Later of course, it simply became known as the name of that piece on the chessboard, much as it is centuries later, in English, as 'rook' with no other meaning. Much of our book is a review, update and expansion of Murray's work. AWorldofChess.com
The original chess pieces, when the Chess was invented in India (and called Chaturanga) were as follows: Raja - the "king", though the term also meant "military governor" in the Gupta Empire (where the chess was invented). This was to emulate the war of two kings of ancient India, leaders of one "Akshauhini". It could move only one tile per turn, could be checked and captured. The king basically has remained the same throughout all versions of Chess once it spread out of India till today. Mantri/Senapati - this means "Minister" or "General" respectively. Indian kings, whenever they personally led battles, were always accompanied by the chief-of-staff officers, military cabinet ministers and military commanders and generals. This piece evolved into "queen" when it moved into Europe but remained "General/Minister" in India. It was much less powerful than it is today, it could move only one or two steps in each direction. Gaja - the "elephant". As everyone already knows, war elephants were a fundamental part of any Indian army and saw combat right to the last days of Indian Empire in 1857. In around 14th century India this piece turned into "Camel" (reflecting the change as elephant divisions in Indian armies were decreased)...while in Europe it was modified many times until it turned into Bishop. Similar mechanisms as Bishop with a few variations. Ashva - the "horse". This was originally representing the Imperial cavalry of the Gupta Empire. Gupta armies focused heavily on cavalry of all sorts, from heavily armoured Cataphracts to horse archers. It became the most powerful branch of their army. This is why the "Ashva" was so powerful. It became Knight in Europe but it is still marked by a horse. Ratha/Sakata - this is the "chariot". Unlike in rest of the world, Indians continued using chariots well into late antiquity. They were not used in the thick of the battles but remained a part of Imperial Gupta army. In an Akshauhini formation (the mythological Indian formation and also the original basis of Chess piece placement) chariots were in the flanks, so the Ratha/Sakata was also at the edge of the board. It became Rook in Europe, but the original Chariot piece could only move one step per turn like the king and was very weak compared to Rook. This reflects how Gupta Empire still had chariots but knew they were completely ineffective and weak by then. Pedati/Sainik - this means "infantry". This represented the basic Gupta Imperial foot soldier of 5th century India. Armed with a shield, spear, sword and some armour. As in most Indian armies, the infantry is placed in front of cavalry, in Chess and Chaturanga. Just as Gupta Empire thought about them, they are considered subordinate to cavalry in an Indian army, and this is reflected in the game. Like real Gupta infantry, they are really easily hunted down individually but can be really powerful in groups. It became Pawn in Europe but has retained the same moves and features as original. It is also known that Pawns attack only diagonally because the original Gupta Pedati/Sainik piece represented a spearman attacking through the cover of his large shield in the front, i.e. only sideways were open to attack. And thus it became a part of the game.
Thanks for adding your opinion! Check out the argumentative, nationalistic rants this question has invited, in the various comment threads of my videos. No one knows where chess was invented: it was being played and spread throughout Asia before anyone was recording it. Did legends develop? Oh yes! And they are very rich. It's a marvelous field to investigate and many imaginative, variably informed, hypotheses have been set forward. We've got a great chapter on the subject in our upcoming book, "A World of Chess: Its Development and Variations through Centuries and Civilizations," mate.
AncientChess The thing is, Iranian nationalists crowd all chess-related videos and "claim" to be originators of chess...when in fact it first developed during Gupta Empire in India as an battle-imitation board game popular among the nobility, and to teach tactics to young princes. There is a known record of an Indian ambassador to Sassanid Persia hosting a game before leaving for home, in front of the emperor, and this is how it became popular in Persia where it split into various routes. This is interesting, thank you.
Golden Phoenix No mate, it wasn't. It first mentioned in a late 4th century Indian text concerning Gupta Empire's nobility, and only arrived in Persia during reign of the second last Sassanid Emperor.
I got an interesting comment from a fellow over in India. I had to remove it because of its offensive nature -- but it raised an interesting point. The fellow insisted that chessmen had actually been found (in India) that were 5000 years old! Well, actually, there have been apparent gaming pieces found which are that old -- it's just that there's no evidence they were chessmen. Here's a good example: hyperallergic.com/80050/archeologists-uncover-5000-year-old-game-board-pieces/ In fact, many old texts and old objects seem to allude to chess, to the modern eye ... yet, unless we see a certain combination of pieces or a telling description in a text, we just don't have good evidence of chess in particular. So far, the oldest archaeological find that is clearly a set of chessmen is the finding at Afrasiab, dated to about 700 AD. history.chess.free.fr/afrasiab.htm
There was no queen piece in the ancient, older version from NE Iran. The piece was called a Vizier or Vazier, like a counselor. The idea of having a queen on the battlefield, would've seemed odd. It probably was a European invention.
Thanks, very important point! That piece has always been an advisor or general -- it is only when chess entered Europe that it was identified as a queen. That happened very early on, as early as the year 1000, when chess is first discussed in European literature. A very peculiar change, since it took what was originally a sybolic battlefield and looked at it more as a royal court.
Thank you for this video. I'm a chess lover, and it's always good to run across people like you who are totally obsessed, because we can learn so much from you!
Studying chess I learn that it is an entirely White European game. I heard a creepy mideastern guy telling us innocent kids at highschool how it was invented by his people. Young as we were we didn't know any better. But you could tell he was making a boastful point out of it because he was for some reason smirking ESPECIALLY at me in the eye as he knew I really love my folk and country even as kid. Sure enough just I suspected the infil was selling us a load of dirt. This great and BEAUTIFUL European game of chess is entirely unique in every way. From the chivalrous mediaeval checkered board, to the names and movements and looks of every single piece to the overall rules of the game to the annotation system to the uniquely European invention, and chess introduction, of the chess clock, making it the fastest and most ubiquitous game on the planet complete with great international martyr-heroes who spoke truth to power like Triple-A (Alekhine) and Bobby Fischer. So that old creep back at school can eat his sandal and clean up his own house. To say that chess came out of the mideast is like saying shogi is an Arabic/Iranian game. Thank God the truth sets us free from the devils and all their lies.
Great video! I wish it is seen by all chess enthusiasts It would be great to make shorter vids about each version and the rules It's amazing how the spread of chess mirrors the spread of a language or the spread of genetic evolution
9:30 well i think it's also worth to mention that you can play CHATURANGA usigng your normal chess board and pieces BUT i would highly suggest playing with no dice (!) - it's just far better
Yeah, these games are so similar, most of them could be played with a standard modern chess set. But for me, much of the fun comes in the differences of the various sets. Even the dice -- really a different sort of game. Anyway, there are many ways to enjoy all of this.
Just a few years late, but thanks for the nice video! I've recently started digging deeper into chess and other games in Europe ca 1100-1400, and this was a very good stepping stone with some new angles I hadn't thought of vefore!
Thanks for the good comment! I find the world of chess and chessmen fascinating and am always looking for that spark in other enthusiasts. Contact me any time with your thoughts. (Rick at AncientChess.com)
Yes, I support the idea that Chess was originated in India. It is assumed that Chess was originally a 4 player game, and the Arab travelers started playing 2 armies themselves which led to creation of all these, introduced it to the rest of the world. 'Chaturang' is in fact an Indian word which means 4 colours. One can metaphor it by 4 armies or 4 kingdoms.
Thanks for your message. We go into great detail regarding the sources of information and the historic analysis in our book ( aworldofchess.com ). A few things to note: Most sources regard the word chaturanga (later chaturang and chatrang) as originally referring to the 4 arms of the ancient Indian army (infantry, cavalry, elephants, chariots). The ancient documents indicate that the two-player game was reported about 4 centuries earlier than the 4-player game. We devote an entire chapter of our book to the long-standing speculation that the 4-player game came first. The final section of our book (it is in 7 sections) is devoted entirely to the search for the origin of chess itself. AWorldofChess.com
Oh wow, I could never have expected that so much efforts are being made to trace the history of Chess, truly appreciable. And I may also want to have a copy of your book myself, but maybe when I'll grow a little, you know, this is my dad's phone and he'll never allow me a book in times of my school😅
@@manojtodi281 It is good to hear you are getting such a curiosity in chess history in your early years. I hope you continue to learn about it -- it is a wonderful field! Even without the book, you can find many videos on my site: www.ancientchess.com/page/videos.htm
Thank you for this fun and informative video! I'm sharing it with my friends. By the way, have you ever looked at Jetan? In Edgar Rice Burrough's 1921 novel, "The Chessmen of Mars," the reader is introduced to Jetan, a game which culturally corresponds to Chess in our world. The book comes with a brief appendix that describes the rules, so I'm sure that it's playable. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the comment. We'll be including that variant in our upcoming book about the evolution of chess. Of the hundreds of new variants, very few will be covered in our book -- but Jetan will be there!
