short story battle is really a chess game

Then he said to his pupil, “This is a war without loss of lives.” Then the people of the kingdom came to him, and he brought it out to them. Then (the wise man and his pupil) played against each other until they understood the game and became proficient in it. Then he said to him, “Bring me a tanned hide.” He commanded him to draw sixty-four squares on it he did so, and it was set aside. The wise man drew the figure of a chess board and commanded the carpenter, and he made it. Then he said to one of his pupils, “Bring me a carpenter and wood of two different colors, white and black.” They brought a skilled carpenter and wood of two different colors, white and black. He said, “Give me three days.” They did so, and he went apart to think. Fearing to tell her the news, they gathered before one of their wise men -he was named Qaflān- a man of wisdom, cleverness, and good judgment-and they told him what had happened.

This distressed the people of her kingdom. Being an intelligent young woman, she sent one of her sons -she had four children- but the rebel killed her son. Some Indian scholars have alleged that when Jūshīr daughter of Balhīt became queen, a rebel rebelled against her. Here is a more recent translation found in The Works of Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-Yaʿqūbī, 2018, pp. This legend is told by Ya'qubi in his History.

Murray mentions some stories, where names are repeated, and are sometimes influenced by current rulers, but here is presented the oldest one according to Murray's sayings ' dating back to pre-Muhammadan days'. But the invention of chess, as a game of strategy without dice, appears as a story for first time in Muslim legends. The earliest reference of chaturanga in India is found in Subandhu's Vasavadatta, a Sanskrit romance, where yellow and green frogs are resembled with chessmen, dated between 400-650 CE. 'Buzurjmihr Masters the Game of Chess', Folio from a Firdausi's Shahnama in While Persia borrowed Chatrang from India, something that is mentioned as a legend in the middle Persian Chatrang-namak and in Shahnama . It was commonly accepted and, surely after 8th century CE, established in Muslim people that shatranj was introduced in Arabic territories from Persia. Starting, as it would be expected, with Murray's History, I've just tried to find some clues in legends, and continued with the mentioned sources, bumping into a beautiful story. and generally such a task must be really difficult concerning old games or creations of folk tradition. No one can tell of course who invented chess.

Short story battle is really a chess game