History of the Game of Chess in the World and Its Development in Indonesia
The history of chess is one of the historic games that will never be timeless. This game that relies on brains and strategy is increasingly being loved by many parties, even from children to adults at the same time. In addition, currently chess is also one of the types of games that are contested in the Olympics to the international level.
History of Chess
History records that chess began to be played since the 7th century in India. In India during the Gupta reign, Chess was better known as Caturanga. Many scientists say that the game of Caturanga is also the pioneer of other games besides chess, such as xiangqi, janggi and shogi. Caturanga means 'four separate elements'. This name itself is given to the game of chess because in the beginning in India chess symbolized the best universe into the four elements namely fire, air, earth and water.
Then in the 6th century Islamic traders from India brought this game to Persia. There chess is called by the name shatranj in Sassanid. Starting from this Persian then chess also became known throughout the world. Here chess is also experiencing developments in terms of the game so that it is more interesting and more exciting to make chess the most favorite recreational game in Persia. Because of this excitement, chess then spread again to the Arabian mainland.
In Arabia, it is said that chess was also one of the most popular games at that time. In fact, some say that the warlord of the Prophet Muhammad named Khalid bin Walid was one of the people who really liked this game. There are also those who relate that because of his interest and fondness for playing chess, this commander in chief became a smart person in managing his war strategy. There is another friend of the Prophet who is also reportedly happy to play chess even by playing chess blindly or without looking at the chessboard, namely Said bin Junbair.
Furthermore, in the 8th century Islam spread its teachings to Spain. This event also brought chess to be known in Europe, especially in Spain. In addition to Spain, in this century, chess also became known in various other European countries such as the Netherlands, Italy, England, Ireland and others. Then the spread of chess spread again to Russia in the 9th century which made chess become increasingly known.
The Debate on the Origin of the Game of Chess
The game of chess is not a newly discovered game but has been discovered since the 6th century. This is evidenced by the British archaeological team who found chess pieces made of ivory. This Archaeological Team found the piece in the area around the Byzantine empire which is currently called Southern Albania. With this discovery, it was concluded that chess is actually a game that is up to 500 years older than the previous discovery.
There is also a historian by the name of Muhammad Ismail Sloan who states that chess was first developed in India. It's just that many historians also deny this because there is no Sanskrit literature that mentions chess. Precisely the Chinese poets have proven by mentioning this game in 800 years before the 6th century. Indeed, at this time there is still debate among scientists about which country is the origin of this chess game. However, the most widely used is if the game of chess is a game originating from India.
Definition of Chess
Chess is a game played on a square board with 64 squares and 32 pieces of chess which are divided into two equal numbers, namely 16 for the light team (usually white) and 16 for the dark team (usually black).
Before starting each player chooses the color to be played. Later it will be determined if the player holding the white color will move first then followed by the black player. Each player's turn can only play one piece of chess which is moved to a new place that is still empty or one that has been occupied by the opponent's chess piece. In chess there is a difference, namely in terms of movement with a special pattern.
King : can only move one plot in all directions
Fortress: can move unlimited horizontally or vertically
minister: can move with a combination of elephants and forts. This meter is the strongest chess because it can move freely in all directions.
horse: has a movement to form the letter L, namely by extending 2 squares then widening one square. In a game of chess, only the horse can jump over the other pieces
elephant: move diagonally to the end of the square on the diagonal line
pieces: can only move forward towards the opponent
Chess Game Development
With the spread of this chess game throughout the world, it was also followed by many developments regarding the rules of this chess game. Rules regarding modern chess began to be developed when chess began to develop and enter Spain and Italy.
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Previously, chess boards did not have different colors, but only used the same color, even chess could also be played on the sand or anywhere else as long as it was given lines and boxes. However, when chess entered Europe in the 10th century, chess had a black and white board. Additional rules that are also developed are rules about pawns that can move two squares on the first move and also rules about queens or queens that can move more freely.
In the 15th century chess rules and theory began to be written in a book called "Repeticion de amores y Arte de Ajdrez" written by Luis Ramirez de Lucena. The people who developed chess on mainland Europe included Lucena, Pedro, Gooachinio Greco and many more.
The Beginning of the Entry of the Game of Chess to Indonesia
One of the most trusted things about who brought the game of chess to Indonesia is the Europeans, especially the Dutch. The Dutch at that time had colonized Indonesia. Previously, the natives did not really know about the history of chess and even the game of chess had not become a popular game among the natives and was only played by people from the Dutch nation. Then the natives only followed the trend of the game being played by the Dutch.
In the 19th century, the development of chess in Indonesia began to be seen. Chess clubs have been established in several big cities in Indonesia, such as in the cities of Magelang, Surabaya, Bandung and Yogyakarta. Then, in 1925, the first Indonesian Chess Association was founded, named Nederlansch Indische Shaakbond in Yogyakarta.
But there are also those who argue that actually Indonesia has known chess for a long time, especially those introduced by the Batak people. Although there are indeed differences between the chess introduced by the Batak people and the chess brought by the Europeans. Another evidence that proves that the Batak people already knew chess before it was introduced by the Dutch is the victory of a chess player from Batak who managed to beat a chess player from the Netherlands.
In the period before the second world war, Indonesian citizens had started to love chess even more intensely. It's just that it had to stop when Indonesia was colonized by Japan. At that time, the sport of chess was completely eliminated for some reason. Many predict that Japan is afraid that Indonesian people can practice better strategies by playing chess.
Furthermore, after Indonesia became independent on August 17, 1945, the world of Indonesian chess had started to develop again. This was also further developed with the formation of Percasi or the Indonesian Chess Association which was founded in 1948. The inauguration took place in 1950 in Yogyakarta chaired by Dr.Suwito. Indonesia also held the first chess Championship in Indonesia in 1955.
Great Chess Player from Indonesia
Herman Suradiraja who was the first Grandmaster
Susanto Megaranto is the youngest chess Grandmaster
Edie Handoko
Barus Smart
Ruben Gunawan
Ardiansyah
Utut Adianto
Irene Kharisma Sukandar
Medina Warda Aulia
Upi Darmayana Tamin
Lindri Juni Wijayanti
Maria Ratna Lucia
Chess Game Tournament
The first chess tournament was held in 1851 in London. In this tournament was won by Adolf Anderssen. Then for now there is still a world chess championship which is a competition for world class chess players. This competition is held by FIDE which is an International Chess organization. This competition aims to determine the world champion in the world. This tournament brings together both male and female chess. This tournament has been held since 1886 until now.
Degree In Chess
For chess players who have won one tournament, they will get a title according to the achievements they have achieved. These degrees include:
International title called Grandmaster (GM)
Abbreviated Master International (MF)
Master Fide Women (MFW)
Candidate Master (CM)
Woman Candidate Master Woman (WCM)
Meanwhile, in Indonesia it is often referred to by the following titles:
National Master (MN)
Master Percasi (MP)
Women's National Master (MNW)
Women's Percasi Master (MPW)
Various Versions of Chess Games
classic chess
fast chess
flash chess
blind chess
simultaneous chess
tandem chess
relay chess
online chess
correspondence chess
card chess
Thus an explanation of the history of the development of the game of chess, from where the game of chess originated to the development of chess rules to date. By knowing the history of this chess game, hopefully it will increase interest in this chess sport and Indonesia will again have reliable chess players who make the name of the Indonesian nation proud.
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