Who invented the game “Magic Screen” - an excursion into history. History of chess - who invented it and how chess originated The origin of the game in Europe

That year was the anniversary of computer games. After all, 70 years ago the first electronic game appeared, which subsequently gave birth to an entire gaming industry. So let's remember how it all began!

First step

How were the first electronic games created, which became the forerunners of computer entertainment? There is a very widespread belief that such games appeared thanks to the advent of the first console, created by Ralph Baer. Others remember the famous EDSAC computer, where in 1956 the then-famous game OXO, also known as Noughts And Crosses, was created for it, which was ordinary tic-tac-toe transferred to the screen of this device.

However, the first electronic entertainment appeared in 1947. We are talking about the game “Rocket Simulator”, which appeared on the basis of a cathode ray tube. The appearance of this device was strongly associated with the recent world war. It should be noted that the emergence of new computer technology was closely related to the rapid development of military technologies. Many people who were at the origins of the video game industry worked for the military industry of the USA or Great Britain.

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Diagram of the "Rocket Simulator" device

The creator of Rocket Simulator, Thomas Goldsmith, was no exception. The fact is that he developed his project for the company DuMont Laboratories, which produced various military products during the war, and was also involved in various army innovations, but the war ended, and the demand for the company’s products began to fall. Therefore, most likely, it was decided to start creating new products.

It is not surprising that Thomas Goldsmith, who had a very respectable track record, was brought in to create this device. He was an enthusiast of radio engineering, and also had a decent education, which he received at the prestigious Furman Institute, where the future creator of the game studied physics and other sciences. In addition, Goldsmith had a lot of experience. However, we immediately note that he created the simulator together with his colleague Estelle Ray Mann.

Thomas T. Goldsmith

According to various sources, work on the project began either in 1945 or 1946, but already in 1947 scientists submitted their patent, which detailed the operation of this device. The rocket simulator was only a prototype and it was never brought to full fruition and, by the way, the device itself was created exclusively for a limited circle of people. Mass production of such a device was not planned. Still, it was quite bulky and inconvenient.

As mentioned above, the game was run on a cathode ray tube, which was connected to an oscilloscope, which was used as a screen. The gameplay was simple, the player was asked to control a rocket and shoot down various targets. Controlling the game was not the most convenient, because there were no joysticks or keyboards back then. Special screen applications were made for the game to control the rocket. As a result, the device resembled a military radar. And the gameplay itself evoked strong associations with the past war. Thus, we can say that the first game genre was a simulator made in the atmosphere of World War II.

This was the first electronic game, which became the forerunner of computer entertainment. Unfortunately, “Rocket Simulator” never became a game for the masses, although later ports of this game appeared for various computer systems.

Computer “Bertie the Brain”

Bertie the Brain

A little later, in 1950, a rather interesting device appeared in Canada, which in English-language sources is called “Bertie the Brain”. The most interesting thing is that this device was created solely in order to implement the game “tic-tac-toe” on it. This was a very unusual decision, especially considering the size of this computer; the height of the device reached 4 meters. And that's not to mention his weight. Bertie the Brain, unlike other similar computers, had a specially created keyboard and display on which the game took place. It was also here that the game difficulty setting appeared, which was set manually.

“Bertie the Brain” was created by Joseph Cates, who lived a very long and turbulent life. He was born in 1921 in Austria, when that country was occupied by Germany, he was forced to flee to Canada because of his Jewish origin. Despite the difficulties of emigration, Cates managed to get a very good education in Canada. He graduated from the University of Toronto with degrees in mathematics and physics. The Vacuum Tube Company, which was involved in the development of both radars and radio tubes, played a big role in his life. Thanks to his talents, Cates was able to later take part in the creation of the first Canadian computer, UTEC.

Joseph Cates

Unfortunately, “Bertie the Brain” lived a very short life. It was presented at a national exhibition in Canada, where it was a popular attraction with the local public, but soon after the end of the exhibition the computer was disassembled and its existence was simply forgotten. However, its creator, Joseph Keist, despite his venerable age (96 years!) is still alive and recently gave a very interesting interview about the fate of his brainchild.