Thanks so much man... What a fascinating insight. Your enthusiasm is infectious! The reading list at the end is very much appreciated. Best of luck with the translation... Can't wait!
Thanks for the great comment. As you know from our other videos, the new book is out ... and it's much more than a translation -- an improvement and expansion of Jean-Louis's French book in every aspect! For anyone else reading this, find info on that at aworldofchess.com
+Joseph Taibeh Thanks, yes, we know that al-fil is 'elephant', I didn't really say what I meant clearly. The point I intended to make is that the word is used in Spanish, although it is not a Spanish word. Much as English speakers use the word 'rook' although it does not have an English meaning. Thanks ror checking out my videos -- please do send comments any time.
It was undoubtedly invented in India, as was the number system, which incidently did not come into Europe from Arabia via Rome. Linguistics supports this view. Great video by the way.
Thanks for the good words! Whether one has doubt about this will depend upon what one has heard or read, also what one is inclined to take as true. Our upcoming book, A World of Chess, gives a good review of the best evidence we have found. The truth is, judging what happened over 1500 years ago, with the available evidence, is a daunting task.
I would love to see a video where you'd comment on and explain on why the international chess have the rules they have. They seem kind of arbitrary. I wonder how someone figured out the optimal legal moves.
As a huge chess fanatic(of all kinds although i suck at all forms except the western one) and a history major this is just pure gold to me. Thank you for all your FREE resources and information. I'm also a huge fan of Mahjong(the four player game), Go, and really a huge player of strategy games with old origin. The history of those games are pretty dense too.
+Daniel Alwine Thanks for the great comments! For the best listing of all my videos, go to AncientChess.com and select the 'World Chess Videos" link (big button on the left). Hours and hours of chess history and variants (how to play go too... buy you know that already!)...
+Daniel Alwine Good question. I know there are some good ones out there, also sites where you can play against others over the internet. But sorry to say I haven't been keeping up on them. Problem is I'm so darn busy collecting, presenting and selling these sets I don't get to play much! Let me know if you find anything good
I found some. Here's what I wanna do. I'm going to compile a list with links of every single chess engine I have found. They are all GPU(general public use) licenses so I'm pretty sure that you'd be able to freely post those to your website put I recommend contacting the developers first just in case. I think it would e very cool if your site featured a list of these programs . I've been doing some serious searching and let me say I have found tons of them all free with no ads. I will email you the lists and links if that's okay. Also something to note, some of these programs are written in Python or programs like it and if your running on a Windows pc it can be fairly hard to turn Python files into an exe.
+Daniel Alwine Thanks, I'd love to offer those on my web site. Please do send me the information. It will be a great addition! My email is ancientches@mail.com
I recently earned to play Makruk and it is pretty fun to play. I was able to find only two apps where I could figure out how to play it since the games were in Sanskrit. But it's very fun for me as someone who played international chess in childhood.
You mentioned "Al fíl" from Arabic at the 1:00 minute mark. It means "The Elephant". Elephantry was a crucial part of the military in Asia and thus represented as chess pieces. I believe Spanish speakers for example call the piece Al fíl to this day.
Yeah, if you view the messages below you'll see that this has been mentioned many times. The fact is, I didn't say that well. You know, I know and all Arabic speakers know it's 'the elephant', but the point is, as you say, it is the Spanish name today, so called even by people who do not know the Arabic origins of the name (much as English speakers don't know the origin of our word 'rook') (yes, I do know that too). Anyway, thanks for commenting and please do feel invited to share your knowledge on any of my many videos ancientchess.com/page/videos.htm
@@AncientChess Thanks for the reply. I did not check the other comments before commenting myself, that's true. I just wanted to share what I know. Thank you for the lovely videos.
@@Eli4life Thanks, yeah, I just said it in a way that elicited immediate response from those who know. IT's great to have you watching these. Send comments any time! Rick AWorldofChess.com
Thanks for the great vid! I am new to chess and l am finding I love the older figures. I have fallen in love with the Isle of Lewis set. How they were found is really great. Some day I hope to get a set. I think of Noble people sitting and playing the game. To me half the fun of chess is the set you are using.... So all in all thanks again!!
Hey Wayne, it's great to hear from you -- and to hear your enthusiasm for chessmen, which you know I share! Yes, the Lewis men are pretty much the undisputed greatest chess find of all time. Just amazing that nearly 4 complete sets of such marvelous artistic quality remained intact for so long! Check out more of my sets and videos --- and my new book!! -- on my web site AncientChess.com -- and send comments any time!
Thanks for the great comment! I haven't posted much in the past few years, have just been too busy with other things, mostly family. But I love making the videos and have many more in mind! I did make one video recently, a great improvement on my Chinese Chess introduction, here th-cam.com/video/kSL7JErRMx8/w-d-xo.html
@@AncientChess Thats a great instructional video on Chinese chess, perhaps if I have some down time in the future, I could use your instructional video to learn the game. I feel the same way, spending quality time with family is always priority, then just have to figure out how to juggle trying to create, edit and post chess content on youtube when the kids are asleep! I'll definitely subscribe to your channel and will be looking forward to any future content! Cheers!
Thanks! Your Nezhmetdinov video was so excellent, I'm going to have to check out all of your videos. Great meeting you! Anybody reading this -- check out Jessica Fischer's channel -- great chess history documentaries!
It was interesting to see how this one classic game spread all over the world, with different cultures changing the game in its own way. diverse in art style, but at the same time just variants of the same game! your video made me see chess in a new light.
Thanks for the good comment. Do you mean the 'tafl' family of games, like hnefatafl? ... I probably won't get to that soon ... but there are many resources ... here's one on youtube: th-cam.com/video/rwO3AN__kAw/w-d-xo.html
AncientChess It is amazing. I kept thinking, "This is the personal chess set of Napoleon, the man I read about in history class. He personally moved and touched those pieces! I wonder if his fingerprints are still on them." The board was so close I could practically touch it. It was under glass case of course. lol
+AncientChess AL-Fill means Elephantits the Persian Loanword in Arabic and the Origin was " Pil " in Persian languagein Arabic there is no "P" sound and its become "F" sound from old mettle Persian writing system (Pahlavi) and " Al- " in Arabic language is Definite article like "The" in English
Thanks for filling in this important point of historic language transfer! It is understood that the game was taken by the Arabs from Persia, and indeed much of the nomenclature was also taken. In the same way, Chatrang became Shatranj, since Arabic had "Sh" instead of "Ch".
Exactly.In Arabic also no "Ch" and hard "G" soundAnd interesting the word elephant in modern Persian (actually the eastern dialect of middle Persian) is "Fiil" today the Persian language called Farsi (Parsi = Persian)this word is also came into the Arabic before the Islamic conquest of PersiaYou can find the word Al-Fil in old Arabic text. For example The surah 105 of Qur'an actually named "Al-Fil"
Your channel makes it very clear that you have more than a few Chess sets in your house. Do you have a favourite version of Chess? (European, Xiangqi, Janggi, etc.)
Oh yes, I have many, many chess sets ... all these you see in the video and many more. I'm a bit of a fanatic. I do have European, xiangqi, janggi ... etc ... What is your favorite?
Thanks for your message. I think you're referring to the 'regular old chess' set I show at the beginning of the presentation (0:33). That's actually a rosewood/boxwood set I got from a company in India (where most wooden chess sets are now made), put together with a board I got from China (it came with pieces but they were so cheap looking I essentially threw them away). I have many of these boards, but just one set of chessmen left. I could sell the board and pieces for $125, but I don't have it listed right now. Let me know if you're interested. I'm not sure if it would make a really good travel set because those pieces could get chipped up rattling around in the board. If I were using it for that, I would apply lots of padding inside the box between the pieces. Contact me any time through my web site, AncientChess.com
We've had many comments about the origins of chess recently. In my mind, there's much more to consider than can be shot off in a TH-cam thread. Our book will come out in 2017, which should give some great points for further discussion. In the meantime, why not tell us your favorite book, video or website -- as a reference to the origin of chess?
