Ancient Games and How to Improve Them: Chess
As far as ancient games go, chess is one of the most prolific and well-known board games from ancient times. The modern iteration of "western chess" that is commonly played today is derived from the Indian game of Chaturanga, dating back to the 6th century CE. It’s complete lack of luck makes it a unique game, and the sheer volume of moves and strategies has probably made it the quintessential strategy board game. Despite its complexity, chess has a relatively simple set of rules. It is a two-player game, played on a board with 8 rows and 8 columns of spaces. Columns are given a letter designation (from a to h) while rows have numbered designations (from 1 to 8). For example, the bottom left square would be a1, and the space beside it would be b1. Each player starts with their pieces on either end of the board, and attempt to "check" their opponent's King piece by moving their pieces to capture the King in a way where no action by the opponent can save the...