A brief history of chess - Alex Gendler

Prevoditelj: Petra Lauš Recezent: Sanda L

The attacking infantry advances steadily,

Pješaštvo napadačke vojske polako prodire,

their elephants already having broken the defensive line.

slonovi su već probili liniju obrane.

The king tries to retreat, but enemy cavalry flanks him from the rear.

Kralj se pokuša povući, ali neprijateljska ga konjica opkoli iza leđa.

Escape is impossible.

Bijeg je nemoguć.

But this isn’t a real war–

Ali to nije pravi rat,

nor is it just a game.

niti je samo igra.

Over the roughly one-and-a-half millennia of its existence,

Tijekom oko 1500 godina postojanja šaha,

chess has been known as a tool of military strategy,

on je bio poznato sredstvo vojne strategije,

a metaphor for human affairs, and a benchmark of genius.

metafora za ljudske odnose i mjerilo genijalnosti.

While our earliest records of chess are in the 7th century,

Iako su naši najstariji zapisi o šahu nastali u sedmom stoljeću,

legend tells that the game’s origins lie a century earlier.

legenda kaže da nastanak šaha seže u jedno stoljeće prije.

Supposedly, when the youngest prince of the Gupta Empire was killed in battle,

Navodno kada je najmlađi princ carstva Gupta bio ubijen u bitci,

his brother devised a way of representing the scene to their grieving mother.

njegov je brat osmislio kako scenu prikazati njihovoj ožalošćenoj majci.

Set on the 8x8 ashtapada board used for other popular pastimes,

Na ploči za aštapadu od 8x8 polja, koja se koristila i za druge popularne igre,

a new game emerged with two key features:

nastala je nova igra s dva ključna obilježja:

different rules for moving different types of pieces,

različitim pravilima za pomicanje različitih vrsta figura

and a single king piece whose fate determined the outcome.

i jednom figurom kralja čija je sudbina određivala ishod.

The game was originally known as chaturanga–

Igra je prvobitno bila poznata pod nazivom čaturanga,

a Sanskrit word for "four divisions."

što na sanskrtu znači "četiri vojne postrojbe".

But with its spread to Sassanid Persia,

Širenjem u sasanidsku Perziju

it acquired its current name and terminology–

igra je dobila trenutno ime i terminologiju -

"chess," derived from "shah," meaning king, and “checkmate” from "shah mat,"

"šah" dolazi od "shah" što znači kralj, i "šah mat" dolazi od "shah mat"

or “the king is helpless.”

ili "kralj je bespomoćan".

After the 7th century Islamic conquest of Persia,

Nakon islamskog osvajanja Perzije u sedmom stoljeću,

chess was introduced to the Arab world.

arapski je svijet upoznao šah.

Transcending its role as a tactical simulation,

Šah je nadišao ulogu simulacije taktike

it eventually became a rich source of poetic imagery.

i s vremenom postao bogat izvor poetskih figura.

Diplomats and courtiers used chess terms to describe political power.

Diplomati i dvorani koristili su šahovske termine za opisivanje političke moći.

Ruling caliphs became avid players themselves.

Sami kalifi postali su strastveni igrači.

And historian al-Mas’udi considered the game a testament to human free will

Povjesničar Masudi smatrao je šah dokazom slobodne volje čovjeka,

compared to games of chance.

za razliku od igara na sreću.

Medieval trade along the Silk Road carried the game to East and Southeast Asia,

U srednjem su vijeku trgovci Putem svile donijeli šah u istočnu i jugoistočnu Aziju

where many local variants developed.

gdje su se razvile mnoge lokalne varijante.

In China, chess pieces were placed at intersections of board squares

U Kini šahovske su se figure stavljale na križišta kvadrata na ploči,

rather than inside them, as in the native strategy game Go.

a ne unutar njih kao u kineskoj strateškoj igri go.

The reign of Mongol leader Tamerlane saw an 11x10 board

Za vladavine mongolskog vladara Timura nastala je ploča od 11x10 polja

with safe squares called citadels.

sa sigurnim kvadratima koji su se zvali citadele.

And in Japanese shogi, captured pieces could be used by the opposing player.

U japanskoj igri shogi, protivni je igrač mogao koristiti osvojene figure.