Ian Spike sends a message that the Philippines was not colonized by the Arabs -- thanks Ian, sorry to give bad or incomplete information! It was only in the southern area, the Sulu archipelago, extending into Mindanao that the Arab influence took hold. This southern part of the Philippines maintains a cultural distinction, sometimes source of political friction, today.
On a different topic, do you find the darkening/yellowing (oxidization) of the wooden chess pieces to be a general characteristic and is it an issue as a seller? Also what do you use to clean and maintain the different woods of chess pieces - cracking of ebony is often a problem I find
Thanks for your message. I haven't looked too deeply into the issues of woods aging and cracking. I know what you mean about ebony cracking. When I send out an ebony set, I try to check for such cracking (usually at the base of the piece, esp. king or queen), and replace any defective pieces. I haven't really had any sets long enough to show that yellowing that occurs, but I do have some sets that are already old and already yellowed. I think collectors mostly accept that and even value it as a sign of being an authentic antique. I really don't have a strategy for maintaining pieces, as far as coating them or oiling them ... sorry I can't be of more help in that.
It is called Chaturanga because it represents four organs of a Vedic era Indian army - Infantry, Cavalry, Elephants and Chariots. This is the standard Akshauhini (अक्षौहिणी) formation.
Yes! See the video on AWorldofChess.com. There has been much good response ... we've been interviewed on BBC www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csyp4j ... Thanks for asking about that!
AncientChess one question is still nagging in the back of my head though, why is draughts part of the chess family while the tafl games aren’t? Draughts is just alquerque plus chess but the tafl games are basically an evolution of chess so shouldn’t they be part of the chess family? To me the tafl games just seem like a descendant of ludus latronculorum which to me seems like a descendant to courier chess, I mean the timeline works and the rules and looks of the games seem to fit as well, so why isn’t tafl considered chess? Also, I like your videos, they are super interesting and informative. Sorry for this comment being so long.
@@harsinsinquin4032 Good questions! Games related to alquerque are very old, some dating back to 3000 BC! But the modern look of the draughts 'checkers' games didn't appear until around 1100, when the game concept was adapted with backgammon pieces played on a chessboard. The tafl games are also much older than chess, played for many centuries in Scandanavia before chess came along. I am just beginning to learn about the history of that one, but I believe it was as you suggest, from Roman games. Chess seems to be a relatively new concept, only about 1500 years old, begun somewhere in central Asia. While games of pawns and games of king and pawns had already been around for centuries, chess carved out its own territory with the advent of different piece types with their individual moves. Yes -- they are all related... and it's fascinating -- and mysterious! We put all the knowledge we had of chess into our book ( aworldofchess.com ) -- but we're still learning!
AncientChess I made mistake, courier chess came after ludus latronculorum meaning that it is more likely that courier chess evolved from ludus not the other way around, in retrospect that does make more sense.
@@harsinsinquin4032 Yeah, courier chess is well within the chess lineage... appeared around 1200 through 1800, mostly in and around Germany. (I have a web site about that one, with a "history" tab courierchess.com .) It is the first game that I made an elaborate reproduction of.
I was looking at some of these videos, about how to play some of those board games. I was initially looking for the Chinese jungle game, Chinese Chess and Japanese Chess. I see that there certainly are a large amount of chess variants, especially in the Orient. I never knew about ones like Korean Chess, Burmese Chess, and Thai Chess. It can also get quite complex learning how to play them. I'm not a chess fan, and was just looking for interest sake, at those various chess variants. There are no doubt many (western) chess masters who wouldn't want to play those other chess variants, but would just want to know how they are played. That is because of wanting to focus on western chess and continue perfecting their game. I see incidentally that there is also a section on 3-D Chess from Star Trek. I would otherwise have mentioned it.
+singhbackONtrack This very interesting and the first time I have heard that interpretation. The literature is overwhelming in ascribing the word to the Sanskrit Chaturanga, meaning '4 arms' and indicating the 4 branches of the military. I would be very interested to hear more about that search in the historic etemology. 4 colors...
+singhbackONtrack Chaturang means four organs, you are completely wrong. It represents the mythical "Akshauhini" formation of Vedic Indian armies, composed of four main parts - infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots.
+AncientChess Chaturang is also called, after obvious change in language and time, 'Chaurang' which means four limbs or organs but also a square. see the connection for ''square". Chaurang also means a small sqaured table where nobles sit or place their feet. Its a Marathi word(Maharashtra, India). So chaturang could basically mean a squared table where the King commands.
Sagar Jagdale Nope, Chaturanga represents the "four organs" of a Vedic era army which is what the original Gupta Empire chess represented in the first place.
Ya true. I just wanted to mention it also means both a square and a squared table. I don't know if this has any significance, but thought it might be related.
I just wonder, is there any evidence or theory that there was chess like game which was played on circle shaped board or triangle shaped board, anything except square shaped board. That would be interesting.
Rick Knowlton For me it’s more fascinating because I am an Indian & a Muslim too 🙂 hope to see more knowledgable videos from you about Shutranj in future SUBSCRIBED 👍🏻😊
@@RaeesUnboxingwala Thanks, it's good to hear from you. I have not made many videos lately, however, I hope to make many more in the future, and I have a long list of those already available. Contact me any time if you wish through my web site www.ancientchess.com/page/videos.htm
Rick Knowlton yes I checked out your channel, it’s 8 years old, and you upload around 5 videos in a year, but quality beats quantity dude 😉 and sure, if I need to contact you or but anything in future then I’ll contact you via your website, seems like you run a Chess shop
my friend found a very old looking leather chess set, in North Africa , Libya. the pieces are made of bronze and silver and there's some kind of map on one of the sides, I will send you the pics, please how can I communicate with you sir?
Maatiz, thanks for the message. Sounds very interesting! Please go to my website and select the 'contact' tab ... once I receive a message from you, we can communicate normally through email. I would love to see pictures of that set
thats really interesting thanks. i loved a game of chess growing up, its interesting the rules reflected the political climate of the area, makes it all the more special and makes me wonder what a modern set would look like if the game had the same importance now in culture.
Tipping the board indeed! Thanks for the great comment on chess and the culture that surrounds it. Chess is having a pretty good moment these days, with major championships available to view online, and with an increase of chess classes and clubs in schools. But yes, it would be interesting to consider chess as a modern political/military struggle ... I know a few people have come up with very interesting ideas
Thanks, this is a very important point for anyone looking into where the many forms of chess came from. The piece was recognized as an elephant all over the world for many centuries. But eventually it became different things in some places: a camel in India and Mongolia; a nobleman in Thailand; a sliver general in Japan. In Europe, there was no concept of the piece as an elephant, and the many countries never agreed on its identity. It retains the Arabic word in Spain but was not translated. It remains in Italy a standard bearer; in Germany a runner; in France a fool; in England a bishop. But still and always, in China and many Asian and Mid-eastern countries, it remains an elephant.
I have a doubt on 10 min, I saw in one comment here that when it got invented at Gupta dynasty ruling there were infantry, elephant, horse, chariot, minister & king, which makes sense but here when you make the four armies front line will be infantry then at corner chariot then the horse then the elephant then only one piece remains next to the elephant, that piece is king or a minister ?
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I assume you mean this 4-handed game that I showed you. Here's a link to a page about how that's played www.chessvariants.com/historic.dir/chaturang4.html
Thanks for mentioning this -- it is amazing how the word and the piece has traveled and transformed through the centuries. Our book is full of information of this nature aworldofchess.com
That's right, you break it you replace it ... and your replacement last another five hundred years ... or maybe at least two hundred. You have to love that chess tradition!
