Chess

The game of chess is thought to have originated in what is now northern India or Afghanistan sometime before 600 CE: the oldest written references to chess date from then, but there are unverified claims that chess existed as early as 100 CE.

Interest in chess followed early trade routes out of India. One variation of chess (called Shogi) is now popular in Japan; another variation is played in China. Many local variations in chess rules persist even today in isolated rural areas, for example in India.

The variation familiar to Europeans and Americans traveled through Iran (Persia) to the main commercial centers of Italy and Spain by about 1000 CE. A bit later, sea-faring Vikings carried the game into Scandinavia and Iceland. By 1100-1200 CE, the game became known in central Europe, and was well-established across all of Europe by 1400 CE, with the game rules which we use today.