Chess has had a long and colorful history since its beginnings in the 6th century. And ever since the creation of the game the board and game pieces have been a continuous source of inspiration for artists who year after year create new interpretations. Here is a look at chess's place in history and culture along with some historically and artistically important sets.

History

Early

Chess originated in India during the Gupta empire, where its early form in the 6th century was known as catura?ga, which translates as "four divisions [of the military]" - infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry, represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. Both the Persians and Arabs attribute the game of chess to the Indians. In Sassanid Persia around 600 the name became shatranj and the rules were developed further. Shatranj was taken up by the Muslim world after the Islamic conquest of Persia, with the pieces largely retaining their Persian names. In Spanish "shatranj" was rendered as ajedrez, in Portuguese as xadrez, and in Greek as zatrikion, but in the rest of Europe it was replaced by versions of the Persian sh?h ("king"), which was familiar as an exclamation and became our words "check and chess". Murray theorized that this change happened from Muslim traders coming to European seaports with ornamental chess kings as curios before they brought the game of chess.

wikipedia; Iranian chess set, glazed fritware, 12th century.

The game reached Western Europe and Russia by at least three routes, the earliest being in the 9th century. By the year 1000 it had spread throughout Europe. Introduced into the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors in the 10th century, it was described in a famous 13th-century manuscript covering shatranj, backgammon, and dice named the Libro de los juegos.

DIA; Rock Crystal and Smoky Topaz Chess Set and Board, around 1525, Germany

Another theory contends that chess arose from the game xiangqi (Chinese Chess) or one of its predecessors.

Modern

Around 1200, rules of shatranj started to be modified in southern Europe, and around 1475, several major changes made the game essentially as it is known today. These modern rules for the basic moves had been adopted in Italy and Spain. Pawns gained the option of advancing two squares on their first move, while bishops and queens acquired their modern abilities. This made the queen the most powerful piece; consequently modern chess was referred to as "Queen's Chess" or "Mad Queen Chess". These new rules quickly spread throughout western Europe, with the exception of the rules about stalemate, which were finalized in the early 19th century.

wikipedia; Original Staunton chess pieces by Nathaniel Cook from 1849

Writings about the theory of how to play chess began to appear in the 15th century. The oldest surviving printed chess book, Repetici