A brief history of chess – Alex Gendler

Trace the storied history of the game of chess, from its origins in 7th century India to the computer software we use today.

The attacking infantry advances, their elephants already having broken the defensive line. The king tries to retreat, but the enemy flanks him from the rear. Escape is impossible. This isn’t a real war— nor is it just a game. Over the 1,500 years of its existence, chess has been known as a military strategy tool, a metaphor for human affairs and a measure of genius. Alex Gendler shares its history.

Lesson by Alex Gendler, directed by Remus & Kiki.

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295 Comments

  1. Imagine if the prince from the Gupta empire never died and chess never became a game

  2. Osh toppida means like on top of the dinner. Osh is Uzbeksitans main dish and toppida means on top of. SO it could mean it had higher priority than food becasue something that fun back then would be, and it could just mean how the chess board is like a table and is set on the table.

  3. Wow. Well that's some new backstory! excellent video!
    Maybe reconstruct to beginning, sizes boards, back to lines or captures ect. To get us out of this Quagmire. Or just not hold the perspective that life and existence should not be reduced down to game theory kings and pawns reality.
    Or go the Monopoly route if patriotic us hero can't beat the computer or Russian Comies! Flip the table and scream I hate this family!
    Thanks!

  4. King alone can't fight. But he can think and lead his army. Yes, army. Don't know about the queen, but I think all the rest of the pieces represent the army of knights, bishops followers, etc. King represents a king, and all the rest follows him.

  5. 5:24 Treadmill originally designed to be a torture device..? I’m sure for some it IS to this very day in fact lol 😆

  6. I think there's an error right here 1:39 checkmate means shiekh mate in arabic wich translate too the "leader is dead"

  7. 4:38 ''The player who would truly upset Russian dominance was not a citizen of another country.''
    4:58 Proceeds to shamelessly mark Deep Blue with an American flag

  8. Did anyone saw that adolf’s knight that checkmated the king was illegal

  9. It… did not felt like 5 minutes…

  10. back when chess had patch notes and bug fixes

  11. The oldest book of chess is the Gottingen Manuscript which was written at around 13 hundred ad

  12. The people dedicated to this video definitely love chess

  13. For all that enjoy the queen piece, it was originated in medieval Spain during the reign of Isabella the first.

  14. Arabs still call bishop as elephant (Feel) and Queen as Minister (Wazeer, w not v), like how originally it was.

  15. Lmao the ending, when that person was about to pull the plug and the computer got sad

  16. This changes my own perspective of chess

  17. Carlsen vs Deepblue 1997? i want to see this match

  18. Garry Kasparov when he watch this video =>😡
    But he still legend of legends

  19. 5:20 The fact that I am watching this video on the treadmill alarms me

  20. Ah yes, cheering up your mother about their dead son by making his death immortalized and recreated again and again for all eternity. Those were the days.

  21. Suffice to say the speaker doesnt want to credit the Origin on the Gupta prince – India. Not sure why that bias..

  22. The treadmill is still a torture device today!

  23. Satranj (chess) is mentioned in many hindu books thousands years ago and inramcharitamanas(popular hindu book from where ramayan is made) also it is written that chess was made by ravan wife (mandodri)

    Mandodri was a very loyal wife. Once His husband ravan was not getting bored and cannot kill his boredom so many dance performance and music performance was done to please him

    But he was not pleased so his wife created satranj(chess) and says to his husband that it will kill his boredom and make his strategy of war more powerful

  24. 1:35 the slovene name and checkmetae is also the same name as here

  25. Bro just dropped the trailer for the game: Chess

  26. Listen mom they used a opening we had never seen before they called it the bong-cloud

  27. 5:00: Jokes on them, I finally managed to beat a computer at Battle Chess; it’s a good game and I recommend it.

  28. Most enjoyable video,, fantastic graphics too! makes this game more personable !

  29. In India we still call “Queen” as “Wazir” means “Minister”

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