Giant Chess & Draughts
Comparison Information
Giant Chess
| Premier Giant Chess | Standard Giant Chess | |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Rolly | Garden Games |
| King Height | 2 ft 60 cm |
2 ft 60 cm |
| King Base Diameter | 8.5 inches 22 cm |
8.5 inches 22 cm |
| For chequerboard squares of size |
1 - 2 feet 30 - 60 cm |
1 - 2 feet 30 - 60 cm |
| Comes/Stores in | 2 Cartons, each 3.5 x 2 x 2 feet (90 x 60 x 60 cm) |
2 Cartons, each 32 x 21.5 x 20 inches (81 x 55 x 51) |
| Weight | 2 x 18Kg = 36Kg | 2 x 16Kg = 32 Kg |
|
Comparative picture of Giant Chess pieces: The Rolly Giant pieces are on the left; the Garden Games pieces are on the right. Click on the picture to see a larger version. |
 |
Mini Giant Chess & Draughts
| Rolly Maxi Giant Chess | Garden Games Standard Chess Set | Maxi Draughts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Rolly | Garden Games | Rolly |
| Piece / King Height | 1 ft, 30 cm |
1 ft, 30cm |
4.5cm, 1.75 inches |
| Piece / King Base Diameter |
4.5 inches, 11 cm | 4 inches, 10cm | 11cm, 4.25 inches |
| For chequerboard squares of size |
6 - 12 inches |
||
| Comes/Stores in | 1 Carton 60 x 43 x 43 cm |
1 carton 75 x 50 x 22 cm |
1 carton 38 x 30 x17cm |
| Weight | 5.5Kg | 3.5kg | 2.5Kg |
|
Comparison of Queen, Pawn, King & Knight pieces for Mini Giant Chess For each pair, the Rolly Giant pieces are on the right; the Garden Games pieces are on the left. Click on the picture to see a larger version. |
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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.