Comments on: Working the prefrontal cortex since the Gupta Empire

By: Lord of the Dings

Lord of the Dings — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:49:39 +0000

‘Motherland of chess’ – we desis are not giving up this title – by hook or rook…

By: Yajnavalkya

Yajnavalkya — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:07:28 +0000

Yes Yoga Fire, and Magic and Warcraft too–so I assume much hasn’t changed in your family’s leisure pursuits in the last two and half thousand years…

By: Yoga Fire

Yoga Fire — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:32:59 +0000

Chaturanga bala is actual the original that preceded the version which emerged from the Gupta era. In fact, it was played with dice and is mentioned in the Mahabharata itself.

Dice? So what you're saying is, not only did we invent Chess, but Risk as well?

And probably Dungeons & Dragons too?

By: Yajnavalkya

Yajnavalkya — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:27:17 +0000

Chaturanga bala is actual the original that preceded the version which emerged from the Gupta era. In fact, it was played with dice and is mentioned in the Mahabharata itself. Chaturanga also finds description in the Bhavisya purana, which is dated to the 5th Century BCE though is more likely much older. Contacts between India and China date back to around the 1st century CE with the rise of the Kushan empire.

While the independent invention of Chinese chess is indeed plausible, I would not necessarily attribute its connection to India as such. Nevertheless, there is no harm in saying "we don't have enough information" to say either way.

Good post Abhi

By: wunderbar

wunderbar — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:29:08 +0000

The invention of chess (or some chess-like game) by the Chinese is a plausible suggestion. There were exchanges between China and India in the form of Buddhist monks going to China or Chinese students coming to learn at Buddhist monasteries in India, just around the time chess is supposed to have been invented in India by Buddhist monks. The Chinese have also invented other board games involving strategy and conquest.

By: DeepThroat

DeepThroat — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:14:06 +0000

So was chess really invented in China? Seems like a bunch of lies to me.

Or Yahoo is kept alive by Chinese money.

By: Interesting

Interesting — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:46:21 +0000

So was chess really invented in China? Seems like a bunch of lies to me.

By: Lord Dalhouse

Lord Dalhouse — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:54:34 +0000

I'm quite pleased with your writings, Mr. Abhi. Precisely what I would like to see the Indians discussing, not mutiny this and mutiny that. In any case, I'm very glad that the entirety of this post and the subsequent interjections are entirely free of any mention of Satyajit Ray's picture The Chess Players (or Shatranj ke Khilardi for the natives), and not only because of his rude and imprecise characterization of myself and my imperatives as the present Governor-General and representative of the British Raj. It's best to keep matters as abstract as possible. Relevance can hardly be a concern in these trying times.

Yours in good health and wishing you the same,

James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie, Governor-General of India

By: razib

razib — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:42:29 +0000

yet Armenians in US do disproprotionately well in many fields, especially in Finance and Trading

more armenians live outside of armenia than within, and a disproportionate number of the diaspora have traditionally focused on mercantile activities.

By: Darth Paul

Darth Paul — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:08:36 +0000

Akash: Chess is as much as sport as poker or backgammon. That is, not at all.