The Puranas ,an ancient collection of Hindu prehistorical tales , states that it was Queen Mandodari of Sri Lanka aka Ceylone invented the game of ' chaturanga ' the ancient form of chess to keep her husband ,King Ravana occupied with inanimate pieces quenching his addiction for battles and war . Mrs Mandodari would have been co nferred with the Nobel peace prize had they existed 5000 years back . From India the game went to the middle East thanks to the traders and the turk and arab invaders who took it to conquered Persia where it became more sophisticated and then the Arab conquest of Spain took the game to Europe where it mutated into what we now know as International chess . The game was adopted and developed more by the imperialistic British , French ,Dutch and Portuguese as well as Spanish . It was Ruy Lopez who is the father of modern chess as we know now and he was a Roman Catholic Christian priest who was Spanish . The word chatur in sanskrit means 2 things 1. Four 2. Clever Hence it's a pun
Yeah, it's hard to relate odd board markings to any particular meaning. It seems that making X's on boards was a sort of 'default' decoration idea, could mean anything in any culture. Strangely, even boards found in Scandinavia, where hnefatafl games were widely played for centuries, yields boards with X's and shaded squares that are very hard to make correspond to the important squares of hnefatafl. So much tantalizing evidence, and so much lost knowledge! I take solace in that fact that, now that we can probe the ground with LIDAR, we know that only about 1 percent of archaeological sites have been investigated. Let the digs begin!
I've played chess for years and known about Chinese chess for a few years and go same with Japanese chess im looking fowerd for the book you are working on translating can you post a video about it when it comes out?
Thanks for the video - I love chess and I love history and the implication that worldview alters chess dynamics in various cultures is really interesting to me. The idea that the modern chess is an implied alliance between two armies is really fascinating although it could have been merely pragmatic (four person chess would have taken AGES to play - especially if my dad was one of the players :) - I doubt they would have had sun dial chess clocks. I also wonder how many people through out history have been murdered because they took to long to move! :D
Hey Josh, take it easy on your dad -- he's just trying to get the best move! I know there are tales of people being murdered over chess games, but I don't know how many were the too-long-to-move types. Thanks for enjoying the video and giving the good comment.
It makes so much sense in modern chess that the pawns can only move forward (or diagonally forward), because kings could command their soldiers never to retreat.
+PlanetRockJesus Actually, Pawn originally represents the 5th century Indian imperial infantry of the Gupta Empire. Gupta infantry had huge shields that they placed in front, so they could attack sideways from that cover. This got into the game as the Pedati/Sainik (original name of Pawn) could only attack diagonally. Secondly, Gupta Empire always placed infantry in the front of cavalry. This was because Gupta cavalry would prevent and block the infantry from fleeing, sometimes even killing their own soldiers for cowardice if situation was dire. The infantry only allowed to move forward and retreat was not allowed. THIS is why the soldier can only move forward, just like the Gupta imperial infantry. It has nothing to do with European kings though.
Now for the most part the standard international chess is played in India. I wonder if anyone has recently seen any variation in the game still using older Indian traditions
Sorry to trouble you with the cultural history of chess. We do like our quick and easy answers, don't we? In the future, I advise skimming through to find your chosen spot. Why bother leaving a us message? Go on to your next impulse -- now!
Alfil is the name of the bishop in Spanish. It doesn't really mean anything, it's just the name of the piece. I heard it comes from an Arabic or Persian word for elephant.
Yes, that's what I meant to convey. It does come from al-fil, Arabic, meaning "the elephant." It has no other particular meaning in Spanish. (as 'rook' has no particular meaning in English (except the name of a bird, which is mere coincidence)). As chess spread through Europe, no one knew exactly what to make of the word for that piece, and many things were invented. For instance 'al-fil' became 'alfiere' in Italian, meaning 'standard bearer', and 'le fol' in French which meant 'the fool' -- the meaning is preserved in modern French, 'fou'. It became a longstanding point for cross-cultural creativity.
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Hey my Chess Friends!
I appear in this new 4-hour film series on the Culture of Chess!
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beautiful collection of chess sets.
You are my favorite Chess channel on TH-cam. Your videos about ancient chess games have literally captured me. Haha. I am very interested in Chess now and I am working on creating my own chess variant. Thank you a lot for getting me and many other chess players and fans interested in this amazing and fascinating game.
Greetings from Germany, Zera
What a wonderful comment! It is the greatest pleasure to know that my work is stirring the interest in others. Contact me any time with your further thoughts ... and chess variants!
www.ancientchess.com/page/contact-form.htm
this is exactly the type of chess channel i wanted to find, good to see you're still active
Thanks for checking in! A ready list of my videos is here:
ancientchess.com/page/videos.htm
The video I most want people to see now is --
th-cam.com/video/HY9kxRJdutw/w-d-xo.html&feature=emb_logo
I know I learned so much!
Really enjoying this! Quick note: re the Mongolian version (23:20), according to Murray, the Queen (originally, Vizier) is a Dog in Mongolian chess; though yes, it also looks like a Lion. Also: the Rook is a Cart/Wagon probably because it was originally a Chariot ("rook" or "rokh" even means chariot in Middle Persian). Now back to the video. :) ...Edit: That was fascinating, thanks for making this! I agree the Cigar Divan design is more aesthetically pleasing than the Staunton, incidentally.
Yeah, there is a mythical beast, sometimes called a 'fu dog', a mix between a dog and lion, often seen guarding Chinese restaurants. The Mongolian queen usually seems to be one of those ... and the pawns are often little ones, her offspring. And yeah, the rook in those days, also in the Chinese game, was a rook or cart. According to our research though, the word rokh did not originally mean chariot exactly. It was the ancient Persian word for 'flank', with that piece described as the general of the flank. Later of course, it simply became known as the name of that piece on the chessboard, much as it is centuries later, in English, as 'rook' with no other meaning. Much of our book is a review, update and expansion of Murray's work.
AWorldofChess.com
@@AncientChess That's very interesting, I'll have to read your book!
The original chess pieces, when the Chess was invented in India (and called Chaturanga) were as follows:
Raja - the "king", though the term also meant "military governor" in the Gupta Empire (where the chess was invented). This was to emulate the war of two kings of ancient India, leaders of one "Akshauhini". It could move only one tile per turn, could be checked and captured. The king basically has remained the same throughout all versions of Chess once it spread out of India till today.
Mantri/Senapati - this means "Minister" or "General" respectively. Indian kings, whenever they personally led battles, were always accompanied by the chief-of-staff officers, military cabinet ministers and military commanders and generals. This piece evolved into "queen" when it moved into Europe but remained "General/Minister" in India. It was much less powerful than it is today, it could move only one or two steps in each direction.
Gaja - the "elephant". As everyone already knows, war elephants were a fundamental part of any Indian army and saw combat right to the last days of Indian Empire in 1857. In around 14th century India this piece turned into "Camel" (reflecting the change as elephant divisions in Indian armies were decreased)...while in Europe it was modified many times until it turned into Bishop. Similar mechanisms as Bishop with a few variations.
Ashva - the "horse". This was originally representing the Imperial cavalry of the Gupta Empire. Gupta armies focused heavily on cavalry of all sorts, from heavily armoured Cataphracts to horse archers. It became the most powerful branch of their army. This is why the "Ashva" was so powerful. It became Knight in Europe but it is still marked by a horse.
Ratha/Sakata - this is the "chariot". Unlike in rest of the world, Indians continued using chariots well into late antiquity. They were not used in the thick of the battles but remained a part of Imperial Gupta army. In an Akshauhini formation (the mythological Indian formation and also the original basis of Chess piece placement) chariots were in the flanks, so the Ratha/Sakata was also at the edge of the board. It became Rook in Europe, but the original Chariot piece could only move one step per turn like the king and was very weak compared to Rook. This reflects how Gupta Empire still had chariots but knew they were completely ineffective and weak by then.
Pedati/Sainik - this means "infantry". This represented the basic Gupta Imperial foot soldier of 5th century India. Armed with a shield, spear, sword and some armour. As in most Indian armies, the infantry is placed in front of cavalry, in Chess and Chaturanga. Just as Gupta Empire thought about them, they are considered subordinate to cavalry in an Indian army, and this is reflected in the game. Like real Gupta infantry, they are really easily hunted down individually but can be really powerful in groups. It became Pawn in Europe but has retained the same moves and features as original.
It is also known that Pawns attack only diagonally because the original Gupta Pedati/Sainik piece represented a spearman attacking through the cover of his large shield in the front, i.e. only sideways were open to attack. And thus it became a part of the game.
