chess-The Oxford Companion to Chess - First Edition by David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld

]44 HISTORY OF CHESS
Forns ot hexagonal ches usine a board ol
ovcrall quldrilarernl shape have also been devised.
EISTORY OI CHESS. Forihc last hundredlears
the riew has been developinethatboardgamcs had
tbeir origin in dilination ceremonies. Prolessor
Joscpn Nccdn.m, rhc Si.ologisl, believes that a
quasi-astrological techniquc whi.h cvolved in
Chinr betNeen the lst and 6lh .cntlri.s AD lor
delernining lhe balance ol Yin and Yane Nas
convcrtcd ior nilirary divid.tionpurposes in lndia
or China and prohably formed the b.sis oi
cHAr-uNc^. By controlling thc fall olohjectson'
to.dilinaLionboardthe godscouldconrmrnical.
with mcn. At i lnter nage dice were added ro
determine thc movcs oi the pleces and tunher
reveal the celestial mind 'lho somco.c *rs
sa.rilcgious enougb lo conlert thn proccss to a
gamej pcrhaps climinaling the dice. Tte person
who secularized thc rcligious pioce$has, pe.haps.
the best cl im ro be tbe invenroa ofchc$
Abundanl llms chim a single inlcntor ol
chcss. but mant oirhese nay relate to other board
ganres: lor cxamdcj thc 'grain ol.cotu legend
ould apply equally to ^sHrApADA.
lt is possible
lhatoneperson. usinglhereligiousrilual as abasis,
*eared .halurane|
^t
a tine neai rh. middlc ol
the 61h century in thc Punjab Fa Xian, a Chinese
Buddhin ybo Nrote exteDsivcly aboul his lo.g
sojouininlndia at rhe beginning of thc 5th ccnrurli,
docs not mendon the g n+an indication. per
haps, that it Nas not knosn .t thn dne.
The Insl reierence to chess in all litcratuie n i.
rhc Kdhannk i Axdklhatr i Pnpdkdn, a Pc$irn
roman.col.. AD 6(X) Theheroisnote{l forhhsk ll
al ballrliy, hoGemnship, .H^rRANG. hu.tirg,
and other nccomtlishnents' No aurhenlic chess
picccs canicr than thc ,th ccntury AD havc bccn
identified beyond quenion. Artefacts rhar are
undoubledlr older bave been excavated in Russii,
hur il th.y arc licccs ar al, rhc], bclong 10 a
prccuror of chess or ro another game. some
aurhentic chess pieces excav.red in luly h.ve been
d.led as 2nd cenntry AD: despir. rh. nnegrily ol thc
archacologists{howcrc.on.crncdwlththcnnd,
their dating h generally regarded with scepticnm:
were n proved corect the hinory oi chess would
(-rat.dne was dcleloped n.n .hdturanga. an
carlyfomr of thc gamc play€d nr India. From there
ils eanward spread nal have been brought about
by Buddhins whor.lelled abrord tolurrherthen
rclieion and to cscapc pcBccurion ai homc
Ccrtainly chess fl ourished in ihose couDtrics $here
Buddbisn tookroot. The Sane spathloChinasas
oler lhe mounmins norlh.l the Indus oi thiough
thc (hyb* Pas to toin thc caralan routcs drat
came from the Caspian Sea By about 800 lhe
Chinese had recast the gnneinlinewith lhenown
culturil backsround. (see ctsNEsE cHEss.)
'lhrough Korca.ndr"/d,8, rcachcd Japan. and
there too it was remodelled lo snit the nalionrl
remPeranent- rakinc the mne sHocr.
Th. iveslward movc,ncnr 01.rar,/a,8a. shich h
kDown ro havc rcachcd Pcriaaronnd 600. h bctrer
doomented. Alter the Arabian conquest ol
Persii,638 51. fie gane- now suRNr. enioyed
one or ils llnest periods .fi,rrani cane lo wesl{i
Eur.pc byrhrcc lalhs:sirh lhc Mooiish invadcn
of Spain in thc sth .cnrury. throuCh thc Islamic