Al-Suli: The chess master in the Islamic Golden Age

Many non-chess players have heard of the great names in chess history: José Raúl Capablanca, Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov and Magnus Carlsen. But have you ever heard the name al-Suli (أبو بكر الصُّولي)?

Some consider him to be the first chess champion in history. So who was this guy?

Al-Suli (الصولي) was born in 880 in Gorgan (گرگان), today’s Iran, and died in 946 in Basra (البصرة) in Iraq. Al-Suli is recognized as one of the best players of Shatranj (شطرنج), the ancient form of modern chess (الشطرنج الحديث).

In Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, al-Suli received a large monument to honor his great achievements.

In this article, we explore the famous chess (الشطرنج) player al-Suli (الصولي) and how common modern chess terms are expressed in Arabic.

What we know about al-Suli

Abu Bakr al-Suli Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Abdullah (أبو بكر الصُّولي محمد بن يحيى بن عبد الله) was a notable scholar of the 10th century during the Abbasid Caliphate (العباسيون), which ruled from 750 to 1258 A.D. They gained power by overthrowing the Umayyad Caliphate (الأمويون) and made Baghdad their capital. Their rule ended when the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258.

Al-Suli’s name comes from his grandfather Sul (صول), who ruled in Gorgan, a city in northeastern Iran formerly called Astarabad.

I got most of the information about al-Suli from the book The Fihrist (كتاب الفهرست) by Ibn al-Nadim (ابن النديم).

From there I learned that al-Suli was knowledgeable in literature, history, and poetry and served as a court companion to three Abbasid caliphs: al-Radi (الراضي), al-Muktafi (المكتفي), and al-Muqtadir (المقتدر). He was one of the finest chess players of his time and earned the nickname the chess player (الشِّطْرَنْجِيّ).

During al-Suli’s time, the Islamic world was growing intellectually and culturally. The Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad was a hub of learning. The caliphs supported the arts and sciences, including chess. Al-Suli had the chance to play against important figures of his era, including the caliphs, demonstrating his great skill and intelligence.

After Caliph al-Radi died in 940, al-Suli lost favor with the new ruler because of his Shia beliefs, which led to a public outrage when he quoted Ali ibn Abi Talib (علي بن أبي طالب). Both the elite and the public wanted him dead. Al-Suli died in 947 (336 AH) while hiding in Basra.

Al-Suli’s contributions to chess (Shatranj)

Al-Suli is one of the greatest Arab chess players of all-time. People say “He plays like al-Suli” (يلعب مثل الصولي) to describe someone who plays well.

Al-Suli became famous for his chess skills between 902 and 908 when he defeated the established player al-Mawardi (الماوردي) in a match attended by Caliph al-Muktafi (المكتفي). Although the Caliph favored al-Mawardi, al-Suli’s remarkable skills led to a clear victory that impressed the caliph.

An unconfirmed story claims that the caliph told al-Mawardi, who had fallen out of favor, “Your rose water has become urine” (صار ماء وردك بولًا) to show his disappointment.

Also the Caliph al-Radi admired his style. One day, in a beautiful garden, the Caliph asked if his companions had seen anything prettier. They praised the garden, but he replied that al-Suli’s chess playing is better than anything they mentioned.

Documentary evidence of his chess life is limited, but some of his endgames and studies (مَنْصُوبات) survive, and his retreat skills were recognized by his peers. Al-Suli taught chess, notably to al-Lajlaj (اللجلاج). He wrote The Book of Chess (كتاب الشطرنج), the first scientific text on endgames and strategy (دراسة نهاية اللعب والاستراتيجيا, discussing famous openings, common middle game problems, and endgames, including the knight problem (وصف لمسألة الحصان). Many European authors later referred to al-Suli’s work in their writings.

Al-Suli’s story is an intriguing glimpse into the history of chess and the contributions of the Arab-Islamic civilization. His skill in Shatranj and impact on chess literature have greatly shaped the game’s development.

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Al-Suli’s jewel

Al-Suli was not only a master player but also a composer of chess problems and studies, known in Arabic as مَنْصُوباتٌ. Al-Suli wrote about a problem that he called Al-Suli’s Jewel (جوهرة الصولي) which remained unsolved for a thousand years.

The rules of Shatranj are a bit different from modern chess.

• The queen in Shatranj is a weak piece, moving only one square diagonally.
• It is possible to win in Shatranj by capturing all pieces except the king, unless the opponent can do the same next move.

Al-Suli is attributed to have said the following about the puzzle: “This ancient position is so difficult that there is no one in the world who would be able to solve it, except those I have taught to do so. I doubt whether anyone did this before me.”

It was finally solved by Russian chess Grandmaster Yuri Averbakh in the 1980s. The solution, starting with 1. Kb4, is given on many websites (for example here).

From Shatranj to modern chess

Chess has a history of nearly 1,500 years, starting from chaturanga (चतुरंग) in India. It later evolved into shatranj (شطرنج) in Persia, where the shapes and rules changed.

After the Arab conquest of Persia in the 7th century, chess spread to the Muslim world and eventually to Europe through Spain and Italy in the 9th or 10th century, with other routes through Constantinople and Russia.

In medieval Europe, chess was played in monasteries and at noble courts, evolving into its current form by around 1500 CE. The Arabs played a key role in spreading and refining the game’s rules and strategies.

The sudden emergence of specialized chess literature during the Abbasid period and the game’s popularity suggests it was embraced earlier, even if the Persian connections of the dynasty played a small role.

The word Shatranj

Most scholars say that the word Shatranj (شطرنج) is derived from Sanskrit “catur aṅga” (चतुरंग), which means having four ranks. This term was used to describe the Indian army, which was composed of four elements: infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants.

Arab philologists give two versions for the Arabized imported word شطرنج: Shitranj (شِطْرَنْجٌ) and Shatranj (شَطْرَنْجٌ).

Most scholars of Classical Arabic favored the variation with “i” (شِطْرَنْجٌ) as this is more in line with the structure of Arabic words, although today, especially in colloquial Arabic, you will most probably hear the variation with “a”.

The term شطرنج continued to be used in the Iberian Peninsula as ajedrez in Spanish, which is still the word for chess in Spanish.

Transformation to modern chess

By the 12th century, new rules were introduced, such as the ability to move a pawn two squares on its first move, which accelerated the development of modern chess. The transformation also included changes in the movement of pieces, making the game more dynamic and strategic.

It is astonishing to see the level of chess problems and analysis back then. In any case, Muslim scholars played a major role in bringing the game of chess to Europe and, indeed, around the world.

Chess terms in Arabic

In Arabic, most of the terminology of modern chess is derived directly from Shatranj and is still used today.

Let’s see how it sounds when Arabs comment on chess games. It is a mixture of Arabic and English terms.

You may be wondering what beeda’ means in the video. It is the Egyptian pronunciation of the Arabic word for pawn.

Here is a vocabulary list of the Arabic names of all chess pieces:

The world of chess has unique terms, many of which come from other languages. For instance, we use Zugzwang, Zeitnot, and Zwischenschach from German, and en passant from French.

Let’s briefly explore some key chess terms in Arabic. Here is a vocabulary list:

It’s great to see that chess has enjoyed great popularity in Islamic countries for some years now. After the fall of the Abbasid Empire, this was no longer the case for a long time, and some hardliners even wanted to demonize chess as forbidden in Islam (حَرام). Today there are extremely strong young players in Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Note: The feature image of al-Suli in this article is AI-generated, based on the monument in Ashgabat. © Gerald Drißner