English
The Story of How Chess Was Invented
The wise elder told it this way: one day the king decked out his throne with fine Byzantine silk.
He hung his crown above the ivory throne, ivory everywhere and the crown above it all.
The whole palace was full of sages and governors from Balkh, from Bamian, and from Karzban.
The king of the world got word from the sharp report of his watchful scouts:
that an envoy of the king of India had arrived, with elephants, a parasol, and horsemen from Sindh.
He came with a thousand camel-loads of cargo, seeking an audience with the sovereign.
As soon as the alert king heard this, he sent a body of troops out to receive him.
When the renowned and imposing envoy came before the great sovereign,
he offered his respects in the manner of the great, and gave praise to the Creator of the world.
He laid many jewels before him as tribute: a parasol and ten elephants with earrings.
The Indian parasol was worked with gold, and various gems were woven into it.
He opened the bundles at the court and carried every one of them to the king.
The loads held silver and gold in abundance, musk and ambergris and fresh aloeswood,
rubies and diamonds, and swords of India, every one an Indian blade with a rippling edge.
Every fine thing that comes from Kannauj and its rajah, made and finished with skill, was brought and set in place.
They carried them all before the throne, and the leader of sun-bright fortune looked them over.
Every thing the rajah had taken pains to send, Khosrow ordered stored entirely in his treasury.
Then the envoy brought forward a letter on silk, written by the rajah of India to Nushirvan,
and a chessboard crafted with great effort, though its making had drained a treasury dry.
He delivered the rajah's message from India: may you endure as long as the heavens turn.
Let one who has toiled hardest in knowledge order the chessboard set before him,
and let them try every kind of strategy, so as to play out this clever game.
Let them learn each piece by name, and say which is the proper square for each.
Let them know the pawn, the elephant, and the ranks, the rook and horse, and the moves of the vizier and the king.
If they play out this clever game and bring pure wisdom to the task,
then the tribute and taxes the king has demanded I will gladly send to that court.
But if the famed men of Iran, all together, are worn down and defeated by this science,
since they have no strength to match our knowledge, they shall not seek tribute or tax from this land.
Indeed, they must then pay tribute to us, for knowledge is worth more than any celebrated thing.
Khosrow gave his heart and ear to the speaker, and the envoy recounted his words to him.
They set the chessboard before the king, and for a while he studied the pieces.
One set of pieces on his board was carved from ivory, the other from painted teak in many colors.
The fortunate king asked about it all: the figures, the pieces, the scent, and the board.
The envoy answered: 'Your majesty, every rule and move here comes from the ways of war.'
'When you find the way to play it, you will see the rook, the elephant, and the whole array of a battlefield.'
The king said: 'Give us a week's time; on the eighth day we will play with clear minds.'
They cleared out a bright hall and prepared quarters for the envoy.
The wise men and priests, skilled at showing the way, all went together before the king.
Then they placed the chessboard before them, and each studied it beyond measure.
They searched and tried every approach, moving each piece once from every side.
One spoke and asked, another listened, but no one could uncover the way to play.
They all left with frowning faces, and then Bozorjmehr came to the king.
He saw the king troubled by the matter, and foresaw the end of that hardship at its very start.
He said to Khosrow: 'O king, ruler of the world, watchful and commanding,'
'I will bring this clever game to light, and lead reason to solve it.'
The king told him: 'This task is yours; may your mind stay bright and your body sound.'
'Otherwise the ruler of Kannauj will say that our king has not a single man who can find the way.'
'It would be a great disgrace for the priests, for the court, the throne, and the wise.'
Bozorjmehr brought out the chessboard, sat down deep in thought, and his face brightened.
He worked out the moves to left and right, playing until he knew each piece's place.
In one day and one night he grasped the game, then hurried from the hall to the king of Iran.
He said: 'O fortunate king, I have examined these pieces, this scent, and this board.'
'By your high fortune, master of the world, the whole game has come out well.'
'Summon the king's envoy before you, and whoever keeps watch over us.'
'The great king should see it first: it is truly like a real battlefield.'
The king was gladdened by his words and called him a man of good fortune for the age.
He ordered the priests and the wise men to come with the renowned counselors.
He called the envoy of Kannauj forward and seated him in that place of honor.
The eloquent Bozorjmehr said to him: 'O priest of the radiant, sun-faced king,'
'About these pieces, what did your king tell you? May wisdom always be your companion.'
He answered: When I left the presence of that fortunate king,
he told me: Carry these pieces of teak and ivory before the throne of the crowned lord.
