World Chess

Chess has a 1,500-year world cultural history, and has been adopted by every culture on Earth. From its origins as Chaturanga, played at the Indian courts of the 6th century, to Shatranj, played in Baghdad, Makruk, played in Ayutthaya, Grant Acedrex, played at Alfonso X’s court, to Xiangqi in China, Janggi in Korea and Shogi in Japan, chess is diverse in its heritage. Modern chess, the "chess of the Mad Queen" was invented in Valencia. Today it masks the cultural plethora of games, historical and living today, each with their own sculpts and rules. Learn to play them all! You may never need to play the same way twice.

Play with in 2D or 3D, with standard pieces or with authentic historical chessmen on antique boards.

We are leveraging historians and collectors to develop a comprehensive guide to the cultural history chess: ways to play, boards, chessmen, and their inspiration.