HISTORY AND IMPACT OF CHESS
by Gregorio V. Bituin Jr.
The Featinean publication
February 1994
Chess originated in GM Viswanathan Anand’s country, India, as an offspring of Hindu war-game under the Sanskrit name Chaturanga. Chaturanga literally means "the four divisions of the ancient Indian army: infantry (padati), cavalry (ashwa), elephants (hasti or gaja), and chariot (ratha).
These four divisions formed the army flanking on either side of the King or his minister or Mantri. It is believed that chess is almost 1,500 years old, but certainly older by a few more centuries.
From India, chess traveled to Persia, to Arab countries and then gradually passed on to Spain, Sicily, Italy, Germany, Russia and many other countries until introduced to the new world.
A legend tells that Maharishi Vyasa, the great author of Mahabharata, invented and taught it to the Pandavas and Kaurvas princess. Others believed that some ingenious courtier of Northwest India created this fascinating game for the pleasure of their monarch. The courtier asked the asthapada (chessboard) to be filled with grain that doubled in every successive square. That is, one grain in the first, two in the second, four in the third, eight in the fourth, and so forth, continuously redoubling until reaching the sixty-fourth square. When the quantity is calculated, the phenomenal figure left the monarch staggered.
Another chess legend tells us that Ravana’s consort Mandodari invented this royal game of war as an exciting alternative for bloody wars in which he was engaged.
Today, chess evolved into a great sport which is continuously developing. It has undergone many transformations and improvements with regard to nomenclature, moves and powers of certain pieces, but its fundamentals still remain the same.
For the past centuries, chess became popular, fascinating and captures the human mind through the exercise provided for one’s memory, logical thinking, and analytical approach to problems of life. Chess is an abstract expression of the complexity and conflict of life in general, and is useful for studying complex and conflicting situation. It helps in developing decision making skills, abilities and patience.
A chess player’s strength lies in his clear rational thinking, right approach, logic, knowledge and the ability not to make a mistake. His powers of vision, vigilance, intuition and imagination are what made him stronger than others. Chess players have been found by psychologists to possess a higher spatial ability than others of comparable intelligence levels. They also possess greater physical endurance together with tolerance of frustration.
Chess is a manifestation of both the will to win and create beauty. The player aims to overcome all complexity, exactness and barriers to realize his plans and ideas. It fascinates us because it involves at every move, at each stage inventiveness, enterprise, resourcefulness, self-control, vision and execution of a plan. Their major educational value lies in these factors.
The hallmark of chess are thought-power, intellectual competition, logic, calculation and imagination. These are elements that cherished most by men elevating chess above the category of a mere game and diversion.
Because of its popularity, chess became a curriculum in Russia, where many chess genius can be found. They produced the most number of world champions such as Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, FIDE world champion Gary Kasparov, and former world champion Anatoly Karpov. Hungary produces the world’s youngest grandmaster, Judith Polgar, who wins her grandmaster’s norm at age fifteen.
As of now, our country has produced only three grandmasters. They are GM Eugene Torre, Asia’s first grandmaster, who won his grandmaster’s norm in 1974, GM Rosendo Balinas (1976), and GM Rogelio "Joey" Antonio (1992).
- February 1994, page 27
by Gregorio V. Bituin Jr.
The Featinean publication
February 1994
Chess originated in GM Viswanathan Anand’s country, India, as an offspring of Hindu war-game under the Sanskrit name Chaturanga. Chaturanga literally means "the four divisions of the ancient Indian army: infantry (padati), cavalry (ashwa), elephants (hasti or gaja), and chariot (ratha).
These four divisions formed the army flanking on either side of the King or his minister or Mantri. It is believed that chess is almost 1,500 years old, but certainly older by a few more centuries.
From India, chess traveled to Persia, to Arab countries and then gradually passed on to Spain, Sicily, Italy, Germany, Russia and many other countries until introduced to the new world.
A legend tells that Maharishi Vyasa, the great author of Mahabharata, invented and taught it to the Pandavas and Kaurvas princess. Others believed that some ingenious courtier of Northwest India created this fascinating game for the pleasure of their monarch. The courtier asked the asthapada (chessboard) to be filled with grain that doubled in every successive square. That is, one grain in the first, two in the second, four in the third, eight in the fourth, and so forth, continuously redoubling until reaching the sixty-fourth square. When the quantity is calculated, the phenomenal figure left the monarch staggered.
Another chess legend tells us that Ravana’s consort Mandodari invented this royal game of war as an exciting alternative for bloody wars in which he was engaged.
Today, chess evolved into a great sport which is continuously developing. It has undergone many transformations and improvements with regard to nomenclature, moves and powers of certain pieces, but its fundamentals still remain the same.
For the past centuries, chess became popular, fascinating and captures the human mind through the exercise provided for one’s memory, logical thinking, and analytical approach to problems of life. Chess is an abstract expression of the complexity and conflict of life in general, and is useful for studying complex and conflicting situation. It helps in developing decision making skills, abilities and patience.
A chess player’s strength lies in his clear rational thinking, right approach, logic, knowledge and the ability not to make a mistake. His powers of vision, vigilance, intuition and imagination are what made him stronger than others. Chess players have been found by psychologists to possess a higher spatial ability than others of comparable intelligence levels. They also possess greater physical endurance together with tolerance of frustration.
Chess is a manifestation of both the will to win and create beauty. The player aims to overcome all complexity, exactness and barriers to realize his plans and ideas. It fascinates us because it involves at every move, at each stage inventiveness, enterprise, resourcefulness, self-control, vision and execution of a plan. Their major educational value lies in these factors.
The hallmark of chess are thought-power, intellectual competition, logic, calculation and imagination. These are elements that cherished most by men elevating chess above the category of a mere game and diversion.
Because of its popularity, chess became a curriculum in Russia, where many chess genius can be found. They produced the most number of world champions such as Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, FIDE world champion Gary Kasparov, and former world champion Anatoly Karpov. Hungary produces the world’s youngest grandmaster, Judith Polgar, who wins her grandmaster’s norm at age fifteen.
As of now, our country has produced only three grandmasters. They are GM Eugene Torre, Asia’s first grandmaster, who won his grandmaster’s norm in 1974, GM Rosendo Balinas (1976), and GM Rogelio "Joey" Antonio (1992).
- February 1994, page 27
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