Thanks for adding your opinion! Check out the argumentative, nationalistic rants this question has invited, in the various comment threads of my videos. No one knows where chess was invented: it was being played and spread throughout Asia before anyone was recording it. Did legends develop? Oh yes! And they are very rich. It's a marvelous field to investigate and many imaginative, variably informed, hypotheses have been set forward. We've got a great chapter on the subject in our upcoming book, "A World of Chess: Its Development and Variations through Centuries and Civilizations," mate.
AncientChess
The thing is, Iranian nationalists crowd all chess-related videos and "claim" to be originators of chess...when in fact it first developed during Gupta Empire in India as an battle-imitation board game popular among the nobility, and to teach tactics to young princes.
There is a known record of an Indian ambassador to Sassanid Persia hosting a game before leaving for home, in front of the emperor, and this is how it became popular in Persia where it split into various routes.
This is interesting, thank you.
Golden Phoenix
No mate, it wasn't. It first mentioned in a late 4th century Indian text concerning Gupta Empire's nobility, and only arrived in Persia during reign of the second last Sassanid Emperor.
Great compliment
@@Priyo866 What is the 4th century text? If anyone has it, I want to look it up
Thanks for putting this together. I enjoyed your presentation and appreciate your collection.
I got an interesting comment from a fellow over in India. I had to remove it because of its offensive nature -- but it raised an interesting point. The fellow insisted that chessmen had actually been found (in India) that were 5000 years old! Well, actually, there have been apparent gaming pieces found which are that old -- it's just that there's no evidence they were chessmen. Here's a good example: hyperallergic.com/80050/archeologists-uncover-5000-year-old-game-board-pieces/
In fact, many old texts and old objects seem to allude to chess, to the modern eye ... yet, unless we see a certain combination of pieces or a telling description in a text, we just don't have good evidence of chess in particular. So far, the oldest archaeological find that is clearly a set of chessmen is the finding at Afrasiab, dated to about 700 AD.
history.chess.free.fr/afrasiab.htm
There was no queen piece in the ancient, older version from NE Iran. The piece was called a Vizier or Vazier, like a counselor. The idea of having a queen on the battlefield, would've seemed odd. It probably was a European invention.
Thanks, very important point! That piece has always been an advisor or general -- it is only when chess entered Europe that it was identified as a queen. That happened very early on, as early as the year 1000, when chess is first discussed in European literature. A very peculiar change, since it took what was originally a sybolic battlefield and looked at it more as a royal court.
Thank you for this video. I'm a chess lover, and it's always good to run across people like you who are totally obsessed, because we can learn so much from you!
Thanks for the good comment! It's a pleasure sharing the world of chess history and evolution!
Studying chess I learn that it is an entirely White European game.
I heard a creepy mideastern guy telling us innocent kids at highschool how it was invented by his people.
Young as we were we didn't know any better.
But you could tell he was making a boastful point out of it because he was for some reason smirking ESPECIALLY at me in the eye as he knew I really love my folk and country even as kid.
Sure enough just I suspected the infil was selling us a load of dirt.
This great and BEAUTIFUL European game of chess is entirely unique in every way.
From the chivalrous mediaeval checkered board, to the names and movements and looks of every single piece to the overall rules of the game to the annotation system to the uniquely European invention, and chess introduction, of the chess clock, making it the fastest and most ubiquitous game on the planet complete with great international martyr-heroes who spoke truth to power like Triple-A (Alekhine) and Bobby Fischer.
So that old creep back at school can eat his sandal and clean up his own house.
To say that chess came out of the mideast is like saying shogi is an Arabic/Iranian game.
Thank God the truth sets us free from the devils and all their lies.
@@pellaxestorba4836good comment
Man, I love this, so interesting. Thanks for the lecture! :)
Great video! I wish it is seen by all chess enthusiasts
It would be great to make shorter vids about each version and the rules
It's amazing how the spread of chess mirrors the spread of a language or the spread of genetic evolution
Thank you for sharing this, I was looking exactly for such an interesting tour :D
9:30 well i think it's also worth to mention that you can play CHATURANGA usigng your normal chess board and pieces BUT i would highly suggest playing with no dice (!) - it's just far better
Yeah, these games are so similar, most of them could be played with a standard modern chess set. But for me, much of the fun comes in the differences of the various sets. Even the dice -- really a different sort of game. Anyway, there are many ways to enjoy all of this.
Amazing video, good to see I am not the only one in the world who loves the history and and beauty of chess set!
I love it... this one has a B for bishop. This one has four dots, to represent the four legs of the horse...
Just a few years late, but thanks for the nice video! I've recently started digging deeper into chess and other games in Europe ca 1100-1400, and this was a very good stepping stone with some new angles I hadn't thought of vefore!
Thanks for putting this together! Excellent video. I feel inspired to seek out a particular set of chess pieces!
Thanks for the good comment! I find the world of chess and chessmen fascinating and am always looking for that spark in other enthusiasts. Contact me any time with your thoughts. (Rick at AncientChess.com)
I got the same feeling!
Yes, I support the idea that Chess was originated in India. It is assumed that Chess was originally a 4 player game, and the Arab travelers started playing 2 armies themselves which led to creation of all these, introduced it to the rest of the world. 'Chaturang' is in fact an Indian word which means 4 colours. One can metaphor it by 4 armies or 4 kingdoms.
Thanks for your message. We go into great detail regarding the sources of information and the historic analysis in our book ( aworldofchess.com ). A few things to note: Most sources regard the word chaturanga (later chaturang and chatrang) as originally referring to the 4 arms of the ancient Indian army (infantry, cavalry, elephants, chariots). The ancient documents indicate that the two-player game was reported about 4 centuries earlier than the 4-player game. We devote an entire chapter of our book to the long-standing speculation that the 4-player game came first. The final section of our book (it is in 7 sections) is devoted entirely to the search for the origin of chess itself. AWorldofChess.com
Oh wow, I could never have expected that so much efforts are being made to trace the history of Chess, truly appreciable. And I may also want to have a copy of your book myself, but maybe when I'll grow a little, you know, this is my dad's phone and he'll never allow me a book in times of my school😅
@@manojtodi281 It is good to hear you are getting such a curiosity in chess history in your early years. I hope you continue to learn about it -- it is a wonderful field! Even without the book, you can find many videos on my site:
www.ancientchess.com/page/videos.htm
Thank you for this fun and informative video! I'm sharing it with my friends.
By the way, have you ever looked at Jetan? In Edgar Rice Burrough's 1921 novel, "The Chessmen of Mars," the reader is introduced to Jetan, a game which culturally corresponds to Chess in our world. The book comes with a brief appendix that describes the rules, so I'm sure that it's playable.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the comment. We'll be including that variant in our upcoming book about the evolution of chess. Of the hundreds of new variants, very few will be covered in our book -- but Jetan will be there!
This is awesome!
Thank you this was such a treat!
Thanks so much man... What a fascinating insight. Your enthusiasm is infectious! The reading list at the end is very much appreciated. Best of luck with the translation... Can't wait!
Thanks for the great comment. As you know from our other videos, the new book is out ... and it's much more than a translation -- an improvement and expansion of Jean-Louis's French book in every aspect! For anyone else reading this, find info on that at aworldofchess.com
Great curation; important ro maintain history and to add conjecture and research.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the great comment. Leave your thoughts or questions any time.
aworldofchess.com
That was a long journey. I find the book part particularly interesting.
Interesting video. Chaturanga looks like pictures of tafl.
Thanks for this, well done & very informative ... Being a native Arab, allow me to add that "Al-feel" literally means: "the elephant" in Arabic :p
+Joseph Taibeh Thanks, yes, we know that al-fil is 'elephant', I didn't really say what I meant clearly. The point I intended to make is that the word is used in Spanish, although it is not a Spanish word. Much as English speakers use the word 'rook' although it does not have an English meaning. Thanks ror checking out my videos -- please do send comments any time.
It was undoubtedly invented in India, as was the number system, which incidently did not come into Europe from Arabia via Rome. Linguistics supports this view.
Great video by the way.
Thanks for the good words! Whether one has doubt about this will depend upon what one has heard or read, also what one is inclined to take as true. Our upcoming book, A World of Chess, gives a good review of the best evidence we have found. The truth is, judging what happened over 1500 years ago, with the available evidence, is a daunting task.
Hindu arabic numerals are originally hindu numerals spread via arabs nd chess also via persians.
