Chess vs. Checkers: Which Game Has Been Around Longer

Many people mistakenly believe that chess is the oldest to-person strategy game to ever exist. Yet evidence suggests that humble checkers in their various forms have been around since Ancient Sumerian times, while Chess began in around 600 CE in India.

In the post below we will take a detailed look at the history of both checkers and chess, comparing their timelines, and going on to look at the modern development of checkers. Keep reading to find out more about chess vs checkers.

1. History of Checkers

The modern game of checkers that we know today has a long and vibrant history as a two-player strategy game spanning from the time of ancient Sumeria, through periods of ancient Roman, Greek and Egyptian dominance. Yet it still prevails as a much loved and played game to this day! Let's look at some of the historical highlights of the game of checkers.

Checkers in Ancient Sumeria

Game Boards marked with checked squares have been discovered in the ancient city-state of Ur in Sumeria. This game board is believed to be from around 3000 BC, possibly making it the earliest version of the game Checkers in history.

Checkers in Ancient Egypt

A game played on a 5x5 checkerboard Quirkat or Alquerque as it's also known is a checkers-like game played by the ancient Egyptians. Widely accepted as the forerunner to modern checkers, players in Quirkat began with their pieces taking up space on rows directly in front of them, just like modern-day checkers do. Archaeology shows that the rules of capture in Quirkat were very similar to the rules of capture in modern-day checkers too.

Checkers in Ancient Greece

A game very like checkers was also known to be played in ancient Greece. Called Petteia or ‘stones’ in English, references to this game can be found in many of the classics of the time including Homer’s Odyssey, Plato’s The Republic and Aristotle’s Politics.

Checkers in Ancient Rome

After the Greeks came the Romans whole also had a checkers-like game known as Latrones or Ludus Latrunculorum. Similarities between Latrones and checkers include:

• Both are 2 player strategy games.
• Both use checkerboards with small squares laid out in a grid pattern.
• Both use counters (stones/checkers)
• Both are turn-taking games.
• Both games include hopping over squares.

Checkers in 11th-Century Europe

Spreading to Spain and France in 1100 AD Quirkat was now known as Alquerque and its rules were formalized in the Libro de Los Juegos. Checkers spread to these areas of Europe due to the Moors' invasion of Spain. Also around this time, players in France converted the game so they could play it with Backgammon pieces, on a chessboard. Presumably, because they already have access to these, so it made it more convenient.

Checkers in 13th Century France

Finally, checkers took the form that we know and love today in France in the 13th century. This is when the crowning or kinging rule in checkers was introduced. Although the game was known not as Checkers but as “Fierges.”

2. Origins of Chess

Origins: The Birth of Chess in India

The 6th century CE saw the game Chaturanga, which translates into four divisions being played. The four divisions in question were infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots, which later became pawns, knights, bishops and rooks in the modern game.

Not ‘just’ a game, Chaturanga was used as a valuable tool to teach military strategy during this time.

Chess’s Spread to Persia

The game of Chaturanga spread to Persia where it was renamed Shatranj. Changed from its original form the term “checkmate” comes from the old persona for “shah mat,” meaning “the king is dead.”

Chess Spreads From Persia to Europe

Just as the Islamic empire expanded in the 7th and 8th centuries, so did the spread of chess, with it filtering into regions such as North Africa, Spain and the Middle East.

Later in the 9th century chess was being played throughout Europe and went through additional changes. One such change was the introduction of the Queen piece which became the most powerful on the board. Some say that the idea for powerful chess queens came from examples of powerful queens in Europe like Isabella of Castile.

Chess in The Renaissance and Enlightenment

In Renaissance times chess became favoured by the nobles of Europe, while in the 18th century, the rules of the game were formalised along with much work on the theory of the game.

Chess In The Modern-Day

By the time the 19th century rolled around, chess was much loved as a game by nobles and common people alike. It was also being played in international tournaments. The first of which was in 1886.

In the 20th early century competition chess was dominated by a few specific players including Capablanca, Alekhine, and Botvinnik. In 1972 Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky, the current Soviet Grandmaster. Although Soviets like Kasparov did dominate the international 20th-century chess scene after.

Then came computers and the internet, with Kasparov losing to Chess supercomputer Deep Blue in 1997. Despite the possibility of losing to a computer becoming commonplace, the popularity of Chess has continued to grow in the 21st century with many people using new technology to play online, watch online chess content, and learn more about how to play and win the game.

3. Chess vs. Checkers: A Timeline

Even though both games have been played since ancient times in one form or another, Checkers in one of its many forms, is likely the oldest of the two. This is because the original form of checkers was found to date back to around Ancient Sumeria in 3000AD, while the first form of chess is likely to have been from around 600 CE in India.

4. Evolution of Checkers Gameplay

In the section on the history of checkers above you will have read about how checkers came to be. However, it's important to note that the game has always been evolving and continues to do so in recent times. Indeed, there has been significant development in the game of checkers since the dawn of the 19th century as you will discover below.

19th Century - Checkers Is Taken More Seriously

During the 19th century, the attitude towards checkers began to change with it taken more seriously as a game. This led to the first official worldwide checkers competitions being played in Scotland in 1840. Won the first year by Andrew Anderson and the second by James Wyllie, these new highly skilled players were about to change the game for good. The reason being that when two players of their caliber played against each other the result was so often a draw that changes had to be made.

New Rules For A More Serious Game

Two new rules were implemented to reduce the incidents of draws when playing competitive checkers. These rules are known as 11-man Ballad, and 2 and 3 move checkers.

11 ma ballad means a piece is removed at the beginning of the game from one of the two starting rows of each player. The same piece does not have to be removed for both players resulting in asymmetry which helps to provide a more interesting and winnable game. The 11-man ballad also requires a randomly selected piece to begin 2 moves in.

2 And 3 Move Checkers

2 and 3-move checkers, on the other hand, begin with all the pieces of the board in random positions as long as they are the same as the ones that either 2 or 3 moves into the game. For a 2 moves checker game it would be 2 moves and for a 3 moves game 2. The only exception to these positions is that they can’t be in a position where a piece would already be captured.

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Final Thoughts

From the information above, you will now know that neither chess nor checkers has maintained its original form. Instead, they have both been transformed over time into the 2-player strategy games we know and love today.

While both chess and checkers have rich historical roots, you would be mistaken to believe that chess is the older of the two strategy games. Indeed, even though we can trace the development of chess from the modern day, back through the Renaissance and Enlightenment Europe, back to Persia and originally India in 600 CE, it is surprisingly not the oldest of the two games.

Instead, it is checkers in one of its many forms that can be traced from the modern day, back through 13th-century France, wider Europe in the 11th century, back to Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt where it was known as Quirkat. Then finally back to ancient Sumeria as early as 3000 BC, making checkers the game that has been around the longest.

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