Around the 6th century
India: the adventure begins
Chaturanga, an ancestor of chess, emerges in India. Miniature armies begin a journey that will last centuries.
First level: think before you move.
Source: ETH Library ↗← Back to the game
The history of chess
Chess had epic stories before the internet existed.
Kings in trouble. A queen with a huge upgrade. A computer challenging a champion. Now it’s your turn to join the story.
Start the journey
The Middle Ages
A game without a passport
From India, the game reaches Persia, then travels through the Islamic world and into Europe. Its names and rules change along the way.
The longest game? The journey of chess itself.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗From medieval times to today
The queen gets an upgrade
The medieval queen could initially move just one diagonal square. Today she crosses clear ranks, files and diagonals. That is a serious change in power.
Same title. Very different possibilities.
Source: The Met — All Aboard! ↗1886
The battle for the crown
Wilhelm Steinitz defeats Johannes Zukertort in the match recognised as the first official World Chess Championship. The crown has a champion.
Final boss? There’s always another challenger.
Source: FIDE — Open Chess Museum ↗1997
Human meets machine
IBM’s Deep Blue wins its match against world champion Garry Kasparov. A huge moment in the meeting of chess and computing.
The computer had no nerves. The audience certainly did.
Source: IBM — Deep Blue ↗Legend break
“Just a few grains.” Really?
In the legend, a wise man asks for a modest reward: one grain on the first square, then twice as many on each next square. The king agrees. Maths has a surprise waiting.
This is a legend about exponential growth, not proof of who invented chess.
Source: NRICH ↗Exact numbers. Royal granary not included.
Grains on this square128
Total grains so far255
Rule: square n holds 2ⁿ⁻¹ grains; the total is 2ⁿ − 1.
Take me to 64
By square 64, the total is 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 grains. Yes, you read that correctly.
The next chapter? Your move.
Chess is the sport of the mind. Read your opponent, take a risk, make a mistake, come back. In Knights of Mobius, that passion meets the armies of Bucharest and Barcelona.