Word: chaturanga
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...like modern chess, was called chaturanga, or the army game. The pieces represented the four elements of the Indian army: chariots, elephants, cavalry and infantry; they evolved through the centuries into rooks, bishops, knights and pawns. In its travels, the Hindi word rajah, for king, became shah in Persian, which led to the Arabic phrase shah mat, meaning the king is dead, from which the term checkmate is derived...
...history and its various changes during the centuries of its existence are matters of much interest to all chess-players; while even more than "seven cities" have claimed the honor of its invention. The source of chess is, however, generally traced back to the old Hindu game, Chaturanga...
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