Chessboard

Among other games, it was used to play chaturanga, a historical precursor to chess, beginning around the 6th century in India.

[3] As a result of this change, each diagonal was now highlighted by a continuous sequence of same-coloured squares, which later facilitated the introduction of the modern bishop and queen movements in the 15th century.

[8] Chessboards have been made from numerous materials over the years, such as ebony, ivory, marble, metal, glass, and plastic.

High-level games generally use wooden boards, while vinyl, plastic, and cardboard are common for less important tournaments and matches, as well as for home use.

Rarely, decorative glass and marble boards are permitted for games conducted by national or international chess federations.

To reduce cost, some boards are made with veneers of more expensive woods glued to an inner piece of plywood or chipboard.

Common dark-light combinations are black and white, as well as brown, green or blue with buff or cream.

[10] In the older descriptive notation, the files are labelled by the piece originally occupying its first rank (e.g. queen, king's rook, queen's bishop), and ranks by the numbers 1 to 8 from each player's point of view, depending on the move being described.

[12] The board used for the Persian Tamerlane chess is one of the first recorded variant chessboards, with eleven columns by ten rows along with two citadels.

Between the central two rows is a river that the elephant cannot cross and past which the soldier increases in strength.

Bughouse chess, for example, involves four players playing two simultaneous matches on separate boards.

[20] Another noteworthy variant, Star Trek Chess, utilises a board of sixty-four squares divided into seven levels.

Chess sets usually had considerable artistic value; they were made of noble materials, such as ebony and ivory, and in large sizes.

The book Liber miraculorum sancte Fidis tells a story in which a nobleman, after miraculously escaping from prison, is forced to carry a chessboard until a sanctuary as gesture of gratitude.

[22] In 1250, a sermon called Quaedam moralitas de scaccario per Innocentium papum (The Innocent Morality) showed the world as being represented by a chessboard.