A year later, another interesting specimen called Nimrod appeared in the UK. This tube computer was specially designed for playing Nim. It was created on the basis of the Ferranti Mark I computer and was created as a means to popularize computer hardware and computing technology. Australian engineer John Bennett, who participated in the creation of the first computers: EDSAC, Ferranti Mark 1 and SILLIAC, took part in its development.

Computer Nimrod

Also at the exhibition, booklets were distributed, where they talked in detail about Nimrod and its capabilities. Like all devices of this kind, the computer was very bulky. However, it caused a great stir among the public. Nimrod became best known after its exhibition in Germany, when Nimrod was played by the future Chancellor Ludwig Erhard.

Despite the fact that the machine was created as a teaching device, visitors to the exhibition were not particularly interested in technical details or computer science, but they were attracted by the opportunity to play a game with the computer. Moreover, Nimrod did not have a display or its equivalent. His role was played by flashing lamps that imitated sticks from the game Nim. The computer had another funny property: it could play against itself.

Ludwig Erhard plays with Nimrod

However, the real breakthrough came in 1952, when a game called OXO was released, which was a computer version of the famous tic-tac-toe game. Most researchers believe that “OXO” can be called a full-fledged computer game. This statement is due to the fact that “OXO” was released on the EDSAC computer, which was a fairly advanced device at that time. The computer had simple computing programs at its disposal. It also created the ability to write programs in a symbolic language.

By the way, the creation of EDSAC was supervised by the British Ministry of Defense, which allocated the necessary funds for the development of this computer. In addition, Britain sought to create competitive products and therefore considered the United States as its main rival in this area, although it should be noted that EDSAC had much in common with the similar American EDVAC project, from which British scientists borrowed the architecture.

EDSAC computer. It was on it that the first computer game was released.

In the early 50s, British scientist Sandy Douglas became acquainted with EDSAC while studying at Cambridge University. Given the parameters of this computer, Douglas decided to write his scientific dissertation on the topic of human-machine interaction. As a result of this, the first computer game “OXO” appeared.

Despite the more advanced equipment, the game itself was, of course, primitive, and the equipment for it was also bulky. In addition to the EDSAC computer itself, which occupied an area of 20 square meters, the game itself required a CRT (cathode ray tube) and a rotary dialer. The last element was needed to control the game by inserting a cross or a zero. Like the Rocket Simulator, the game did not receive any distribution, since it was on a single copy of EDSAC and was used as a local curiosity.

Several other very significant games were released in the 1950s and 60s, but we will talk about them in the next article.

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One of the most ancient and fascinating games is chess. It is known in every corner of the globe, so there are dozens of its variations in the world. This is not just a game, because chess has long been a sport and an art. Chess markings are used in almost all areas of life, and the game algorithm is used for scientific purposes. But where is its homeland and who invented it? There is still no clear and plausible opinion. Scientists argue, putting forward their versions.

Controversial version

Some publications confidently state that chess appeared in India sometime in the 6th century AD. e. You could read about this at the beginning of the 20th century in Harold Murray’s book “The History of Chess.” Yes, they invented the game there and at that time, but they invented it much earlier. Scientists have seriously taken up the study of this topic and have found many different versions, which are sometimes surprising with facts.

If we consider India as the ancestor of chess, it is worth remembering the famous legend about the Raja and the Brahmin. After numerous campaigns, victories and defeats, the ruler was tired and sad. Raja ordered his advisors and sages to come up with something fun for him, for which he allocated 3 days and nights. No one could satisfy him and interest him, except for a modest peasant who brought a board with squares and wooden figures. When the Raja learned the conditions of the game, his joy knew no bounds.

This was what they had been trying to find for so long. In return, the peasant demanded a modest reward - a few grains of wheat. But he set a condition: the quantity should increase with each cell of the board (1 cell - 1 grain, 2 cells - 2, 3 cells - 2 2, 4 cells - 2 3, ..., 64 cells - 2 64). The Raja first ridiculed the stupid Brahmin, but only then did he realize his mistake. There is no such amount of grain on the entire planet, because after calculations the final amount is 1.8 * 10 19. This board was the battlefield of modern chess, which translated from Persian means “death of the king.”

