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:
“O Paddy dear, an’ did ye hear the news that’s goin’ round?
The shamrock is by law forbid to grow on Irish ground!
No more Saint Patrick’s Day we’ll keep, his colour can’t be seen,
For there’s a cruel law agin the wearin’ o’ the Green!”
—Unknown. The Wearing of the Green (l. 37–40)
“Work, as we usually think of it, is energy expended for a further end in view; play is energy expended for its own sake, as with children’s play, or as manifestation of the end or goal of work, as in “playing” chess or the piano. Play in this sense, then, is the fulfillment of work, the exhibition of what the work has been done for.”
—Northrop Frye (1912–1991)