4/16/2024 0 Comments Origin of piece names in chess![]() What this suggests is that the English name for the game – chess – comes from this earlier word from French. In the French language, checkmate evolved into the word esches. As has been noted, the word checkmate comes from the Persian Shah Maat. It is helpful to ask the question what does the name chess mean. To further describe how chess got its current name, some further discussion is required. As the game of chess traveled across European lands, it evolved into its current version that we know in the English language. Players would call out Shah to signify that the king was in trouble (check) and they would shout out Shah Maat to signify that the king is dead/finished (checkmate). The precursors of the modern chess terms check and checkmate seems to derive from the Persian words Shah (King) and Maat (death). It was in Persia that chess took on the name shatranj. The arrival of chess in the Islamic world is where it would take on the early form of its current name. ![]() It seems fairly clear that the migration of chess across Asia and eventually to Europe was the result of trade routes such as the well-known Silk Road. Some pieces have even been found that predate the 6th century CE but these are believed to come from games that are likely the precursors of chess rather than the first proper versions of the game. Chess game pieces have been found across Asia in regions such as China, Pakistan, Central Asia, and Russia as well. The name for this early form of chess was chaturanga. This game is traced back to India of that time period. The current evidence suggests that a game resembling chess was being played by the 6th century CE. If you read about the history of Chess, you’ll find that the reality is that the origin of Chess is still a mystery that has not been completely solved. Chess went through a long evolution over many centuries before it became the game that the world knows today. As the discussion about the origins of the word chess demonstrated, this was not always what the game was called. Having a solid base of knowledge about the origins of the game of Chess is helpful when it comes to understanding how it eventually came to have the current name that it is commonly known by in many parts of the world. What Are the Origins of the Game of Chess? The English word chess more closely derives from this word but the origin goes back to the Persian term Shah. It is also worth noting that the German word for Chess is “Schach”. The current name chess derives from the word checkmate. When this terminology entered into European circles and then came to the English-speaking world, it evolved into the term checkmate. This was the term used in Persia for checkmate. ![]() The term “Shaah Maat” means that the King is dead. The name Chess originates from Persia and it is an evolution of the Persian word for a King – Shah.
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