In 1509, Diego Lopez, commander of the first Portuguese expedition to Malacca, in the East Indies, was playing chess when a Javan from the mainland came aboard. The Javan immediately recognized the game and the two men discussed the form of the pieces used in the chess played there. They no doubt communicated through interpreters, but the fact that men whose homes were separated by a third of the circumference of the Earth could find they had chess in common is remarkableand so is the fact that they could have found other players familiar with the game at any stopping point in Asia, the Middle East or Europe.
What was this game that crossed boundaries of language, religion, culture, geography, ethnicity and class, and was woven deeply into the fabric of the greater Asian and wider world? The rules and moves of the various chess pieces are, after all, so simple that any schoolchild can learn them.
The youngster also quickly learns that simply knowing how a knight or a queen moves does not lead to winning. Rather, the game involves escapes, feints and sacrifices. There is a give and take of possibilities, and scope for creativity and unexpected, brilliant moves. Every move results in a different pattern of possibilities for the next moves, and the patterns signal advantage, challenge or danger. There is no recovery by chanceno helpful roll of the dice or spin of the wheel, no lucky draw of the cards.
In essence, chess is warfare, as much psychology as strategy. To win, one must understand the mentality of the opponent, hinted at in each new move. One must so thoroughly master the adversarys weaknessesan overzealous offence? guarding rather than attacking? a passion for sweeping one end?that one can anticipate them and use them. Chess is a game of information, false and true, derived from what the opponent should do, based on his own past play or that of others, and on what the opponent actually does. Chess has no bloodshed, but the exhilaration of psychological warfaretaking no prisoners in a complete victoryis its attraction.
Archeological evidence suggests that chess has ancient roots in Persia and Central Asia. Excavations at the seventh-century site of Afrasiab, the oldest part of todays Samarkand, Uzbekistan, have turned up seven small, carved figures that closely resemble later Persian descriptions of chess pieces, including a king, fazin (counselor), elephant, horse, chariot and pawn. The earliest literary reference to chess is in a Persian romance of the same period, about 600, the Karnamak-i Artaxshir-i Papakan (Deeds of Ardashir, Son of Papag). Along with excelling in the courtly pursuits of hunting and riding, the hero was also a skilled chess player.
im like sammuel jackson in fresh
Played for the first time in ages and lost by the fourth move.
