This is Sleepy History. Sleepy History is a production of Slumber Studios. To listen, add free... Get access to bonus episodes and support the ongoing production of this show. Check out our premium feed. This is The Sleepy History of Chess, narrated by Arif Hodzik, written by Angela Wood. Chess that thought-provoking game of strategy that has captivated some of the world's brightest minds for centuries. It's been played everywhere.
from the halls of kings to a Cold War battlefield. And now, it's a true test of humanity as people and computers go head to head. But what are the origins of this game of pawns and rooks, knights and queens? How did it spread across the world and change over the centuries? We'll dive into these questions and more tonight. So just relax and let your mind drift as we explore the sleepy history. of chess.
Our story begins in northwest India around the 6th century CE. Imagine it's late morning, and you're standing at the edge of a tranquil lake. The sunlight glistens on the water's surface like sparkling diamonds. The air is filled with the fragrance of the hibiscus flowers planted nearby. At either side of the lake are hills covered in vegetation. Behind you stands a grand palace with ornate domes.
you head towards it. As you climb the steps, you notice that archways and delicate stonework adorn the balconies. Entering the building through a tall wooden door, you can see a long passageway with a tiled floor. The walls are decorated with artwork displaying colorful local scenes. In a room through a door to your right, a small table stands around, half a meter off the floor.
On it is a plain board featuring figurines of elephants, horses, and people. Each piece is intricately designed, smooth to the touch. and hand-carved from wood. The game is called chaturanga, and many centuries later, most historians agree… it would evolve to become the worldwide phenomenon known as chess. The word Chaturanga means four parts in Sanskrit, referring to an army,
that contained four branches in ancient India. The four branches were known as the pada, or infantry, the ashva, or cavalry. the gaja, which was the elephantry, and the rata, or chariotry. The pieces were placed on the board in a battle formation. a test of mental might between opposing sides. And each figure on the board was said to be of particular importance in society.
as they were the ones who could best protect the king. The board typically measured 8 by 8 inches, but it did not have the distinctive light. and dark squares that we see on a chessboard today. It was often referred to as Ashtapada, and the game pieces were intricately carved from local materials, including wood, stone, bone, or shellac. It is thought that Chaturanga could be played with either two or four people. The main objective was to capture the king, or every other piece on the board.
leaving the king as the only remaining piece. There were sixteen game pieces in each opposing team. They included a Raja, the king, the mantri or minister, which would eventually become the queen, and the rata or chariot. At the time, The chariot was the most powerful piece on the board, as it could move horizontally or vertically across any unoccupied square.
There is some conjecture that this may indicate the game was much older than previously thought, as chariots in warfare were obsolete by the 6th century. having been replaced by cavalry. The counterargument to this is that they were still prominent in stories and poetry at the time. There was also the gaja, or elephant. This piece had three different moves. It is thought that the elephant
could move two squares diagonally in any direction and jump over the first square. It could also move a step forward diagonally. or two squares vertically, or horizontally. Another key piece in Chaturanga was the ashva, or horse. It represented the cavalry in the military and moved in an L-shape across the board. Then there was the padati. the infantry or foot soldiers, which eventually became pawns in the modern game of chess. Some historians believe that
Although it was popular, Chaturanga wasn't played by many people in ancient India. Instead, it was a game reserved for nobility and the military, with the latter using it to improve their field tactics. In the years that followed, This all began to change as the game made its way along the Silk Road trading route to Persia. According to one story, during the 6th or 7th century, the Indian king sent an emissary to the Sasanian Empire, which stretched from what is now Western India.
all the way through Iran to Egypt. The emissary carried a message and a challenge for the king. If he wanted to become the most powerful ruler, he must first master the game of chaturanga. This story was only written about in the 11th century, so it is quite possibly not true. or could be poorly sourced. But if we follow it, it says that the royal court spent days and nights playing.
