Читать книгу The History of Chess - H. J. R. Murray - Страница 20

Our information as to Annamese chess is very slight, but sufficient to show that, like the Siamese, the Annamese play chess in two ways, one resembling Indian chess, the other identical with Chinese chess. The latter is called cò‘tu‘ong (kö tūöng), which is the Annamese form of the Chinese siang K‘i. Himly notes that the names of the chessmen—called kon kö = Chinese K‘i tzě—follow the Chinese with the exception of the horse, which is called ngüa instead of ma.¹⁹

Strangely enough, the native game has preserved a name which is derived from the Sanskrit chaturanga, though a popular etymology has done its best to disguise the word. Aymonier, in his Dictionnaire khmêr, p. 181, s.v. trang, has chhôeu trāng²⁰ (for chadorang) chess; where chhôeu is the native word for wood, and the perversion of the word is undoubtedly due to the attempt to explain the chess as wooden something, an attempt suggested by the wooden pieces for play. Aymonier gives also léng chhôeu trang = to play chess; kedā (= board) chhôeu trang = chessboard; kāun (= son) chhôeu trang = chessman.²¹

Moura, in his Royaume du Cāmlodge (i. 391), says of Cambodia:

Almost all classes play chess. As is to be seen, this game is one which is spread over the whole world; it is well known in Europe, and is played in India, Tibet, Mongolia, Indo-China, Annam and China. The Cambodian board resembles ours; it is divided into 64 squares. Each player has 8 pieces, and 8 pawns. The pieces are one King (sdach), one Queen, two Knights, two Generals in the place of Castles, and lastly two Boats instead of two Bishops. The 8 other men are simply Pawns which the Khmer designate Fishes (trey, less commonly mîchha = Skr. matsya). The game consists in each player trying to prevent his opponent from giving him ‘check’, and it is played almost as in Europe.

It is unfortunate that Moura has given so brief and unsatisfying an account. The game is evidently closely akin to that of Siam. Presumably Moura has confused the pieces, and the Boat should replace the Rook, not the Bishop.

The pieces probably resemble the Siamese, for among a number of other stories²² we read in the Riddles of Thménh Chei how once Thménh Chei was bidden by his royal master to follow him into a certain forest with a horse, and not being able to find one in the flesh, he appeared with a Horse from the chessboard in his hand, a misinterpretation of the king’s command such as might have been anticipated from the famous jester of Indo-China.