But it was in Europe that chess began to take on its modern form.

No šah je svoj moderni oblik počeo zadobivati u Europi.

By 1000 AD, the game had become part of courtly education.

Do 1000. godine šah je postao dio obrazovanja na dvoru.

Chess was used as an allegory

Šah se koristio kao alegorija

for different social classes performing their proper roles,

za različite društvene klase koje igraju svoje vlastite uloge

and the pieces were re-interpreted in their new context.

i figure su nanovo bile protumačene u novom kontekstu.

At the same time, the Church remained suspicious of games.

U isto je vrijeme Crkva ostala sumnjičava prema igrama.

Moralists cautioned against devoting too much time to them,

Moralisti su upozoravali da se igrama posvećuje previše vremena

with chess even being briefly banned in France.

i šah je čak nakratko bio zabranjen u Francuskoj.

Yet the game proliferated,

Ali šah je postajao sve popularniji

and the 15th century saw it cohering into the form we know today.

i u 15. je stoljeću zadobio oblik koji ima danas.

The relatively weak piece of advisor was recast as the more powerful queen–

Relativno slaba figura savjetnika zamijenjena je moćnijom figurom kraljice,

perhaps inspired by the recent surge of strong female leaders.

moguće da je inspiracija za to bilo to što su žene postale moćni vođe.

This change accelerated the game’s pace,

Ova je promjena ubrzala tempo igre

and as other rules were popularized,

i kako su se ostala pravila popularizirala,

treatises analyzing common openings and endgames appeared.

pojavile su se rasprave s analizama uobičajenih otvaranja i završetaka.

Chess theory was born.

Rodila se teorija šaha.

With the Enlightenment era, the game moved from royal courts to coffeehouses.

Dolaskom prosvjetiteljstva šah se s kraljevskog dvora preselio u kavane.

Chess was now seen as an expression of creativity,

Šah se smatrao izrazom kreativnosti,

encouraging bold moves and dramatic plays.

potičući hrabre poteze i dramatičnu igru.

This "Romantic" style reached its peak in the Immortal Game of 1851,

Vrhunac ovog romantičarskog stila bila je Besmrtna partija koja se odigrala 1851.,

where Adolf Anderssen managed a checkmate

kada je Adolf Anderssen napravio šah mat

after sacrificing his queen and both rooks.

nakon što je žrtvovao kraljicu i oba topa.

But the emergence of formal competitive play in the late 19th century

Pojava formalne natjecateljske igre u kasnom 19. stoljeću

meant that strategic calculation would eventually trump dramatic flair.

značila je da je strateško kalkuliranje s vremenom pobijedilo dramatičan stil.

And with the rise of international competition,

Porastom međunarodne konkurencije

chess took on a new geopolitical importance.

šah je dobio na novoj geopolitičkoj važnosti.

During the Cold War,

U Hladnom ratu

the Soviet Union devoted great resources to cultivating chess talent,

Sovjetski je savez uložio puno sredstava u šahovski talent

dominating the championships for the rest of the century.

i ostatak je stoljeća dominirao na prvenstvima.

But the player who would truly upset Russian dominance

Ali igrač koji je zaista poremetio rusku dominaciju

was not a citizen of another country

nije bio stanovnik druge zemlje,

but an IBM computer called Deep Blue.

nego računalo IBM-a pod nazivom Deep Blue.

Chess-playing computers had been developed for decades,

Računala koja znaju igrati šah razvijala su se desetljećima,

but Deep Blue’s triumph over Garry Kasparov in 1997

ali je pobjeda računala Deep Blue nad Garijem Kasparovom 1997.

was the first time a machine had defeated a sitting champion.

bila prvi put da je stroj pobijedio šahovskog prvaka.

Today, chess software is capable of consistently defeating

Danas šahovski softver može dosljedno pobjeđivati

the best human players.

najbolje igrače.

But just like the game they’ve mastered,

Ali baš poput igre kojom su ovladali,

these machines are products of human ingenuity.

ti su strojevi produkti ljudske genijalnosti.

And perhaps that same ingenuity will guide us out of this apparent checkmate.

Možda će nas upravo ta ista genijalnost izbaviti iz ovog prividnog šah mata.