There is another option - a Korean legend. Once upon a time, 4500 years ago, the prototype of modern chess was the game that was invented by the formidable king of Mesopotamia Ravan for his beloved wife Mandodari. He had to be absent for a long time due to numerous trips, so his wife was often sad. Chess interested all the residents of the palace so much that it spread throughout the world (India, China, Korea).

It’s curious, but there is real documentary evidence of this. At the beginning of the 20th century, von Bork proved the existence of a prototype of the game. According to his information, it appeared in 1250 BC. e. in Hindustan. It was played by representatives of the local tribe, who borrowed the ancient game from Elam (present-day southwest Iran).

Now it is impossible to establish this for sure, because at that time people could combine different games under the word chess: dice, backgammon, chaupara or pachisi. All these options have one thing in common - a square or cross-shaped board. We can only guess which of them came first.

Ancient board games

So, at that time there were 2 options for boards: with a square or a cross. The sizes also differ. In Asia the following are known:

5 by 5;
7 by 7;
9 by 9.

The rules of the game are somewhat different from the established modern ones, because back then it was possible to play not only with two people, but also with four people. In some variants the game began from the middle of the field, in others it was necessary to move from the edge (from the fortress). The movement could be spiral or in the form of a special labyrinth. The set consisted of a field (matter on which squares are drawn) and 4 shells (seeds or sticks). But the poor and ordinary passers-by were satisfied with a piece of earth on which squares were drawn with a stick.

Ashtapada is an ancient game played on a one-color board with 64 squares. She is associated with a spider that had 8 legs, because in translation “ashtapada” means 8 squares. The first mention of it appeared in the 5th century AD. e. in the northern part of India. The ancestor of modern chess retained only the rules, but the rules and movements were lost. Until now, not a single scientist has been able to solve this mystery and provide the most plausible version of the game.

If you compare the Indian prototype of the game with the Chinese one, you can see the significant simplicity of the first version. It has fewer figures, they are voluminous, not flat like the Chinese or Koreans, and also have a smaller range of moves. If the Chinese borrowed chess from the Indians, they had to work hard to complicate the rules of the game and modify the pieces.

But there are several important inconsistencies: official relations between these countries were recorded only in 150 BC. e., and nothing was found during archaeological excavations in India, while in China different prototypes of this fun are constantly being found. There is another discrepancy - there are no rules of the game or manuscripts about chess in Sanskrit, but there are many of them in Chinese.

Famous chaturanga

This is the closest option that is similar to modern chess. It began to be played in the same northern part of India, but somewhere in the 6th century. The exact rules of the game have not survived to this day, although scientists have presented the world with several of their own versions. Main similarities:

a board in the shape of a square and size 8 by 8 cells;
the figures are similar in appearance to chess pieces;
a total of 32 pieces (one half of the main ones, the other - pawns);
the king and the knight move the same way.

The difference between these games is the number of players: in chaturanga there should have been 4 of them, and each had 4 pieces (king, bishop, rook and knight). You need to play 2 on 2. The person who threw the dice started to move. But chaturanga did not have a queen at all.

I would like to consider this game a prototype of chess, but here too there are a number of inconsistencies. The name “chaturanga” itself means at least 2 completely different games at the same time. According to Sanskrit, it is a four-way game, and in Vedic texts the word described 4 different types of troops. But there was a chaturanga game for two. No one knows which version is older.

The problem is that several centuries ago many researchers misinterpreted the meaning of this word or simply did not want to get to the bottom of it. This confusion has occurred due to the impossibility of confirming the reliability of some sources, and it is also impossible to accurately determine the date of their writing. After the publication of their works, the British and French began to refer to these unclear facts.

This is how the hypothesis of the American anthropologist Stuart Kulin about the evolution of chess games appeared. He believed that historically the game developed according to this principle:

racing for two (game in a circle or maze);
racing for 4 players;
chess for 4 players;
chess for two.

It was only in 1913 that this version was completely destroyed by the Englishman Harold Murray in his work "The History of Chess". He proved that the Bhavishya Purana, which previous opponents considered to be the most ancient and true, mentions chess, but he is not that ancient. Apart from this source, there is not a single one that would confirm or mention the chess game.

