Cox-Forbes theory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cox-Forbes theory is a long-debunked theory on the evolution of chess put forward by Captain Hiram Cox and extended by Professor Duncan Forbes (1798–1868).
The theory states that a four-handed dice-chess game (Chaturaji) was played in India in approximately 3000 BC; due to the results of certain rules or the difficulty in getting enough players the game evolved into a two-handed game (Chaturanga). Due to religious and legal objections to gambling the dice were dropped from the game, making it a game purely of skill.
The theory was mostly based on evidence in the Indian text Purana, but more recent study of the work has shown the evidence to be weaker than previously thought. Also the work is now assigned a more conservative date of 500 BC rather than the earlier 3000 BC. As a result the theory is now rejected by all serious chess historians.
Albrecht Weber (1825–1901) and Dutch chess historian Antonius van der Linde (1833–1897) found that the sources quoted by Forbes did not contain the references he claimed. While working on Geschichte und Litteratur des Schachspiels (Berlin, 1874, two vols.), Van der Linde also found that the text around which Forbes had built his entire theory was actually from around AD 1500 rather than 3000 BC as claimed by Forbes. Van der Linde thought that Forbes deliberately lied, and was furious. John Griswold White wrote in 1898, "He did not even make good use of the material known to him." (Hooper & Whyld 1992, pp. 143, 226–7)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Hooper, David & Whyld, Kenneth (1992), The Oxford Companion to Chess (2 ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 143, 226–7, ISBN 0-19-280049-3