attempting to figure out the rules of Chaturanga, until one of the king's advisors appeared to crack the code. They began to craft their own version. and renamed the game Chaturang. The mantri, or ministerpiece on the board, became known as the firs. However, It was still a relatively weak piece, only having the capacity to move one square diagonally. The term shah meaning king in Middle Persian, was also introduced for the king piece on the board. Players also began to use the phrase shamat.
when capture of the king was imminent. It meant, the king is helpless, and signified the end of the game. It is said that these two words, shamat, later evolved to become checkmate in modern chess, as a potential counterpoint to that story. While the details of the spread of the game are somewhat hazy, a Sassanid Persian book on the exploits of the first emperor around 224 CE describes him as a master of the game. It's unknown if this is true, but some historians think…
it indicates a much earlier introduction of the game to the region than the 7th century. However, in the 7th century, The Sasanian Empire was toppled by a number of raids and armies of early Arab tribes, confederated under the newly established Islamic religion. And in the years that followed, the new rulers began to expand their territories.
The game was taken to North Africa and west across the Mediterranean Sea to Sicily and eventually southern Spain. Once again… The game was renamed, this time to Shatranj, with an S which was more relatable in the Arabic language. It became a popular game played in the royal courts. However, his Islam did not allow the portrayal of living creatures or icons. All of the pieces had to be redesigned. The original chaturanga pieces such as horses, elephants, and kings
were subsequently transformed into abstract shapes molded from clay. As the pieces took less time to make, more could be produced. and the increase in manufacturing helped to enhance the game's popularity. The rules of the game changed too. The infantry or pawn pieces in chatranj were limited to moving just one step, even on the first move. The moves of the elephant and furs, pieces, were shortened too, and the speed of the game increased alongside the new strategies.
By the 9th and 10th centuries, Shatranj had reached the Byzantine Empire and Russia, and the game was often gifted by the Arabs. to people of high standing in society. Many historians believe that the game of chatranj was introduced to England during the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is said that the Normans had encountered the game in southern Italy and brought it north.
Another account is that the Vikings carried Shatranj on their ships from their travels in the Mediterranean region and that they introduced the game to England. and as far north as Iceland. Players were encouraged to use different strategies and problem-solving skills to defeat their opposition.
And legend has it that the game was popular with English kings, such as Henry I and II, King John, and Richard I. By the 11th and 12th centuries, the game was being played in England, France, Spain, Italy, and in other countries in Europe. It became faster paced and more glamorous. It also became more competitive, and bets were often taken on the outcome of the games. Some matches would last several days, and the leisurely pastime began to attract attention in unlikely places.
In both the Christian and Islamic worlds, gambling was frowned upon and religious leaders petitioned to have the game banned. tried to ban the game in France during the 12th century, but failed because it was already so popular and widespread. and the Archbishop of Canterbury in England vowed to punish any church officials caught playing it. In the 1300s and 1400s, the game encountered many new changes. As it was during this time that chatranj slowly morphed.
into what we know now as chess. The name chess was said to come from the old French word, échec. The abstract pieces were redesigned, this time to reflect European culture and religion of the time. Chess boards were stylized with light and dark checks, often crafted from wood or marble. Some military leaders had them made from soft leather. so that they could be folded and carried on long journeys via horseback. The game piece that began in India as an elephant became the bishop.
in England and the fool in France. The chariot became the rook, and the infantry were now known as pawns. Another key transformation was the original mantri, or ministerpiece in chaturanga, also known as the firs in chaturanga. The piece always stood aside the king, yet it had limited power and mobility on the early boards. In chess, it became the queen. the most powerful piece in the game. The queen could now move two spaces diagonally on the first move, and…
it could jump over other pieces. It is thought that the shift in the queen's status paid homage to prominent and high-profile women at the time. such as Spain's Queen Isabella of Castile and Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was, years earlier, the queen consort of England and France. Further rules were later introduced to the game as it evolved under its new name. One such move was Anpasan, which means in passing.