Therefore, the first reliable work in which both chaturanga and shatranja are mentioned can be considered the treatise of 1030 “India or the Book containing an explanation of the teachings belonging to the Indians, acceptable or rejected by reason.” Its author is Al-Biruni, a Khorezm scientist. He personally visited northern India and noticed that 4 people play chess there at the same time, for which they have 2 sets of pieces. From there the name of the queen became known - check. The concept of checkmate did not exist, because the main task of the player was the complete destruction of his opponent’s pieces.

The Indians did not care about their future generation, so they did not write down the rules of the game for a long time, which now significantly complicates the work of researchers. But it is still safe to say that in 1130 there is the first mention of the classical chess game in the Manamollasa encyclopedia. This recording was made by King Someshvara III, who ruled India at that time (the center and south of the country). Chess is already double-sided, the pieces are placed according to the rules familiar to modern people, and they move almost the same way. The only thing is that there is no exact location of the queen and king on the board.

Further movement of the game around the world

Supporting the theory about the appearance of chess in India, we can say with confidence that from this country chaturanga came to Iran and Central Asia. But they called it there – chatrang. There is also documentary evidence of this in the ancient Persian chronicle “Chatrang-Namak”, which dates back to 750-850. BC e. In the middle of the 7th century, Iran was conquered by the Arabs, who again renamed chatrang to shatranj. It was under this name that the game penetrated into Europe.

It was the Arabs who transformed chaturanga. Main changes:

2 players;
2 sets of figures;
refusal of bones;
the order of the move;
1 king turned into a queen and moved diagonally;
victory is not the destruction of all the pieces, but checkmate (stalemate).

The further movement of the game around the world gradually changed its name. The historical change of the name of chess occurred as follows:

Arabs - shatranj;
Persians – shatrang;
Buryats – Shatar;
Mongols - hiashtar;
Tajiks - chess.

Penetration of chess to the east

China currently has its own chess system, which differs significantly from the international one. This game is called xiangqi. Instead of figures, they use wooden disks, but it is unrealistic to play them without knowing the hieroglyphs. Even after translating the pictures, experts note the discrepancy with the rules, because the magic of the game that attracts all lovers of intellectual tasks is lost.

The game also reached Korea, as there is documentary evidence dating back to the 16th century. The rules of the game are similar to modern ones, but there are similarities with Chinese xiangqi, but there are few historical records. The board is 9 by 10 squares, and in the center there is a palace, but only vertical lines are drawn. The figures are not three-dimensional, but flat with hieroglyphs. Changa has its own feature that distinguishes it from other variants of chess games - 16 ways to arrange the pieces at the beginning of the match.

Main changes:

You can now walk a shorter distance;
no castling;
the figures are arranged in points;
individual figures are endowed with a limited range of movement;
lack of capturing a piece on the pass;
the horse and bishop do not jump across fields occupied by figures;
added a figure - a cannon.

Now Changa, according to experts, is a transitional stage from Chinese Xiangqi to Japanese shogi chess. It is still not clear how the figures could become three-dimensional and the boards acquire squares. No one has yet solved this mystery.

Thai and Cambodian version

These varieties are almost identical, but there are still external differences between them. The Thai type is makruk, in Cambodia the game is called ouk-chatrang (it is ancient). The first documentary records about this game can be found in the 17th century, when the game was described by the French ambassador La Lubere.

The board in the game Makruk is familiar - 8 by 8, one-color. It no longer has the characteristic Indian ashtapada intersections. There are already 2 players playing, not 4. The main difference of the game is the use of shells instead of figures, although there are figures here, they are similar to each other.

Shogi originated from the game Xiangqi and may be related to Makruk, as there are similar features. This game is somewhat simpler than the previous ones and is more reminiscent of modern chess:

board 9 by 9 cells;
arrangement of figures in the margins;
transformation of figures upon reaching the horizontal;
On the next move, enemy prisoners can be placed anywhere on the board as your own piece;
figures are one color;
the initial arrangement and moves resemble makruk.

By bringing together all 3 games: makrug, xiangqi and shogi, it is possible to restore variants of ancient chess. They arose through exchanges between countries, since at that time Japan, the Malay Islands and India were connected by maritime trade routes.

