Jaques Chess & Backgammon set
The most popular design for chess pieces in the world today is Staunton, invented in the 1847 by John Jaques of London. John Jaques requisitioned the leading player of the time, Howard Staunton, to lend his name to his new design which was both elegant and practical. The combination was an immediate hit when it became available in 1849 and the updated design of 1890 became the new chess standard - the familiar and widespread pattern we know today. Jaques of London continues to be the leading manufacturer of quality chess equipment and their chess sets are used in most tournaments.
Click on the picture to enlarge.
This Chess set features the familiar Staunton design chessmen. Each piece is loaded and polished boxwood with a felted underside. The case is Mahogany finished and is topped with a beautiful inlaid board - chequered on one side, Backgammon on the other.
King is 75mm (3 inches) high; board measures 360mm (14 inches) with 35mm (1.4 inch) squares. The case is 38cm square x 5cm (15 x 2 inches). Backgammon men are made from polished wood. Comes with dice, shaker cups and rules.
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Chess and Backgammon Cabinet set |
£50.21 | £59.00 | 3 + transit time | ||
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The Origin of Chess
A great deal has been written about the origins of chess and there is still a lot of debate on the subject. The earliest clear ancestor of chess is shaturanga or chaturanga which was invented by a 6th century Indian philosopher. It was a battle between four armies each under the control of a Rajah (king), two players being loosely allied against the other two and and each containing 4 corps - Infantry, Cavalry, Elephants and Boatmen. The board of 64 squares used for shaturanga, was borrowed from an earlier game called ashtapada, which was a race game played in ancient India.
Under Hindu law, gambling became forbidden early on in the Hindu civilisation and, to avoid the gambling laws, shaturanga players dispensed with the dice. Another early modification was the merging of the allied armies into a single army making the game a two player form and duplicating the pieces, both developments which have survived until today. Other changes also occurred; and the resulting game was called shatranj.
There are three versions of the story of arrival of shatranj in Europe - did it come from the Saracens via Spain, from the Byzantine empire as a present to Charlemagne or was it brought back from the Middle East by Knights returning from the Crusades?. Nonetheless, in Europe, the game developed into modern European chess now played worldwide while in China, Japan, Burma, Thailand and Korea, other variants became just as popular.
You can learn more about the History of Chess from The Online Guide to Traditional Games.