Astronomical chess

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Astronomical chess in "Libro de los juegos"

Astronomical chess or Astrological chess[1] for seven is a game from the book Libro de los juegos[2] (Book of games), written under king Alfonso X the Wise in 1283. The game was played on a round board with concentric circles. The sky, zodiac signs and planets are the elements of this chess. The book described the games and problems of playing situations in chess, dice and other board games that formed the basis of modern backgammon.

In some sources astronomical chess is called the "Zodiac". As David Parlett points out in his book "Oxford history of Board Games",[3] the game has nothing to do with chess, but is just a kind of dice game.

References[]

  1. ^ Moll (ArnieChipmunk), Arne. "Valencia lectures part 1: King Alfonso's Book of Games". Chess.com.
  2. ^ Zischkin, Theresa. "Alfonso X's Libro de los Juegos". Thinking 3D.
  3. ^ Parlett, David (1999). The Oxford History of Board Games. ISBN 9780192129987.

Links[]

Retrieved from ""