This was a pawn-capturing move that could occur when the opponent's pawn moved two squares vertically from its starting position. If another pawn was in the same column, it could be taken. It was also possible to capture the opponent's pawn by moving just one square. Castling was another move that made it into the game. The intention of the move was to keep the king piece safe by using the rook as protection.
It was the only move in chess where both pieces could move simultaneously. Castling allowed the king to move two squares towards a rook. while the rook was moved at the same time to the square crossed by the king. Around the year 1440, the game received another boost. This was thanks to the invention of Gutenberg's printing press in Mainz, Germany.
The printing press allowed books and leaflets to be published on the subject of chess. This meant that the standard rules could be seen by all who could read. and strategies and tactics used by different players could be made public. Players began to present chess scenarios
and diagrams in print, inviting readers to solve their conundrums like complex puzzles. However… The rise of printed materials in the West, coupled with the new pieces and rules for the game, meant that its early origins had been overwritten. and largely forgotten. Many incoming players believed that chess simply began in Europe and that the rules and pieces had always been the same. The popularity of the game soared, and in the 1700s,
A man by the name of A.D. Philidor was considered the world's finest player. The French composer and avid chess player became known for using the pawns as a key part of his gameplay strategy. Several chess positions were named after him. including the Philidor defense. He would entertain Parisians by playing chess with a blindfold on in elegant salons. He published a detailed book on chess that was translated into 100 languages, and such was his fame that he even had a street in Paris.
named after him. By the mid-1800s, chess had evolved into a worldwide competitive sport. A new monochromatic 64 square checkerboard was introduced onto tables, and there were 16 light and dark colored pieces in every chess set. tournaments began to feature timers, speed monitors, adjudicators, and audiences. It was a popular sport that achieved significant turnout. when high-profile games were played. In 1886, the first official Chess World Championship took place.
It was played in the winter in America, in two cities, New York and St. Louis. One competitor was Johannes Zugertort. a Polish-born journalist, linguist, musician, and soldier. He played opposite Wilhelm Steinitz of the Austrian Empire. who was an influential writer and chess theoretician. Steinitz won the match. At the time, The total prize fund for the contest was said to be 986 US dollars, a huge sum at the time, which would equate
to around $33,000 today. By the turn of the century, chess had become so popular that the International Chess Federation which became known as FIDE, for the French acronym, was formed in 1924 in Paris. FIDE's objective was to regulate all of the international chess competitions. The organization set all the game rules for the tournaments. They also introduced player ratings that allowed them to evaluate each player's strengths. Their aim was to build a global chess community.
and reward the most exceptional players. One of the early games played under FIDE rules took place in 1927. in Argentina. It was between Jose Raul Capablanca and Alexander Alequín. Alequín won the match. capitalizing on his opponent's lack of defense. The win marked the end of a nine-year reign by Capablanca as world champion. In the 1940s, the evolution of chess took an unusual twist. A gentleman by the name of Alan Turing wanted to demonstrate
what a computer could do. To do this, he wrote the first chess program for a computer. Turing was already well known. for helping to crack the Enigma Code, a series of encrypted messages during the Second World War. But he professed himself a weak chess player. He began writing the program in 1948, but it was never considered finished because people couldn't get the program running in its full state.
on the computers at the time. He also developed what became known as the Turing Test, which hinges on the idea that computers can be programmed in such a way that they can rival human intelligence. Although the Turochamp computer program was capable of playing chess. It didn't have a winning formula. The computer was defeated in just 29 moves by Turing's colleague. Alec Glenny in 1952. Experiments continued to create computer programs for chess. Some were written at MIT.
