A brief history of chess - Alex Gendler
- 3,229,879 Views
- 7,541 Questions Answered
- TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
The attacking infantry advances, their elephants already having broken the defensive line. The king tries to retreat, but the enemy flanks him from the rear. Escape is impossible. This isn’t a real war— nor is it just a game. Over the 1,500 years of its existence, chess has been known as a military strategy tool, a metaphor for human affairs and a measure of genius. Alex Gendler shares its history.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
H. J. R. Murray’s authoritative masterwork on the history of chess remains highly regarded more than a century later, while David Shenk provides a more personalized account. The Oxford Companion to Chess contains hundreds of entries on strategies and biographies of famous players. Several books and articles examine chess’s role in civilization and its connection to warfare. And for a vision of the computerized future of chess, read about Kasparov’s legendary game against Deep Blue and the emergence of all-computer chess leagues.
TED-Ed
Lesson Creator
New York, NY
Create and share a new lesson based on this one.