Tell him: Set them out before your wise men and counselors, and gather an assembly around them.
If they can work out this clever game, this charming and captivating puzzle,
then this purse and these gifts, this tribute and tax, we will send as much as we have strength to give.
But if the king and his sages cannot manage it, and cannot see it clearly,
then he must not ask tribute and treasure from us; he should spare his wise men the toil that would trouble their souls.
When he sees the subtlety of our hearts and minds, let him send even more our way.
He set the chessboard and its pieces down before the throne of that clear sighted king.
The king spoke to the priests and the nobles: You who are renowned, pure hearted, and wise,
all of you, listen closely to his words, and let his chief of staff heed them alertly too.
The learned envoy laid out a battlefield, and in the center he set the place of the king.
Left and right the horsemen were drawn up in ranks, and in front stood the foot soldiers, spear in hand.
The alert minister stood before the king, showing him the way through the battle.
The champion who moved his horse on both sides, and at his left the fierce, war seeking elephant.
Above them stood the war horses in place, arranged so as to reach the king's side.
When Bozorgmehr moved that army across the board, the whole assembly was left in wonder.
The Indian envoy grew deeply troubled; that alert, clever man was stunned by the feat.
The cunning man marveled at him, and worry settled into his heart,
for he had never seen this chessboard mastered, nor heard of it even from the wisest men of India.
How had he grasped its logic? No one else in the world could match such insight.
Khosrow became so pleased with Bozorgmehr, it was as if fortune itself had shown him its face.
Then the king ordered a cup to be filled with royal jewels,
and gave him a purse of gold coins and a saddled horse, and praised him greatly.
The wise man went off to his own quiet place; he set a board and a compass before him.
He studied the chess and the reasoning of the Indians, and pushed his mind to greater effort.
He joined intellect with a clear heart, and through thought he devised the game of backgammon.
He ordered two sets of pieces made from ivory, each figure of ivory matched by one the color of teak.
He built a battlefield like the chessboard, with combat arrayed on both sides.
He divided the two armies into eight parts, all of them warriors set to seize the city.
Like a battlefield of earth spread on four sides, with two noble kings of gentle nature.
Each has more or less the same strength; neither commits injustice against the other.
At their command, armies on both sides stand fiercely arrayed for war.
When two men corner a lone one, that single piece is broken and lost from the army.
Everywhere, at the front and rear of the ranks, the two kings strut proudly across that field of battle.
This one crossed over that, and that one over this, at times fighting on the mountain, at times on the plain.
In this way, until one king was defeated, both kings and their armies stood locked in the fray.
Just as I have described, he set up the game and explained each piece to the king, one by one.
He showed how the king moves with lofty spirit, its praise and also its rebuke.
He laid out the strength, the command, and the warfare of the army, revealing each detail to the king.
The heart of the Persian king was astonished by it, and his mind sank deep into thought.
He said: You man of bright soul, may you stay young and may your days stay young.
He ordered two thousand cameleers to bring their camels to the king's court.
With cargo gathered from Rome and China, from Hephthalite lands, Makran, and the soil of Iran.
They loaded goods from the royal treasury, and the caravan set off from the king's gate.
When the camels' loads were made ready, the king's heart was set at ease over the matter.
He summoned the Raja's envoy before him and spoke to him with much wisdom.
He wrote a letter to send to him, full of knowledge, delight, and grace.
He began the letter with high praise, seeking God's shelter from the mighty demon.
Then he wrote: You renowned king of India, from the sea of Kannauj to the banks of the Sind,
This wise envoy of the Raja arrived at our gathering with parasol and elephants.
We heard of the chessboard and the Raja's message, and his message reached its mark.
We asked the Indian sage for time, and adorned our minds with knowledge.
The pure-minded sage deliberated much, studied it, and solved the game.
Now this clever sage has come to Kannauj, before the exalted Raja.
Two thousand heavy camel-loads, choice gifts, from the royal court.
In place of chess, we have set the game of backgammon; now see whose game will win the contest.
If you have many pure-minded Brahmins who can solve this game through their wisdom,
then for whatever this envoy suffered, let the Indian Raja send it all to our treasury.
But if the Raja and his guides struggle and still cannot solve the game,
In the same measure, a camel's load must be sent back, and by agreement let the king of Kanauj bear this burden.
Let him send load for load in return; such is our pact and our exchange.
When the shining sun rose into the sky, Bozorgmehr set out from the king's court.
