Chaturanga

Where did chess really come from?Under an ancient banyan tree, young Priya and Arjun ask Swami Ananda a simple question - and unlock a story fifteen hundred years in the making.Travel back to ancient India, where a wise royal advisor turned the four divisions of a great army - foot soldiers, cavalry, war elephants, and thundering chariots - into a game played on sixty-four squares: Chaturanga. The foot soldiers became the Pawns. The cavalry became the Knights. The war elephants became the Bishops, and the thundering chariots became the Rooks. And at the center of it all stood the King and his Minister - because the game’s inventor didn’t want to build a weapon. He wanted to build a teacher.Follow the game along the Silk Road into Persia, where it became Shatranj and 'Shāh Māt!' became 'checkmate,' through the candlelit courts of Baghdad, into Spain and across all of Europe - where the Minister became the mighty Queen and Chaturanga became the chess we know today. Along the way, discover the game’s cousins around the world: Xiangqi in China, Shogi in Japan, Janggi in Korea, and Makruk in Thailand. One game, born in India, spoken in a hundred languages, played in every country on earth.Told side-by-side in English and Hindi, Chaturanga: The Game That Changed the World is a rich and historic tale of wisdom, strategy, and legacy - a celebration of India’s gift to the world, and a reminder that every game of chess is a piece of living history. Filled with real history - Emperor Harsha Vardhana, the poet Banabhatta, the courts of Al-Andalus - this beautifully illustrated story is perfect for young chess players, curious readers ages 6-10, bilingual families, classrooms, and chess clubs.Every time you move a Knight, you ride with ancient cavalry. Every game is a piece of history.The legacy is complete in Book 3 of The ChessMaster’s Legacy series. Welcome to the board.