Chess has an interesting and mysterious past. It’s true history is in part, all theory. But it is believed that chess was played by the Arabians, Babylonians, Castillians, Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Hindus, Irish, Jews, Persians, Romans, Scythians, and Welsh, and all had their own champions.

   Chaturanga is the oldest known name for chess. This Hindu word reffers to the early four branches of the Indian army which are elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers. Historians state that after the birth of Christ, the structure of the Indian army changed. Therefore, based on this fact, we may reason that  Chess may be over 2000 years old!

   Now we’re talking about chess as we know it today, but the oldest is 5000 years old, and was played with dice. As it spread through the world,  people changed the rules to fit their taste. The Hindus even invented a version where four could play, each had eight pieces, and no dice were involved.

   Chess wasn’t played the way we know it to be until the sixteenth century. When Benjamin Franklin introduced it to the U.S, clocks were added for Time Chess, and are still used in tournament play today. When playing casually, people usually play without the clock.

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