Malaysia and Burma

The ancestor of modern chess could have been any version of the ancient game in Burma or Malaysia. In the first it is called sittuyin (war of the 4 clans), and in the second it is called main chator. In Burma, it is customary to play with red and black figures, which in appearance resemble pre-Islamic warriors.

So, the main features of Burmese chess:

The board is the same color with 8 by 8 squares, but with two diagonals of Sit-Ke-Myint or general lines.
The location of the pawns is on 3-4 ranks.
The red pieces are placed first, and only after that the black ones.
All other pieces are placed anywhere behind the pawns, except for the rook (they stand only on the first two ranks).
The black rook cannot stand opposite the red queen.
The red pieces move after the black pieces are placed.

The goal of the game is to checkmate, but stalemate was not allowed, and there was no direct check.

Malaysian chess mostly bears the names of the pieces taken from Sanskrit, except for the name pawn (derived from the Arabic “canoe”). They had one interesting feature, because the local kings of the tribes played right on the field near their houses with huge stone blocks. The duration sometimes reached a whole year.

Game characteristics:

Board without two colors, 8 by 8 cells.
Some have diagonal markings.
The figures are located in cells.
The figures are either abstract from bamboo or figurative with carvings according to the Indian tradition.
Mirror initial arrangement of figures.
A special rule for promoting a pawn to a piece.
There is a rule for taking a pawn on the pass, which was not the case in any game before it.

Chess in Rus'

The game came to us in 820. It was a variant of the Arabic shatranj called chess. For the sake of euphony, they began to be called by the word familiar to everyone - chess. It turns out that the path of movement begins in Persia, after which they penetrated the Caucasus and the Khazar Khaganate, and from there to us. If you look at the names of the figures, you will notice a striking similarity with Arabic and Persian names. Thus, the name of bishop and knight is Arabic, and queen comes from the Persian word farzin.

But international European terminology and variations of the game were brought from Poland, into which chess penetrated through Italy. Therefore, the beginning of chess in Rus' dates back to the 10th-11th centuries. At the same time, the yoke seeped into Europe, where it took on the form of modern chess. But still, for many years, each town and village had its own characteristics, rules and methods.

Church versus game

Previously, the church played a huge role in the life of every person, so they often dictated the rules of conduct and even games. Thus, the clergy condemned drunkenness, revelry and gambling. At that time, chess did not have strict rules, so it was difficult to prove that it was a logical game. But it also used dice, on which the course of the tournament depended.

Therefore, in 1061 they were banned among the clergy, and chess itself was considered something obscene and diabolical. But if you look closely at the most avid chess players, you will see many Catholics. In Rus', the ban was strict, because disobedience threatened with excommunication of any caught chess player. This was recorded in the Novgorod helmsman's book in 1280.

But despite such strict prohibitions, the game continued to seep into different segments of the population. Among the clergy there were also many apostates who gambled avidly. And only a hundred years later chess was allowed. In Europe this happened in 1392.

A special kind of “crazy” chess

This can only be said about the Swedish version of the game, which literally translates as “madhouse.” Outwardly, this is what it looks like if you don’t know its rules thoroughly. The pace of such chess is fast, and while thinking, players have every right to talk to each other.

To play Swedes you need to take 2 boards. You need to play in pairs, with 1 person handling the white pieces, and the second person handling the black pieces. There is one peculiarity: if a piece is taken, it is transferred to the board of a partner, who can calmly place it on any square whenever he wants. Partners are allowed to give each other hints and ask each other to pass a certain piece.

This game is interesting because of its fast pace and the presence of a partner who can always help. As a result, Swedish players have more developed logical thinking, because they think in a diagram both for themselves and for their partner, they have excellent combinational vision. But beating a computer is much easier than in classical chess.

The long journey of chess

The theory of the game of chess began to fully develop only in the 15th-16th centuries, when the rules were established and all countries played more or less the same. At that time, 3 main stages of the party were identified:

debut (separate part - gambit);
middlegame;
endgame.

