An Ancient Game
Chess is ancient, but in the far future, New Persians
Ancient peoples in India, Persia, the Arab world, and East Asia played the game for a millennium before chess as we know it appeared in Europe around 1500 AD. The game only became a modern competitive sport in the 19th century. People did not always play chess the way we play it today.
The video describes the different game pieces in the old version of chess, including an Elephant in the Bishop’s spot and a Counselor taking the place of the Queen.
“Shāh māt” is Persian for “The King is Helpless.” “Mate” has survived into English in “checkmate.”