Chess

At Masters Traditional Games, we always aim for excellent quality but we also like to find games that are a bit special or unusual too. With Chess, it is particularly easy to go and buy any old Chess set from a mundane high-street shop. Why do that, when we can find you something a lot more interesting?

Some historians believe chaturanga was the originating Chess game, invented by an Indian philosopher in the 6th century. Dice were used and four players controlled 4 types of piece - Infantry, Cavalry, Elephants and Boatmen under the command of a controled squadrons of a Rajah or Caliph. An Ashtapada board (an ancient Indian race board game) with an 8 x 8 grid was used for this early Chess.

Two-player Shatranj eventually emerged from the Hindu civilisation and some say that Shatranj came through Spain brought by the Saracens of the Byzantine empire, some say it was introduced by crusaders returning from the Middle East. Regardless, the game of Shatranj emerged from India and evolved into a number of different forms that are just as important historically as Western European Chess including Shogi in Japan, Xiang Qi in China, Makruk in Thailand, Sittuyin in Burma and Changgi from Korea. You can learn more about the History of Chess from The Online Guide to Traditional Games.