Did Spain’s Queen Isabella Change the Game of Chess?
Some historians believe she’s the reason the queen is the most powerful chess piece.
What is now the game of chess dates back centuries. Originating in 6th century India, the game spread to Asia and the Arab world and became a popular pastime of European nobility in the Middle Ages. As the game proliferated among different cultures, the rules evolved as well. Some consider Spain’s Queen Isabella I to be responsible for the modern game’s most powerful piece.
In India, the game was called chaturanga, Sanskrit for the four divisions of the army: elephants, chariots, cavalry, and infantry. Although its exact rules are unknown, like chess, it was a two-player game in which the object was to capture the opposing king. No queen existed in the game and its variants for nearly a millennium. After all, women weren’t on battlefields. Instead, the king had an advisor or counselor. It was weaker than other pieces, allowed to move only one square diagonally.
As the game spread, the pieces changed to reflect life where it was played. In medieval Europe, foot soldiers became pawns; elephants became…
