The first mention of Strebechi dates back to 995, when King Otto III of Germany dedicated the estate in the Eastphalian Harzgau to his sister Abbess Adelaide of Quedlinburg.

According to legend, Bishop Arnulf of Halberstadt had imprisoned Gunzelin of Kuckenburg, the deposed Margrave of Meissen, in the Wartturm, a tower in Ströbeck, and ordered the local farmers to guard him.

The game was first mentioned in a 1515 deed, when it had become a tradition among the local people, even though at that time chess was only played elsewhere by nobles and clerics.

The Ströbeck tradition was described by Duke Augustus II of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel alias Gustavus Selenus in his 1616 book Chess or the King's Game.

[3] Chess continued to be a strong part of Ströbeck's culture and when they village issued its own currency (Notgeld) during the First World War, it featured images of chessboards.