Irish Chess
Fidchell (in Irish; also spelled fidhcheall, fidceall, fitchneal or fithchill, and pronounced in Old Irish) or gwyddbwyll (in Welsh) was an ancient Celtic board game. The name in both Irish and Welsh is a compound translating to "wood sense"; the fact that the compound is identical in both languages demonstrates that the name is of extreme antiquity. The game is often compared to or identified with chess, though this is evidently erroneous, as chess was unknown in Europe until the 12th century. The game was played between two people who moved "men" across a board; the board itself shared its name with the game played upon it. The name has evolved into ficheall, the Irish word for chess, while gwyddbwyll is the name for chess in modern Welsh.
Read more about Irish Chess: History, Gameplay, Historical Impact
Famous quotes containing the words irish and/or chess:
“The Irish are the only men who know how to cry for the dirty polluted blood of all the world.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“The trick, which requires the combined skills of a tightrope walker and a cordon bleu chef frying a plain egg, is to take your [preteen] daughter seriously without taking everything she says and does every minute seriously.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)