Very interesting article in Time magazine-July 21 edition-called The Indian Defense by Viswanathan Anand on the origin of Chess.For Chess historians this is a great read! Chess makes the cover of Time magazine........
Lawrence: I think the "chatu" refers to a four-part army and not four armies. Check out the quote and reference below.
"The Sanskrit name Chaturanga means 'quadripartite' (divided into four parts) and was also used to describe the Indian army of Vedic times in which a platoon had four parts: one elephant, one chariot, three soldiers on horseback, and five foot-soldiers. The board was known as the 'ashtapada' (eight-square) and is believed to have been adopted from an older race game related to parcheesi."
I'm dubious about a more ancient origin of chess as Anand outlines. But who really knows? The strongest evidence would be chess pieces, typically made of wood and therefore unlikely to be found, from a more ancient time than we currently have. To me, this seems an unlikely scenario.
Mind you, the tales of old wives and mothers, murmured to infants, can be a source of oral history that would otherwise be lost. I understand Anand's mum is still alive. Maybe someone should ask her about it.
