Histrory
The origin of the game of chess
It is hard to estimate the exact time when this story took place, however it can be derived that it happened while King Iadava, Master of the province of Taligana, ruled the Kingdom of India.
Although not sympathetic to war, King Iadava had been forced into battle when the adventurer Varangul, Prince of Calia, attacked the King’s vast territory. Historians tell us that King Iadava’s talent for war was far superior to his willingness to battle in one. He was aware that no victories would come without significant losses.
The rapid and uncontested triumph over Varangul cost Iadava unprecedented losses. Undoubtedly, the largest was the loss of his son, Prince Adjamir, who sacrificed himself to keep the strategic battle position of the King’s regiments, which granted the final victory to his father.
The ending of the battle against Varangul represented the beginning of a long period of sorrow for King Iadava. He could not understand the usefulness of so many rich palaces, war elephants, vast treasuries without the life and company of his loved son. Iadava was spending most of his time analyzing all different
strategic aspects of the battle in which Adjamir lost his life.
One day, after a long time had elapsed, the King was informed that a poor and humble man was waiting for an opportunity to see him. The man had asked for this several times before and at that day, in a better mood, King Iadava decided to allow for his presence. Lahur Sessa (“Sessa”) was the visitor and the reason
for his visit was to introduce the game he had invented for the amusement of the King.
Sessa showed the King the board composed of 64 (sixty-four) small squares together with 32 (thirty-two) pieces of handcrafted wood figures. Then, he explained all rules related to the new game and started to play it with no delay. King Iadava got so entertained with the game that he and Sessa played it all day long. It was almost sunset when King Iadava recognized a “battle” formation on his side of the board which was exactly the same formation encountered by his army in its war against Varangul.
When facing such reality, now in the form of a simulated battle, King Iadava realized that without the sacrifice of one the most important pieces of his army (latter represented by one of the towers in chess), victory was not attainable. Through such an intelligent maneuver, the humble Sessa demonstrated to King Iadava that the sacrifice of the Prince was an inevitable fatality, the only one at that precise time that could end the battle in favor of the King and that could bring back peace and freedom for the Kingdom.
Sources of Information:
›› The Man Who Counted, by Malba Tahan |
