2,500-yr-old chess pieces found in tomb

Sep 21, 2010 |

IANS

Beijing, Sept. 20: Chess pieces dating back 2,500 years have been found in a tomb in China’s Hebei province.

Ten chess pieces were found next to a skeleton in a Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-24 A.D.) tomb in Pingshan county, said Mr Fan Shuhai, a researcher with Hebei provincial institute of archaeology.

The pieces were part of the original version of the game, popular in China at least 2,500 years ago. They were made of animal bones and were piled one on top of another, Xinhua reported. Earlier, several chess boards have been discovered in China, but chess pieces are very rarely found, said Mr Fan.

The earliest form the game, known as chaturanga originated in India during the Gupa empire ( 600 BC). However, some chinese scholars claim Chess existed first in china since 200BC. Historian, Mr David H. Li, says general Han Xin drew on the earlier game of Liubo to develop an early form of Chinese chess in the winter of 204–203 BC. — IANS

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