Very educational video. Top notch
Thanks! Send your further thoughts any time.
aworldofchess.com
Good day!!
Thanks for the great content.
Do you provide private consulting on playing chess?
I would love to see a video where you'd comment on and explain on why the international chess have the rules they have. They seem kind of arbitrary. I wonder how someone figured out the optimal legal moves.
Great video!!! I find all your videos entertaining and informative.
Thanks David. It's a pleasure sharing this with everyone and hearing from others who love chess sets!
The book is finally published! Check out the video
th-cam.com/video/-k_-UbPAQvE/w-d-xo.html
Thanks David, a pleasure to hear from you. I hope I can make more soon
@@holymuffins2575 whoops. I just discovered your little dig here. My channel isn't for that. Please enjoy and be enjoyable in turn.
@@AncientChess I don't know what the above comment is a response to. It obviously does not fit this thread of discussion.
Great video and collection sir !
As a huge chess fanatic(of all kinds although i suck at all forms except the western one) and a history major this is just pure gold to me. Thank you for all your FREE resources and information. I'm also a huge fan of Mahjong(the four player game), Go, and really a huge player of strategy games with old origin. The history of those games are pretty dense too.
+Daniel Alwine Thanks for the great comments! For the best listing of all my videos, go to AncientChess.com and select the 'World Chess Videos" link (big button on the left). Hours and hours of chess history and variants (how to play go too... buy you know that already!)...
Thank you so much. Hey do you know of any good open source programs that have Chinese chess or shogi or other chess variants?
+Daniel Alwine Good question. I know there are some good ones out there, also sites where you can play against others over the internet. But sorry to say I haven't been keeping up on them. Problem is I'm so darn busy collecting, presenting and selling these sets I don't get to play much! Let me know if you find anything good
I found some. Here's what I wanna do. I'm going to compile a list with links of every single chess engine I have found. They are all GPU(general public use) licenses so I'm pretty sure that you'd be able to freely post those to your website put I recommend contacting the developers first just in case. I think it would e very cool if your site featured a list of these programs . I've been doing some serious searching and let me say I have found tons of them all free with no ads. I will email you the lists and links if that's okay. Also something to note, some of these programs are written in Python or programs like it and if your running on a Windows pc it can be fairly hard to turn Python files into an exe.
+Daniel Alwine Thanks, I'd love to offer those on my web site. Please do send me the information. It will be a great addition! My email is ancientches@mail.com
I recently earned to play Makruk and it is pretty fun to play. I was able to find only two apps where I could figure out how to play it since the games were in Sanskrit. But it's very fun for me as someone who played international chess in childhood.
Well made and informative. Your passion shines through as well.
You mentioned "Al fíl" from Arabic at the 1:00 minute mark. It means "The Elephant". Elephantry was a crucial part of the military in Asia and thus represented as chess pieces. I believe Spanish speakers for example call the piece Al fíl to this day.
Yeah, if you view the messages below you'll see that this has been mentioned many times. The fact is, I didn't say that well. You know, I know and all Arabic speakers know it's 'the elephant', but the point is, as you say, it is the Spanish name today, so called even by people who do not know the Arabic origins of the name (much as English speakers don't know the origin of our word 'rook') (yes, I do know that too). Anyway, thanks for commenting and please do feel invited to share your knowledge on any of my many videos
ancientchess.com/page/videos.htm
@@AncientChess Thanks for the reply. I did not check the other comments before commenting myself, that's true. I just wanted to share what I know. Thank you for the lovely videos.
@@Eli4life Thanks, yeah, I just said it in a way that elicited immediate response from those who know. IT's great to have you watching these. Send comments any time!
Rick
AWorldofChess.com
Thanks for the great vid! I am new to chess and l am finding I love the older figures. I have fallen in love with the Isle of Lewis set. How they were found is really great. Some day I hope to get a set. I think of Noble people sitting and playing the game. To me half the fun of chess is the set you are using.... So all in all thanks again!!
Hey Wayne, it's great to hear from you -- and to hear your enthusiasm for chessmen, which you know I share! Yes, the Lewis men are pretty much the undisputed greatest chess find of all time. Just amazing that nearly 4 complete sets of such marvelous artistic quality remained intact for so long! Check out more of my sets and videos --- and my new book!! -- on my web site AncientChess.com -- and send comments any time!
Very interesting and informative!
Great job! A lot of information in only 40 minutes.
Love your channel Rick! Great informative videos! Are you planning to post any new videos soon?
Thanks for the great comment! I haven't posted much in the past few years, have just been too busy with other things, mostly family.
But I love making the videos and have many more in mind!
I did make one video recently, a great improvement on my Chinese Chess introduction, here th-cam.com/video/kSL7JErRMx8/w-d-xo.html
@@AncientChess Thats a great instructional video on Chinese chess, perhaps if I have some down time in the future, I could use your instructional video to learn the game. I feel the same way, spending quality time with family is always priority, then just have to figure out how to juggle trying to create, edit and post chess content on youtube when the kids are asleep! I'll definitely subscribe to your channel and will be looking forward to any future content! Cheers!
@@AlSuChess Thanks, glad you understand! (but... my kids NEVER sleep). Send thoughts, questions and comments any time
aworldofchess.com
Great video! I love your collection. Did that book The Odyssey of Chess Games ever get translated?
Thanks for asking. Yes! More than translated, expanded and updated, published by McFarland.
See this video aworldofchess.com/video.html
Rick this video is AWESOME! I just replied to your comment on my Nezhmetdinov video and decided to check out your channel. Thumbs up and subbed !
Thanks! Your Nezhmetdinov video was so excellent, I'm going to have to check out all of your videos. Great meeting you! Anybody reading this -- check out Jessica Fischer's channel -- great chess history documentaries!
It was interesting to see how this one classic game spread all over the world, with different cultures changing the game in its own way. diverse in art style, but at the same time just variants of the same game! your video made me see chess in a new light.
I admire your collection. I wish you could show the Viking chess game and show how its played.
Thanks for the good comment. Do you mean the 'tafl' family of games, like hnefatafl? ... I probably won't get to that soon ... but there are many resources ... here's one on youtube: th-cam.com/video/rwO3AN__kAw/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much.....Very informative for researchers ...... Salute and love
Love your channel!
23:02 I'm pretty sure that the thing your holding is a person pulling another person.
Years ago, I visited the Biltmore Estate that had a display of one of Napoleon's original chess sets.
Isn't it amazing the way history touches on chess everywhere? I love seeing sets like that!
AncientChess
It is amazing. I kept thinking, "This is the personal chess set of Napoleon, the man I read about in history class. He personally moved and touched those pieces! I wonder if his fingerprints are still on them." The board was so close I could practically touch it. It was under glass case of course. lol
+AncientChess AL-Fill means Elephantits the Persian Loanword in Arabic and the Origin was " Pil " in Persian languagein Arabic there is no "P" sound and its become "F" sound from old mettle Persian writing system (Pahlavi) and " Al- " in Arabic language is Definite article like "The" in English
Thanks for filling in this important point of historic language transfer! It is understood that the game was taken by the Arabs from Persia, and indeed much of the nomenclature was also taken. In the same way, Chatrang became Shatranj, since Arabic had "Sh" instead of "Ch".
Exactly.In Arabic also no "Ch" and hard "G" soundAnd interesting the word elephant in modern Persian (actually the eastern dialect of middle Persian) is "Fiil" today the Persian language called Farsi (Parsi = Persian)this word is also came into the Arabic before the Islamic conquest of PersiaYou can find the word Al-Fil in old Arabic text. For example The surah 105 of Qur'an actually named "Al-Fil"
26:20 because in India the Elephant symbolises strength
great collection, great job
Your channel makes it very clear that you have more than a few Chess sets in your house. Do you have a favourite version of Chess? (European, Xiangqi, Janggi, etc.)
Oh yes, I have many, many chess sets ... all these you see in the video and many more. I'm a bit of a fanatic. I do have European, xiangqi, janggi ... etc ... What is your favorite?
AncientChess For a really long time, I liked European Chess; but now that I have Xiangqi, I think that may become my favourite sometime soon.
Nice video. Do you have any information about Russian four-handed chess (Fortress chess)?
Thank you for the video! Who makes your folding board? Looks like a Jaques London. I'm looking for a nice travel set.
