The Game of Kings: How Chess Was Born in Bhārat

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0700

As we write this, eight of the world’s greatest chess players are locked in battle at a resort in Pegeia, Cyprus, for the right to challenge Gukesh Dommaraju, the reigning World Chess Champion. The 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament is midway through its fourteen rounds, and already producing the kind of drama that makes the game irresistible. But few of the spectators watching online will pause to consider that this game, this ancient contest of kings and strategy, was born in Bhārat, perhaps as many as 1,500 years ago, in the courts of the Gupta Empire.

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The Game of Kings: How Chess Was Born in Bhārat