This is described in detail in a chess textbook by Ruy Lopez in 1561. Until the 18th century, Italian masters considered a massive attack on the king by all means and the use of a pawn as an auxiliary material as the best style of this logical game. But Philidor significantly changed this idea. He pointed out the recklessness of such attacks, because you can gradually build a strong position without losses, using exchanges and simplifications.

The main idea of the game should be the correct placement of pawns, since they are an excellent defense and a way to conduct an attack. Philidor came up with a special chain of pawns that moved according to certain tactics. He even had a special pawn center. These developments became the basis for the theory of chess in the next century.

Chess as a sport

A little later, people began to unite in chess clubs, where they played for money. The popularity of chess grew so much that the first international chess tournament was held in 1575. It was held at the court of King Philip II in Madrid. True, only 4 people took part in the game (2 Italians and a Spaniard).

After this significant event, national tournaments were held in almost all European countries, and in 1836 the world saw the first magazine about chess - Polymed. Its publisher was the Frenchman Louis Charles Labourdonnais. In 1821, international matches and tournaments began to be held regularly. At the same time, the world learned the name of the strongest chess player - Adolf Andersen. Later he was ahead of the American Paul Morphy, after which Andersen regained his title.

In its modern form, the tournament was held much later. In the 19th century, a chess clock appeared, which was invented by the Englishman Thomas Bright Wilson. This gave impetus to the development of new shortened games called “quick” (30 minutes) and “blitz tournament” lasting 5-10 minutes.

People all over the world liked this game so much that many works of fiction were written about it. The chessboard inspired more than one painting.

First step

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Diagram of the "Rocket Simulator" device

Thomas T. Goldsmith

Computer “Bertie the Brain”

Bertie the Brain

Joseph Cates

Computer Nimrod

Ludwig Erhard plays with Nimrod

EDSAC computer. It was on it that the first computer game was released.

Several other very significant games were released in the 1950s and 60s, but we will talk about them in the next article.

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Educational toys and games for children are popular, but like everything else, they can go in and out of fashion.

There are quite a few classic toys of this type; the “magic screen”, which has remained popular for several decades, can be cited as a rare exception.

What is this toy and who came up with this “magic screen”.

Contents:

Appearance

Externally, the device is a small plastic box, usually bright in color.

In the classic version, it is rectangular and flat, reminiscent in size and appearance of the old ones.

Most of its front side is occupied by a screen covered with plastic or glass, on which the main actions take place.

On the front side of the case there are also two handles that can be twisted in different directions.

Again, on the standard Classic model, these are placed in the bottom two corners of the device, below the screen.

This traditional option has undergone various changes - the shape of the device, the location of the handles, the type of case, etc. have changed, but its operating principle and functionality have always remained unchanged.

Operating principle

How to use the device and what can you do on it? This device gives the child the opportunity to draw on the screen.

Control is carried out by two handles, one of them moves the cursor vertically, the other - horizontally.

As a result, dark lines appear on the silver background of the screen; you can build broken lines consisting of vertical and horizontal segments.

Thus, with a sufficient degree of mastery of the technology and habituation, it is possible to create even quite complex drawings.

There are examples where artists created entire paintings using such devices. To clear the screen of a pattern, simply shake or turn the device over.

Device

How does such a device work? The main operating mechanism is a sealed container, a box, the larger side of which is the working screen.

Inside this container is filled with very fine aluminum powder, but a metal cursor is also installed inside it, fixed and moving on static axes - vertical and horizontal.

It (the cursor) rests against the glass on the back side with its sharp part. The line is drawn as follows:

3 As a result, a dark (cleared) line appears on the screen on a light silver (aluminum) background.

After shaking the device, this metal powder is again distributed evenly, filling the cleaned areas. As a result, the drawing is erased.

Invention

The device was invented by the Frenchman Andre Cassagne in the 50s of the twentieth century, and gave it the French name “magic screen” - L'Ecran Magique.

But in France the device was almost never produced; the rights to it were quickly transferred to the Ohio Art organization, which improved it and gave it the look in which we still know it.

Name "Magic Screen" gained a foothold in Russia because it was with this name that the device began to be released in the 70s in the USSR.

It is worth noting that the technology was stolen; permission from the copyright holders and a production license were not obtained.