A thousand years ago, Muslims gave Europe the game of chess

Caliph Harun al-Rashid sent Emperor Charlemagne a beautifully crafted chessboard showing how shared pastimes can be a bridge between peoples

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Hard-line religious jurists wanted chess banned, but they lost the argument, not least because it was played and enjoyed by caliphs, ministers and sultans

A thousand years ago, Muslims gave Europe the game of chess

Abdullah Al-Rashid

last update on 07 Aug 2024

Chess has deep roots in the Arab world. It flourished during the Abbasid era, when Baghdad was growing into a major cultural centre, and an important seat of scientific learning during the Islamic Golden Age.

This era ran from the 8th century to the 13th. In its early years, an Abbasid official – Minister al-Hasan ibn Sahl, the governor of what is now Iraq – set out the conditions and qualities required of writers and intellectuals.

The game got a prominent mention: "The writer must be knowledgeable in the art of playing the lute, chess, and sceptre, as well as in some medicine, engineering, horsemanship, poetry, literature, people's history, hadith (prophet's sayings), and council lectures."

Despite this high-level backing, in other influential circles, there was a different view. Religious scholars often thought the game should be banned.

The jurist Al-Dhahabi, from the later Golden Age, said: "As for chess, most scholars prohibit playing it, whether it is for stakes or otherwise. When played for stakes, it is unquestionably considered gambling. Even if played without stakes, it is still viewed as gambling and forbidden by most scholars."

Not all well-known jurists of the times agreed. Al-Mawardi noted that several of his learned companions engaged in chess, and were seen playing by the caliph himself, Umar ibn al-Khattab. The supreme authority and ruler would greet the players, rather than forbidding their game.

Some jurists even played the game themselves, including Mohamed bin Sirin. Chess was even referred to by some as "the core of men."

During the Golden Age of Islam, chess reached a peak, with international competitions held and active players at the very top of society

During the Golden Age of Islam, chess reached a peak, with international competitions held and active players at the very top of society.

A gift fit for an emperor

Harun al-Rashid, the fifth Abbasid caliph, was passionate about it. He even sent a sent a beautifully crafted chessboard as a gift to Charlemagne, Emperor of the Romans.

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Harun al-Rashid receiving a delegation sent by Charlemagne

It was at this time that the first global match took place in Asia. It was held in al-Rashid's court and featured heroes like Jaber al-Kufi, with Zirab Kattan being the most celebrated player. The caliph personally honoured the winner.

It prompted the famed intellectual and polymath al-Jahiz to remark that "one of the most common pursuits among the caliphs and great figures is chess."

After travellers from Baghdad took chess with them to Andalusia, it became known there as "the game of the Arabs"

The game came to the region from India and Persia. But after travellers from Baghdad took chess with them to Andalusia, it became known there as "the game of the Arabs".

Gradually, it began to spread across the Christian kingdoms of Spain, eventually crossing the border into southern France, from where the rest of northern Europe encountered it for the first time.

The game of chess held a prestigious position in the court of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, a ruler better known to history for unifying his homeland and embarking on numerous wars – including against the crusaders – as well as expanding influence over Egypt and the Levant.

Pass time of poets and kings

Salah al-Din held chess games in his council without any trace of anger or conflict with his lifestyle.

According to Yaqut al-Hamawi in the Dictionary of Writers, he was once playing chess with a companion while the poet Osama bin Munqidh observed the game.

Osama requested permission from Salah al-Din to recite two verses he had composed about chess. Granted permission, he said: "Look at the chess player, gathering it often, then casting it aside like a person toiling for the world and amassing it, even if he dies, he has nothing in it."

The game makes further appearances in literature.

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Prophet Mohammed Mosque Abu Bakr al Siddiq and Omar, inside Al Masjid.

Abu Mansour al-Thaalbi dedicated a chapter, entitled "Praising Chess" in one of his books, including this quote:

"You chess enthusiast, suffering from ignorance, and not from the game's bass. In its understanding, science, and play, it reflects absence and the nature of people. It amazes the lover with his love, and the cup-bearer with the cup. The strategist in war increases in intensity and depth. Its practitioners, in their manners, are among the best friends and companions."

When asked about chess players, the jurist Mohamed al-Muzni said: "If their hands are free from beating and losing, and their tongues from obscenity and aggression, and their actions of forgetfulness and neglect are guided by literature between brothers and companions."

Chronicles of chess

Interest in chess also went beyond competitions. It ran deeper, into the realms of strategy and tactics, which were documented and classified by authors, who also wrote tricks and puzzles based on chess.

Among the most notable chroniclers of the game was Abu Bakr al-Suli, who died in the 3rd century. His books remain valuable and relevant today, and his renowned tricks and openings influenced many skilled European and Russian players.

Experts in this field came to be known as "chess people," and they authored numerous significant works, including The Book of Chess by Abu al-Abbas Ahmed bin Mohamed bin al-Tabib al-Sarkhsi and Multiplication of Chess Housesby Abu Yusuf al-Masisi and Yaqoub bin Mohamed al-Hasib.

The growth of chess and the flourishing literature about it reveals how there was so much more to social development and the advance of civilisation in the Abbasid era and the Umayyad period that preceded it. Islamic history is so much more than the traditional chronicle of wars and invasion.

It is also about the creative convergence between cultures, reflecting the luxury of life, the evolution of the arts, and the refinement of taste and literature. Chess provided a clear example of that.

The history of games within civilisations sheds light on the forces that explain cultural and social changes in societies. Looking at the history of games among the Arabs provides insights into their psychological states, moods, and the nature of political and social stability, or instability.

Knowledge and culture

It also reveals the development of science and knowledge. Some games require engineering and skill as well as art.

And the interests people take up away from mainstream religious discourse – which was conservative in those days – the way they find entertainment and humour within the bounds of what is allowed by the authorities, is a key to unlocking how people interacted with themselves and their peers, and how that, in turn, shaped politics and culture itself.

Instead of being forbidden, chess flourished. Writers and scholars contributed to that

The more hardline religious jurists wanted chess forbidden. They lost. The reasons why, and the way the game went on to gain such high-profile supporters – caliphs, ministers and sultans among them – is significant.

Instead of being forbidden, chess flourished. Writers and scholars contributed to that, and, in the end, so did some jurists. The Arabs were the authors of the most influential books on chess, its strategy and its tricks.

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Chess flourished, helped by writers and scholars. Arabs authored many of the most influential books on chess, its strategies, and its tricks.

In the Islamic Golden Age, there was a flourishing religion. Its cultural and social development led the world.

Within this, there was also a resilient human condition – one which needs to be understood – if we are to us grasp the psychological and emotional aspects of the times, as well as the rigid, moralistic aspects to life. When we do that, we can identify a more nuanced picture of history.

A shared human journey

The means used to resist moves to contain a game worked. Chess spread from the Arab world to Europe has been established ever since as one of mankind's most cerebral pass times.

And chess was not alone. The Arab thinker and writer Ahmed Taymour Pasha catalogued the names of dozens of games played by the ancient Arabs in one of his books, along with remarks about them made by poets and writers.

Many of the games also came from India and Persia as well as Asia and China. They were taken on to Western countries, where they were infused with new elements and flavours.

Chess – and other games – represent a human journey and create a cultural link between peoples and nations. They become a cultural mosaic, made across the globe and belonging to all humanity, made up of Eastern and Western traditions.

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