Thanks for your message. I think you're referring to the 'regular old chess' set I show at the beginning of the presentation (0:33). That's actually a rosewood/boxwood set I got from a company in India (where most wooden chess sets are now made), put together with a board I got from China (it came with pieces but they were so cheap looking I essentially threw them away). I have many of these boards, but just one set of chessmen left. I could sell the board and pieces for $125, but I don't have it listed right now. Let me know if you're interested. I'm not sure if it would make a really good travel set because those pieces could get chipped up rattling around in the board. If I were using it for that, I would apply lots of padding inside the box between the pieces. Contact me any time through my web site, AncientChess.com
Beautiful collection!
Thanks! Send questions or comments any time.
AWorldofChess.com
We've had many comments about the origins of chess recently. In my mind, there's much more to consider than can be shot off in a TH-cam thread. Our book will come out in 2017, which should give some great points for further discussion. In the meantime, why not tell us your favorite book, video or website -- as a reference to the origin of chess?
+Golden Eagle Thanks for the correction. Wouldn't want anyone visiting the UK to miss them!
AncientChess Hey Rick. When are you going to do one on tamerlane chess? Yes. It's me again. Sorry, I love your videos. Lol!
pettiea greek Egyptian game merged with pointless Indian race games, that's when real chess was born 500ad... You agree?
I'm interested in reading your book about the history of Chess.
Thanks very much James. It is now available at aworldofchess.com
Thank you for this video, very interesting and complete. Hope your book comes out soon
Cool video.....you should do one on Go
Thanks for the asking. Here's what I have on that subject th-cam.com/video/obkjGT9DKI8/w-d-xo.html
Rick
aworldofchess.com
Very nice collection!
Thanks for the great comment! See many more videos at www.ancientchess.com/page/videos.htm
Where did you buy the thai chess?
Ian Spike sends a message that the Philippines was not colonized by the Arabs -- thanks Ian, sorry to give bad or incomplete information! It was only in the southern area, the Sulu archipelago, extending into Mindanao that the Arab influence took hold. This southern part of the Philippines maintains a cultural distinction, sometimes source of political friction, today.
On a different topic, do you find the darkening/yellowing (oxidization) of the wooden chess pieces to be a general characteristic and is it an issue as a seller? Also what do you use to clean and maintain the different woods of chess pieces - cracking of ebony is often a problem I find
Thanks for your message. I haven't looked too deeply into the issues of woods aging and cracking. I know what you mean about ebony cracking. When I send out an ebony set, I try to check for such cracking (usually at the base of the piece, esp. king or queen), and replace any defective pieces. I haven't really had any sets long enough to show that yellowing that occurs, but I do have some sets that are already old and already yellowed. I think collectors mostly accept that and even value it as a sign of being an authentic antique. I really don't have a strategy for maintaining pieces, as far as coating them or oiling them ... sorry I can't be of more help in that.
It is called Chaturanga because it represents four organs of a Vedic era Indian army - Infantry, Cavalry, Elephants and Chariots. This is the standard Akshauhini (अक्षौहिणी) formation.
Right
Yes, it is understood that this familiar formation became the familiar word for the ancient Indian army
I was gonna say that looks like Stratego, spot on!
Ive heard you in few podcasts, any thoughts about making a podcast by yourself about chess and history around it?😊
Is your book on Chess available … ?
Yes! See the video on AWorldofChess.com.
There has been much good response ... we've been interviewed on BBC www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csyp4j ...
Thanks for asking about that!
Started watching, and it's really good; but I got shit to do, so I'll be back to watch the rest...
I know, life just gets in the way of chess so much! Thanks for the good comment... And do enjoy the rest!
Great video. Thanks so much!
enjoyable watch, cheers.
Thanks for the good comment. Contact me any time through the website AncientChess.com
I never understood why it was called an arfil in Spainish, but now I do, thank you. (I first learned to play chess in Spanish)
Thanks Luis, I'm glad that info came across -- I could have explained it better. Al-Fil as you now know is Arabic for (the) Elephant
AncientChess one question is still nagging in the back of my head though, why is draughts part of the chess family while the tafl games aren’t? Draughts is just alquerque plus chess but the tafl games are basically an evolution of chess so shouldn’t they be part of the chess family? To me the tafl games just seem like a descendant of ludus latronculorum which to me seems like a descendant to courier chess, I mean the timeline works and the rules and looks of the games seem to fit as well, so why isn’t tafl considered chess? Also, I like your videos, they are super interesting and informative. Sorry for this comment being so long.
@@harsinsinquin4032 Good questions! Games related to alquerque are very old, some dating back to 3000 BC! But the modern look of the draughts 'checkers' games didn't appear until around 1100, when the game concept was adapted with backgammon pieces played on a chessboard.
The tafl games are also much older than chess, played for many centuries in Scandanavia before chess came along. I am just beginning to learn about the history of that one, but I believe it was as you suggest, from Roman games.
Chess seems to be a relatively new concept, only about 1500 years old, begun somewhere in central Asia. While games of pawns and games of king and pawns had already been around for centuries, chess carved out its own territory with the advent of different piece types with their individual moves. Yes -- they are all related... and it's fascinating -- and mysterious! We put all the knowledge we had of chess into our book ( aworldofchess.com ) -- but we're still learning!
AncientChess I made mistake, courier chess came after ludus latronculorum meaning that it is more likely that courier chess evolved from ludus not the other way around, in retrospect that does make more sense.
@@harsinsinquin4032 Yeah, courier chess is well within the chess lineage... appeared around 1200 through 1800, mostly in and around Germany. (I have a web site about that one, with a "history" tab courierchess.com .)
It is the first game that I made an elaborate reproduction of.
I was looking at some of these videos, about how to play some of those board games. I was initially looking for the Chinese jungle game, Chinese Chess and Japanese Chess. I see that there certainly are a large amount of chess variants, especially in the Orient. I never knew about ones like Korean Chess, Burmese Chess, and Thai Chess. It can also get quite complex learning how to play them.
I'm not a chess fan, and was just looking for interest sake, at those various chess variants.
There are no doubt many (western) chess masters who wouldn't want to play those other chess variants, but would just want to know how they are played. That is because of wanting to focus on western chess and continue perfecting their game.
I see incidentally that there is also a section on 3-D Chess from Star Trek. I would otherwise have mentioned it.
Nice examples, I enjoyed your video
Thanks Stephen, I'll check your channel to see what other cool chess stuff you've been getting into...
Looks like you're just getting started... nice sets! Send comments any time :)
@@rickknowlton9990 thank you. yes just started but lots to share.
Chaturang means four colours in indian language,then it is so called chattarang in persians
+singhbackONtrack This very interesting and the first time I have heard that interpretation. The literature is overwhelming in ascribing the word to the Sanskrit Chaturanga, meaning '4 arms' and indicating the 4 branches of the military. I would be very interested to hear more about that search in the historic etemology. 4 colors...
+singhbackONtrack Chaturang means four organs, you are completely wrong. It represents the mythical "Akshauhini" formation of Vedic Indian armies, composed of four main parts - infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots.
+AncientChess Chaturang is also called, after obvious change in language and time, 'Chaurang' which means four limbs or organs but also a square. see the connection for ''square".
Chaurang also means a small sqaured table where nobles sit or place their feet. Its a Marathi word(Maharashtra, India).
So chaturang could basically mean a squared table where the King commands.
Sagar Jagdale Nope, Chaturanga represents the "four organs" of a Vedic era army which is what the original Gupta Empire chess represented in the first place.
Ya true. I just wanted to mention it also means both a square and a squared table. I don't know if this has any significance, but thought it might be related.
I just wonder, is there any evidence or theory that there was chess like game which was played on circle shaped board or triangle shaped board, anything except square shaped board. That would be interesting.
Very informative video, appreciate your efforts for making it
Thanks very much Muhammed. It is such a pleasure to share the fascination for this game with fellows all around the world
Rick Knowlton For me it’s more fascinating because I am an Indian & a Muslim too 🙂 hope to see more knowledgable videos from you about Shutranj in future
SUBSCRIBED 👍🏻😊
@@RaeesUnboxingwala Thanks, it's good to hear from you. I have not made many videos lately, however, I hope to make many more in the future, and I have a long list of those already available. Contact me any time if you wish through my web site www.ancientchess.com/page/videos.htm
Rick Knowlton yes I checked out your channel, it’s 8 years old, and you upload around 5 videos in a year, but quality beats quantity dude 😉 and sure, if I need to contact you or but anything in future then I’ll contact you via your website, seems like you run a Chess shop
Very interesting to see all those sets.
