Chess in Middle Earth ?

[The Mouth of Sauron]

The game of chess is at least twice referred to in the Return of the King, by Gandalf and Pippin when they refer to "pawns" and "pieces on the board".
Considering that chess involved pieces known as Bishops - a title and role totally unknown in Middle Earth - did JRRT make a mistake in mentioning chess ?

[Galadriel55]

Bishops might not necessarily be called that in ME. But I think you have a good point: JRRT made an analogy of something that probably doesn't exist in his world! They only time chess is mentioned EVER is when Gandalf talks to Pippin, and then Pippin repeats it to himself. Obviously he knows what Gandalf was talking about, but I don't recall reading that one of the passions of hobbits was chess.

[Aiwendil]

My guess is that Gandalf and Pippin were referring to some Chess-like game played in Middle-earth. Remember that they were speaking Westron, not English, so 'pawn' and 'chessboard' are purportedly translations of the terms they used. Real-world chess is just one member of a large family of games - which includes not only related games such as Shogi ('Japanese chess') and Xiangqi ('Chinese chess') but also historical games such as Shatranj and Chaturanga (the ancestors of modern Chess). And further afield, there are many other families of abstract strategy games, both modern and historical - from the Germanic Tafl games to Nine Men's Morris to Go and its many variants. It would actually be surprising if Middle-earth didn't have some board-game from which an analogy could be made to warfare.

Incidentally, the bishop (along with the queen) was one of the last chess pieces to develop its modern name and rules. In Shatranj, it could only move exactly two squares diagonally, and could jump over other pieces like the knight. And it wasn't called a bishop - it was a 'fil' or 'pil', meaning 'elephant'. One can't help but imagine Hobbits playing a game with pieces called 'oliphaunts'.

[Alcuin]

Part of the “willing suspension of disbelief” is that the story as we have it comes from the Red Book of Westmarch that belonged to the descendants of Elanor, Samwise Gardner’s daughter. A copy was made (says Tolkien) for King Elessar and Queen Arwen, and since it was taken to them by Peregrin Took, it was called “the Thain’s Book”. A revised copy of this, including Bilbo’s Translations from the Elvish, was prepared by the Gondorian scribe Findegil, and survived until at least Tolkien’s day, when he translated it for us as The Lord of the Rings.

In RotK, Appendix F, part II, “On Translation”, Tolkien wrote,

In presenting the matter of the Red Book, as a history for people of today to read, the whole of the linguistic setting has been translated as far as possible into terms of our own times. Only the languages alien to the Common Speech have been left in their original form; but these appear mainly in the names of persons and places.

The Common Speech, the language of the Hobbits and their narratives, has inevitably been turned into modern English. …

Thus “pawn”.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

. Obviously he knows what Gandalf was talking about, but I don't recall reading that one of the passions of hobbits was chess.

Chess is far from a passion of mine - don't have the right sort of brain but I am aware of it, the names of the pieces a few terms such as gambit and checkmate - and maybe hobbits aren't inclined either to such strategic thinking..however I agree that it is most likely that there was a chess type game in middle earth (since there are so many "battle games" in our own and the chess terms are substituting for terms for this unknown game. This is good translation practice. It is longer than I want to think about since I studied translation technique but I remember for example if you want to translate "The quick brown fox.." into French,you don't translate literally since it makes no sense in the target language since le renard rapide isn't a pangram in French. You have to use a common French pangram such as Zoe ma grande fille veux que je boive ce whiskey dont je ne veux pas.

So Tolkien using chess analogies is explainable as part of the translation conceit.

[Puddleglum]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

You have to use a common French pangram such as Zoe ma grande fille veux que je boive ce whiskey dont je ne veux pas.

Just for giggles, what does that actually translate to in English? (obviously not a pangram after translation - just curious what it says)

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Puddleglum

Just for giggles, what does that actually translate to in English? (obviously not a pangram after translation - just curious what it says)

I think it means something like "My big girl Zoe wants me to drink this whiskey but I don't want to drink it". Now Mithalwen can come and laugh at me for my horrible (*almost unexistent*) knowledge of French.

[Mithalwen]

Not bad at all Galadriel. There are alternatives for grande fille coould be Zoe my tall/ grown-up daughter ... or possibly waitress ...

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

I agree that it is most likely that there was a chess type game in middle earth (since there are so many "battle games" in our own and the chess terms are substituting for terms for this unknown game.

I wonder what their battle-games pieces were called. Post-LOTR could have names such as Gandalf, Elessar, Denethor, Faramir, etc. And on the other side there woud be Witch-king, Gothmog, orcs, Mumakil, etc



Imagine this: hey, your orc ate my Gandalf! UNCANONICAL!

[Elemmakil]

Pity someone didn't bring this up whilst the good Professor was still alive - knowing him, he would have come up with details on ALL the pieces!

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Elemmakil

Pity someone didn't bring this up whilst the good Professor was still alive - knowing him, he would have come up with details on ALL the pieces!

I second that. Oh, and there would also be a History of Chess in M-E series.

[Rumil]

As Aiwendil says,

I'd guess that this refers to some 'chess-like' game. Indeed the Prof's beloved Anglo-Saxons, the Norse and Celtic nations all apparently played some variant of the 'Tafl' game.

Interesting wiki page here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafl_games

For Pratchett-readers, the game Thud was inspired by these.

No idea if the hobbits ever played 'Cripple Mr. Onion' or sang a song about what's on the end of a wizard's staff though!

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Rumil

As Aiwendil says,

I'd guess that this refers to some 'chess-like' game. Indeed the Prof's beloved Anglo-Saxons, the Norse and Celtic nations all apparently played some variant of the 'Tafl' game.

Interesting wiki page here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafl_games

Great article! I see hobbits playing "escape the Nazgul" with this sort of game!

[Aiwendil]

There's also a good tafl site here, with an applet to play various versions.