Ramadan, the holy Islamic Lent, has ended. A good time to reflect on the importance of the Arabic world to the chess game.
No one knows where and when exactly chess came into existence. What we do know for sure is that if it wasn’t for the Arabic culture, the chess game would never have reached Europe. Arabic caliphs copied the game from their Indian neighbors and passed it on to European traders.
Grand Vizier tries to figure out the rulse of the game
Chess or taxes
According to the Shânâma, the title of an old Arabic poem that translates to ‘Book of Kings’, the chess game reached Iran thanks to a cunning maneuver. There once was an Indian viceroy that didn’t feel like paying taxes to his ruler, the Iranian shah Anüshirvan (528-579), so he came up with a smart trick. He sent a messenger to Iran together with a chess game and requested to be exempt from taxation in case shah Anüshirvan wasn’t able to figure out the rules of the game. The Iranian king accepted the proposal and put his wisest consultant to the task. After seven days and seven nights of hard thinking, the Grand Vizier finally made sense of the game. He won a chess match against the Indian messenger and so the Indian viceroy had to pay his taxes in the end. Shah Anüshirvan was very impressed by the new game and became a total chess fanatic. It wasn’t long before everyone throughout the whole Persian Empire was playing chess.
Religious protest
Not everyone was happy about the new game though. The Islamic Scribes wondered whether this game was suitable for devout Muslims. They feared that they would get distracted from their religious and household tasks. They may have been right about this: in the Shânâma we can find the story of Amîn, ruler of Bagdad. Amîn got so caught up playing chess with his wife Kawthar, that he was completely distracted from his task of protecting the city. Enemy troops had already surrounded Bagdad and when soldiers were climbing the city walls, Amîn was said to have called out: ‘Wait just one moment please, only a couple more moves and I will be able to checkmate Kawthar!’.
The Scribes had more complaints though. The Quran states that the depiction of live beings is prohibited. Chess pieces representing human beings or animals where therefore not according to the Islamic doctrine. Soon an alternative was introduced. Abstract cylinders replaced the king and queen and the rook was the alternative for the chariot and horse.
Abstract designed chess set from Italy
They can still be found in modern day chess sets and the abstract design is still an inspiration. The showcases at the museum display a beautiful Italian chess set made of plexiglass, in a cylinder shaped design.
Popular
In spite of the protests of the Scribes chess became one of the most popular games in the Arabic world. Only during Ramadan, the Islamic Lent, the Muslims don’t play games. During this time, they give a lot of thought to their religion by fasting and living consciously. Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan. People visit with friends and family, eat elaborate meals and, who knows, maybe play a game of chess.
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