ImportMaster at 04:50, 24 February 2021

2021-02-24T04:50:47Z

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[[File:Radha-Krishna chess.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Krishna]] and [[Radha]] playing Chaturanga on an 8x8 Ashtāpada (board)]]

'''Chaturanga''' is the earliest known form of [[History of chess|chess]], 6th century AD.<ref name=Murray/>

This precursor of modern chess originated in the northern [[Indian subcontinent]] during the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta empire]].<ref name=Murray>Murray H.J.R. 1913. ''The history of chess''. Oxford University Press. reprint {{ISBN|0-936317-01-9}}</ref> 'Chaturanga' translates as 'the four divisions', meaning [[infantry]], [[cavalry]], [[elephant]]ry, and [[chariot]]ry. They were the four divisions of an Indian army at the time, and no doubt the game was thought of as a war-game. At that time the game had no female piece: what we now call the queen was called ''Mantri'', meaning a minister or advisor.

The game eventually spread to the rest of the world after the [[Muslim world|Muslim]] conquest of [[Persia]]. It was then called [[Shatranj]].

From the beginning until the end of the 15th century the pieces we call bishops and queens had limited movement, and it took longer to get the pieces into action. In modern chess, the original pieces evolved into the modern [[pawn (chess)|pawn]], [[knight (chess)|knight]], [[bishop (chess)|bishop]], and [[rook (chess)|rook]], respectively.<ref name="H/W">Hooper, David and Whyld, Kenneth 1992. ''The Oxford Companion to Chess'' 2nd ed, Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-866164-9}}</ref><sup>p173; p74</sup>

== References ==
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[[Category:Chess variants]]

Chaturanga - Revision history

ImportMaster at 04:50, 24 February 2021