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and others were developed in the USSR, the former Soviet Union. In 1967, the MacHack 6 computer became the first to beat a human at the game of chess at the Massachusetts State Championship. Afterwards, the computer was made an honorary member of the U.S. Chess Federation. But in 1972…
One of the greatest human chess games took place in Reykjavik, Iceland. It was between American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, the Soviet Union's reigning world champion. had been a leading force in the world of competitive chess since the late 1940s. And this match between the two countries shone a political spotlight on the game. The board was touted by the media as a Cold War battleground.
and the game drew a huge audience across the world. The game that commenced lasted over six weeks and was dubbed the match. of the century. When Fisher won, it became one of the most significant events in chess history and catapulted the game into a global mainstream sport. In the 1970s and 80s, the game established new openings, theories, and pawn structures. And in the 1990s, a knockout format was introduced in the championship, replacing the traditional match.
Up until this point, the game was mostly dominated professionally by men. Women were not permitted to join chess clubs until well. into the 1990s. However, this didn't stop them playing, and some amazing female players emerged. Susan Polgar of Hungary became the world's number one chess-playing female. In 1984, at just 15, She was the top-ranking women's player in the world, and her sister, Judith Olgar, became the strongest women's chess player of all time.
Since the 1990s, China has become a leading force in women's chess too. Ho Yifan is the world's number two player of all time. and Zhu Wenjun of Shanghai is the current women's world champion. Today, the number of women playing chess professionally continues to grow. with over 40 female Grand Master titles having been awarded. By the mid-1990s, the digital age was well and truly upon us.
And IBM requested that their deep blue computer challenge the world champion Garry Kasparov to a chess game in Philadelphia. Kasparov was, at the time, a grandmaster, and he had become the youngest world champion in 1985 at age 22. Kasparov won the first game in 1996. During a rematch the following year, the Deep Blue Computer defeated him in New York after Kasparov lost. the final game, resigning on Move 19. Although Kasparov made a request to IBM for a rematch, the company refused.
and they were said to have dismantled or recycled parts of the Deep Blue computer years later, as well as the computer performed in the tournament. It did not take over the game, with humans still preferring to challenge themselves to play one another. To date, Norway's Magnus Carlsen remains the world's highest-ranking chess player in the FIDE ratings. He has held the number one ranking since July 2011, with a peak rating
of 2,882, which makes him a super grandmaster of the game. Chess is also appealing to younger players. For example, Sergei Karyakin of Russia became a grandmaster at the age of 12. The game is often encouraged within schools and universities. with many creating their own chess clubs. Unsurprisingly, over 80% of households worldwide own a chess board, and recent figures show
that over 600 million people play the game on a regular basis. Since late 2020, the game has become even more popular following the release… of the chess-related television series The Queen's Gambit. The series was watched on Netflix by over 60 million households. Sales of chess boards rose by 87%, and chess book sales rose by over 600% after it aired.
Although the game has evolved dramatically over the centuries, there are still players that prefer to play ancient variants of chess as a social pastime. For example, a chess club in Jamestown, New York is dedicated solely to Tamerlane chess, a game invented in Central Asia by Timur. Amir of the Timurid Empire. Korean chess, which is known as Changki, Makruk Chess from Thailand, and Shyangji.
which is Chinese or elephant chess, are also played across the world to this day. Unique and fancy chess sets are widely available now. with artisans curating hand-carved boards with pieces in almost any design. Today, It's possible to commission chessboards featuring your favorite movie characters, nature or ocean-inspired themes, or even futuristic 3D sets. Books are still written in-depth about the subject, with players attempting to find moves and strategies never seen before.
And in a game of over 2,000 variants, there are still plenty of elements to discover. Chess has come a long way since its humble beginnings in India. From a simple board game only played by a handful of noblemen and military minds, It has been restructured and tweaked over the centuries and monetized to become a $2 billion chess empire. However…
Through all of its popularity, we should never forget the early creators of the game. Without their unique foresight, craftsmanship, knowledge, and tactical know-how, the game of chess as we know it would never have existed. It will be interesting to see how the game continues to evolve in the coming years. Only time will tell.