In ancient India, the game of chess was called:

Chess originated in India around the 6th century CE, during the Gupta period, in the form of a game called "Chaturanga".

Meaning of Chaturanga:

"Chaturanga" is a Sanskrit word meaning "four limbs" or "four divisions", referring to the four divisions of an ancient Indian army: infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots.

These became the modern chess pieces:

• Infantry (padati) became the pawn.
• Cavalry (ashva) became the knight.
• Elephants (gaja) became the bishop.
• Chariots (ratha) became the rook.
• The king (raja) and his minister or general (mantri or senapati) became the king and queen.

How chess spread:

• From India, the game travelled to Persia, where it was called "Chatrang" and later "Shatranj".
• After the Arab conquest of Persia, it spread through the Islamic world and then to Europe through Spain and Italy by around the 10th century.
• The term "checkmate" comes from the Persian "shah mat", meaning "the king is helpless" (or "the king is defeated").
• In 15th-century Europe, the queen became the most powerful piece, which gave rise to modern chess.

Chess today:

• FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs), the world chess body, was founded on 20 July 1924 in Paris. 20 July is celebrated as International Chess Day.
• India hosted the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram (Chennai) in 2022, and India won both the open and women's golds at the 45th Olympiad in Budapest in 2024.

Viswanathan Anand became India's first Grandmaster (1988), and D. Gukesh became the youngest undisputed World Champion (2024).

Other ancient Indian games:

• Chaupar and Pachisi: board games that gave rise to Ludo.
• Moksha Patam: the ancestor of Snakes and Ladders.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Chaupar is a cross-shaped board game played with long dice or cowrie shells.
• ✗Pachisi is a related board game, the ancestor of Ludo.
• ✗Moksha Patam is the ancestor of Snakes and Ladders.