How Chess Evolved into a Fast-Paced Yet Thoughtful Contest
Anthony Jean-Claude wields experience in many areas of business. As a sales representative for A&S Towing, he signed clients to new contracts and developed hands-on experience operating tow trucks and training new drivers. Following his tenure at A&S, he founded Supreme Team General Contracting and built a team that renovated 650 apartments across Maryland. Anthony Jean-Claude now leads Maryland Green BioFuel as president. He spends his leisure time engaged in a wide variety of pursuits, including travel, martial arts, and chess.
A favorite game in many homes, online venues, and coffee shops around the world, chess traces back to 600 A.D. The intellectual strategy game derived from Chaturanga, a two-player war game played in ancient India. Over the next 400 years, many of the familiar pieces took on unique properties that distinguished them from the other pieces on the board. In Persia, the figurine situated beside the king was called a ferz and was named after a male counselor to Persia’s king. In Europe, the ferz became known as the queen. Interestingly, the queen was the weakest piece on the board due to her short range. As a result, games moved at a slow pace.
As the 15th century drew to a close, collective tinkering with the game’s rules gave rise to a faster pace. The queen became the most powerful piece on the board, and the range of movement granted to her resulted in the development of advanced skills in many players. The revised rules that allowed for faster game play are still in place today.