The Big Picture

The Birth of Chess – The Silk Road – The Luminaries of Gupta Mathematics – Vedic Architecture and the Chess Board

While the Abassids contested with the Byzantine empire in the East. The remnant of the Umayyad Caliphate in North Africa made incursions into Western Europe. In 711, Tariq Ibz Ziyad led his army across the Straight of Gibraltar, capturing the Visigoth capital Toledo, and Establishing the Moorish Kingdom in what is now Spain. This was to be the first battle in a series of religious wars between European Christians and Muslim kingdoms that would last nearly 800 years. 

In 732 Charles Martel, the founder of the Carolingian Dynasty, stopped the Moorish progress into continental Europe at the Battle of Tours. This period of conflict also resulted in intercultural exchange and introduced the game of Chess into Europe. The earliest surviving story about chess in Europe comes from this time period and involves Charles Martel’s grandson, the man who would go on to found the Holy Roman Empire, Charlemagne. The story goes that a young Charlemagne became so enraged at having been beaten repeatedly by a young Bavarian Princes that, in a fit of anger, he beat the prince to death with the board. While we do not know for certain if Charlemagne was a chess player, we do know that he was a man of massive military success; uniting nearly the entirety of the European Continent under his rule.

The Astapada is based of the Vastu Purusha Mandala 

The narrative further intertwines with Theophano, a Byzantine princess married to Adelaide’s son, Otto II. Theophano’s influence over her spouse was remarkable, often sidelining royal advisors. Upon Otto II’s demise, Theophano and the once-exiled Adelaide united to safeguard their dynasty, ensuring Otto III’s eventual rule. Marilyn Yalom posits that the considerable clout these empresses held could have propelled the chess piece’s transformation from General to Queen. Theophano, with her Byzantine lineage and likely familiarity with chess, may have even instigated this shift. By the 11th century, chess permeated European educated circles, with the queen piece symbolizing rare instances of female empowerment in medieval times, as epitomized by figures like Adelaide and Theophano.

While Charlemagne and the Ottonian Dynasty had secured Christian power from Constantinopole to The North of Spain. The Moorish Kingdom of Al-Andalus blossomed on the Iberian Peninsula. Al-Andalus was a bright spot of religous and cultural harmony, in an era otherwise marked by the religous violence and tension of the Crusades. Al-Andalus became a center for cross cultural exchange, and learning, not least of which occured over the chess board. In 1024 the Jewish Scholar Avraham ibn Ezra wrote in his poem the song of Chess, “Their faces are set for war, / and they sally forth and camp continuously. But they draw no swords in this war / for this war is the work of thoughts.”

Just across the border from Al-Andalus King Alfonso X in Castile reigned from 1252 until his death in 1284. His intellectual reputation and patronage of the sciences gained him the moniker by which he is now most commonly referred, Alfonso the Wise. The nickname is appropriate for a man who’s Book of Chess, Dice, and Board Games is one of the earliest masterpieces of Chess literature. The book starts off, much as this one has, with a fable about an Indian King looking to discover whether the universe is ordered by a rational knowledge or simple chance, with chess representing the former and dice the latter. The book is remarkable for historians of chess as it is the first place where the pawn is described as being able to move two spaces on its first move, indicating the earliest example of the evolution of that rule. However what is perhaps most impressive about the book are its illustrations depicting a wide variety of players at play.

Not long after Alfonso the Wise wrote his Book of Games Jacobus de Cessolis, a Dominican monk, wrote “De ludo Scachorum” (The Game of Chess). In it he uses the game of chess as a symbolic framework to impart moral and societal lessons.  The work intricately parallels chess pieces to various social classes, elucidating their roles and responsibilities within the hierarchical structure of medieval society. For instance, the king represents the monarch, the queen embodies the church, while knights, rooks, and pawns symbolize different facets of the populace from nobles to peasants. Through allegorical tales and narratives associated with each chess piece, Cessolis provides ethical guidance and insights into societal norms, portraying chess not merely as a game but as a reflection of life and its moral complexities. In 1474 the book was reproduced by William Caxton, cementing its legacy as the second book ever printed in English.

In 1492 Alfonso the Wise’s great-great-great granddaugher Isabela along with her husband Ferdinand would complete the Reconquista, expelling the Moors from continental Europe. In fact a letter dated Feb 2 of that same year written by Hernando de Polgar, a Spanish noble, places Chess in the center of the most important decision of their reign, and perhaps that of the last 1,000 years; Cristopher Colombus‘  journey to America. Colombus had repeatedly sought Ferdinand and Isabella’s patronage for his journey to find a Western sea route to the Orient, and had been repeatedly turned away. Isabella was intrigued by Colombus’ idea of reaching India by sailing west, and had even been willing to use her personal jewels to finance the expedition. Colombus, however, had upped the ante demanding to be given the title of Admiral of the Sea, and Viceroy over any territories he may conquest. Ferdinand was unwilling to grant such status to the man he referred to as ‘The Genoese Adventurer.’

The Iberian peninsula produced the first masters of the modern game. Luis ramirez de Lucena wrote the first, still extant, book containing the reformed rules of the game, it was published in Salamanca in 1497, and although significant for its historical context, the text is error laden and otherwise unremarkable containing such advice as “…if you play by day, place your opponent facing the light, which gives you a great advantage.” In 1512 the Portugese pharmacist Pedro Damiano published a book on Chess in Rome. The book was immensely popular, as it contained not only analysis, but also an extensive section on puzzles. Damiano’s book also provided much better advice, such as the timeless maxim, “If you see a good move, try to find a better one.”

In 1559 when the priest Spanish Priest Ruy Lopez (A Jew who was forced to convert by the violence of the inquisition) visited Rome he came across Damiano’s book. Having easily dispatched of many of Italy’s top players, he thought little of Damiano’s work. He published his own book in 1561, considered by scholars to be the first substantial textbook on the game. One of the openings he explores for white bears his name and is still employed by many of the top players today. Patronized by King Phillip II, Lopez dominated European chess for nearly two decades; until in 1575, in what could be considered the first international chess competition, two Italians Giovanni Leonardo and Paolo Boi both defeated Lopez and other top Spanish players, living up to there nicknames as the Light and Lustre of chess. Boi, who was sponsored by Catherine de Medici, would adventure throughout Europe playing Chess with royalty, earning extravagant sums and tremendous fame. Traveling from Portugal to Sicily he was captured by pirates and brought to Algeria where he was sold to a Turkish Prince; however, he won his freedom, safe passage, and a good deal of money through exhibiting his mastery of the game. He returned to Italy, and to a new class of chess players. Salvio, Polerio, and Greco were conducting deeper analysis into then game than ever before; and making a lucrative industry of selling their findings throughout Europe. Greco, in particular, contributed many important innovations to the game still widely used today.