Thanks! I love to show my sets. The book that I mention at the end of the video is now out, at aworldofchess.com
..with a video at aworldofchess.com/video.html
my friend found a very old looking leather chess set, in North Africa , Libya.
the pieces are made of bronze and silver and there's some kind of map on one of the sides, I will send you the pics, please how can I communicate with you sir?
Maatiz, thanks for the message. Sounds very interesting! Please go to my website and select the 'contact' tab ... once I receive a message from you, we can communicate normally through email. I would love to see pictures of that set
thats really interesting thanks. i loved a game of chess growing up, its interesting the rules reflected the political climate of the area, makes it all the more special and makes me wonder what a modern set would look like if the game had the same importance now in culture.
on further reflection we got to the point in western culture that tipping the board became a real political option lol.
Tipping the board indeed! Thanks for the great comment on chess and the culture that surrounds it. Chess is having a pretty good moment these days, with major championships available to view online, and with an increase of chess classes and clubs in schools. But yes, it would be interesting to consider chess as a modern political/military struggle ... I know a few people have come up with very interesting ideas
I woke up this morning and realized the history of chess goes deep
Oh yes! Oh yes!
aworldofchess.com
Really, really nice collection of board games.
Thanks for the great comment! My mother lode of videos is at ancientchess.com/page/videos.htm
I see they all as Pendulums Upside Down ! Amazing Stuff Thx for sharing!
Thanks for the good comment! ...pendulums ... upside down ...?
In Persian bishop is called "Elephant" .
Thanks, this is a very important point for anyone looking into where the many forms of chess came from. The piece was recognized as an elephant all over the world for many centuries. But eventually it became different things in some places: a camel in India and Mongolia; a nobleman in Thailand; a sliver general in Japan. In Europe, there was no concept of the piece as an elephant, and the many countries never agreed on its identity. It retains the Arabic word in Spain but was not translated. It remains in Italy a standard bearer; in Germany a runner; in France a fool; in England a bishop. But still and always, in China and many Asian and Mid-eastern countries, it remains an elephant.
I have a doubt on 10 min, I saw in one comment here that when it got invented at Gupta dynasty ruling there were infantry, elephant, horse, chariot, minister & king, which makes sense but here when you make the four armies front line will be infantry then at corner chariot then the horse then the elephant then only one piece remains next to the elephant, that piece is king or a minister ?
Where can you find the chinese chess set and the board?
Check this link, it's what I have listed now....
www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_ssn=rickofricks&LH_PrefLoc=&_from=R40&_trksid=p2499338.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xchinese.TRS0&_nkw=chinese&_sacat=0
hi, i'm very interested in the chaturanga game, because i play recently this game and i don't know how to play this game, please help me!!!!!
I assume you mean this 4-handed game that I showed you.
Here's a link to a page about how that's played
www.chessvariants.com/historic.dir/chaturang4.html
what an exhibition. thanks.
Much pleasure to share this with you! Send your thoughts any time
So, the Burmese form of chess is like Stratego!
Loved it. Thanks from Portugal. :)
Thanks Ângela! It's good to get positive comments from far away
The word "Rook" came from the Persian word "Rukh" which means chariot. That is why the Mongolian rook looks like the way it does.
Thanks for mentioning this -- it is amazing how the word and the piece has traveled and transformed through the centuries. Our book is full of information of this nature
aworldofchess.com
Mongols: This piece is five hundred years old.
Kids: Mom! Sanaa broke the horses head!
Mom:You broke it you carve a new one!
That's right, you break it you replace it ... and your replacement last another five hundred years ... or maybe at least two hundred. You have to love that chess tradition!
The Puranas ,an ancient collection of Hindu prehistorical tales , states that it was Queen Mandodari of Sri Lanka aka Ceylone invented the game of ' chaturanga ' the ancient form of chess to keep her husband ,King Ravana occupied with inanimate pieces quenching his addiction for battles and war . Mrs Mandodari would have been co nferred with the Nobel peace prize had they existed 5000 years back . From India the game went to the middle East thanks to the traders and the turk and arab invaders who took it to conquered Persia where it became more sophisticated and then the Arab conquest of Spain took the game to Europe where it mutated into what we now know as International chess . The game was adopted and developed more by the imperialistic British , French ,Dutch and Portuguese as well as Spanish . It was Ruy Lopez who is the father of modern chess as we know now and he was a Roman Catholic Christian priest who was Spanish .
The word chatur in sanskrit means 2 things
1. Four
2. Clever
Hence it's a pun
Thanks for sharing that. Some interesting perspectives we do not often hear about. Send comments any time.
aworldofchess.com
26:45 those markings look suspiciously similar to tafl games
Yeah, it's hard to relate odd board markings to any particular meaning. It seems that making X's on boards was a sort of 'default' decoration idea, could mean anything in any culture. Strangely, even boards found in Scandinavia, where hnefatafl games were widely played for centuries, yields boards with X's and shaded squares that are very hard to make correspond to the important squares of hnefatafl. So much tantalizing evidence, and so much lost knowledge! I take solace in that fact that, now that we can probe the ground with LIDAR, we know that only about 1 percent of archaeological sites have been investigated. Let the digs begin!
I've played chess for years and known about Chinese chess for a few years and go same with Japanese chess im looking fowerd for the book you are working on translating can you post a video about it when it comes out?
Play many many awesome chess variants at jocly plaza. Please help pass the word. Thank you.
Thanks for the video - I love chess and I love history and the implication that worldview alters chess dynamics in various cultures is really interesting to me. The idea that the modern chess is an implied alliance between two armies is really fascinating although it could have been merely pragmatic (four person chess would have taken AGES to play - especially if my dad was one of the players :) - I doubt they would have had sun dial chess clocks. I also wonder how many people through out history have been murdered because they took to long to move! :D
Hey Josh, take it easy on your dad -- he's just trying to get the best move! I know there are tales of people being murdered over chess games, but I don't know how many were the too-long-to-move types. Thanks for enjoying the video and giving the good comment.
Great video Sir😄
Thanks for the great comment. I have many video I think you will find enjoyable
It makes so much sense in modern chess that the pawns can only move forward (or diagonally forward), because kings could command their soldiers never to retreat.
+PlanetRockJesus Actually, Pawn originally represents the 5th century Indian imperial infantry of the Gupta Empire.
Gupta infantry had huge shields that they placed in front, so they could attack sideways from that cover. This got into the game as the Pedati/Sainik (original name of Pawn) could only attack diagonally.
Secondly, Gupta Empire always placed infantry in the front of cavalry. This was because Gupta cavalry would prevent and block the infantry from fleeing, sometimes even killing their own soldiers for cowardice if situation was dire. The infantry only allowed to move forward and retreat was not allowed. THIS is why the soldier can only move forward, just like the Gupta imperial infantry.
It has nothing to do with European kings though.
प्रियदर्शी
Do Indians still play Caturanga?
Now for the most part the standard international chess is played in India. I wonder if anyone has recently seen any variation in the game still using older Indian traditions
Me waiting frickin 20 minutes so I can see the chess set it the thumbnail
Sorry to trouble you with the cultural history of chess. We do like our quick and easy answers, don't we? In the future, I advise skimming through to find your chosen spot. Why bother leaving a us message? Go on to your next impulse -- now!
nice video !
Alfil is the name of the bishop in Spanish. It doesn't really mean anything, it's just the name of the piece. I heard it comes from an Arabic or Persian word for elephant.
Yes, that's what I meant to convey. It does come from al-fil, Arabic, meaning "the elephant." It has no other particular meaning in Spanish. (as 'rook' has no particular meaning in English (except the name of a bird, which is mere coincidence)).
As chess spread through Europe, no one knew exactly what to make of the word for that piece, and many things were invented. For instance 'al-fil' became 'alfiere' in Italian, meaning 'standard bearer', and 'le fol' in French which meant 'the fool' -- the meaning is preserved in modern French, 'fou'. It became a longstanding point for cross-cultural creativity.