When he reached the Indian king from Iran, a Brahmin gladly served as his guide.
He came with the tribute, the letter, and the backgammon board, his heart full of thoughts of contest and combat.
When he came near the king's throne, he beheld his head, his crown, and his fortune.
He praised him greatly in the courtly manner, then handed him the royal letter.
Of chess, of the journey, and of the king's challenge, he told everything, one by one, in its place.
He delivered the great king's message, and the face of the Indian king bloomed like a rose.
He said: where has any enduring man seen a marvel like this, that they solved chess entirely, and now bring back backgammon whole?
Of the game, the pieces, and the king's wisdom, and of those sages who showed the way.
What is recorded within the letter, let him read, understand, and not turn away from justice.
At his words the king's face went pale, when he heard talk of chess and backgammon.
A renowned steward came forward and gave the envoy a fitting place to stay.
They decorated a joyful hall, and called for wine, music, and minstrels.
The famed king then asked for a term of seven days, and those who kindled knowledge went off to work.
From the worthy elders of the realm he gathered an assembly and set out the backgammon board.
For a whole week, whoever was sharp of mind among those renowned men, young and old,
kept probing the game of backgammon, driven by rivalry, reasoning, honor, and struggle.
On the eighth day the sage said to the king: no one can make head or tail of this.
Unless wisdom becomes the soul's companion, no one can draw the play out of these pieces.
On the ninth day Bozorgmehr came, his heart full of longing, his face knotted with worry,
saying: Khosrow did not grant us any delay; the king's heart must not grow troubled.
The sages grew downcast at this, their souls full of sorrow, their brows full of frowns.
The wise nobles drew aside and confessed their own ignorance.
When Bozorgmehr saw this, he sat down, and all the sages' faces brightened.
He laid out the backgammon board before him and recalled every movement of the pieces.
He showed the commander and the battle of the army, the ordering of war, and the king's command.
At this the king and his counselors were amazed, and many notables of the realm gathered round.
All the great ones sang his praise and called him a sage of pure faith.
He questioned him about every branch of knowledge, and each answer came back precisely right.
A cheer went up from the scholars, from the seekers of learning and the reciters.
Saying: here is a man who speaks with true wisdom, and not merely for the sake of chess and backgammon.
After that he brought two thousand camels, all loaded with the treasures of Kannauj.
Aloe wood, ambergris, camphor and gold, robes and cups all studded with gems.
Along with a full year's tribute from the royal court, he sent it all straight to the king's palace.
He asked for a crown from the treasury of the Indian king, and a robe of gold from head to foot.
He gave these to him and offered many blessings, and gave his companions a great many gifts too.
The two thousand camels the envoy had brought, he handed back to him along with the tribute and presents.
It was a caravan such as no one had ever led before, nor had there been wealth greater than this.
Bozorgmehr set out from Kannauj, his head raised high above the turning heavens.
Glad at heart, carrying the Indian king's letter, written in Indian script on silk.
It said: the king and the great ones bear witness, not out of fear, but freely, out of good will.
That no one has seen a king like Nushinravan, nor heard of his like from any aged sage.
No one is wiser than his minister; he is a treasury of the wisdom of the heavens.
A full year's tribute has been sent ahead; if more is needed, we shall send more.
Of the tribute we pledged, everything that was due has now been sent.
When news reached the king that the wise man had come back from the road with success and grace,
The king rejoiced at that news and ordered that every man of renown,
From the city and the army, be informed, and all the notables went out to welcome him.
That honored man entered the city in triumph, to greet the exalted king.
When he came into the palace, near the throne, the king warmly blessed him.
The world ruling king embraced him to his chest and asked him about the mission and the hardships of the road.
Bozorgmehr told all that had happened, thanks to that wakeful fortune and the love of the heavens.
Then he brought the letter of the victorious Indian king and laid it before the throne.
The king ordered Yazdgerd the scribe, and he came before the knowledge loving king.
When he read out the letter of the Indian king, the whole assembly was left in wonder.
Astonished at the wisdom and judgment of Bozorgmehr, and at the sun bright fortune of the king's minister.
Kasra said: thanks be to God that I am wise and know what is good.
The great ones are slaves to my crown and throne; their hearts and souls are filled with love for me.
Nothing is more astonishing than the work of Buzurjmihr,
to whom the heavens granted such deep knowledge.
Thanks be to the Lord of sun and moon,
from whom come all victory and power.
On this tale I built my words,
and turned my attention to Talkhand and to chess.