Listen & Learn: The Origins of Chess

Learn about the classic strategy game

Pre-listening vocabulary

• ancestor: an early person or thing that another person or thing descends from
• strategy: a plan or set of plans for accomplishing a specific goal
• master: someone who is very skilled in a particular area
• medieval: related to the Middle Ages in Europe
• checkmate: the end of a game of chess, where the losing player’s king is unable to move out of check
• capture: to take something by force

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

The earliest ancestor of chess is a game called chaturanga. Chaturanga was played in northern India during the 7th . It was a military strategy game, and the pieces represented different divisions of the Indian army. Over time, chaturanga spread to the Middle East and northern Africa. A new of the game, called shatranj, became popular in Persia. After the Islamic conquest of Persia, the game also gained favour with Muslim leaders. They often hired shatranj masters to help them develop their . Modern chess pieces and rules developed in medieval Spain and Italy. Early European chess was rarely played to checkmate, because the pieces had very restricted movement. Instead, a player could win a game of chess by capturing all pieces except for the . The introduction of the queen in the late 15th century changed the rules and strategies. The first recorded modern chess game took place in Valencia, Spain, in 1475.

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. The earliest ancestor of chess was played in 7th-century
   a. Persia
   b. India
   c. Spain
   
2. The first game pieces represented four divisions of
   a. the military
   b. the government
   c. the religious order
   
3. Early European chess was won by
   a. checkmating the king
   b. capturing the king
   c. capturing all pieces except for the king

Discussion/essay questions

1. Today, computers can play chess better than any human. Why do you think people still play? Do you think people will continue to make art, music, and poetry if AI creativity improves?

Transcript

The earliest ancestor of chess is a game called chaturanga. Chaturanga was played in northern India during the 7th century. It was a military strategy game, and the pieces represented different divisions of the Indian army. Over time, chaturanga spread to the Middle East and northern Africa. A new version of the game, called shatranj, became popular in Persia. After the Islamic conquest of Persia, the game also gained favour with Muslim leaders. They often hired shatranj masters to help them develop their skills. Modern chess pieces and rules developed in medieval Spain and Italy. Early European chess was rarely played to checkmate, because the pieces had very restricted movement. Instead, a player could win a game of chess by capturing all pieces except for the king. The introduction of the queen in the late 15th century changed the rules and strategies. The first recorded modern chess game took place in Valencia, Spain, in 1475.

Answers to comprehension questions

1b 2a 3c