{"id":6206,"date":"2016-12-26T18:30:02","date_gmt":"2016-12-26T23:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fertur-travel.com\/blog\/?p=6206"},"modified":"2021-12-30T20:26:53","modified_gmt":"2021-12-31T01:26:53","slug":"the-chequered-origins-of-chess-in-peru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fertur-travel.com\/blog\/2016\/the-chequered-origins-of-chess-in-peru\/6206\/","title":{"rendered":"The chequered origins of chess in Peru: the Inca emperor turned pawn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The first native South American to learn and master the game of chess was the Inca Atahualpa \u2014 taught by his Spanish executioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you’ll recall, after being taken hostage in one of history’s most brazen ambushes, the Inca ruler offered his kidnappers “a room filled with gold as high as their arms could reach” in exchange for his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the months, as tons of the precious metal was ripped from temple walls and shrines across the four corners of the empire and melted down, Atahualpa was allowed to reestablish his court in prison, as long as he ordered his people to accept Spanish rule. Once the treasure was delivered, he was garroted to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atahualpa’s match of wits over the chess board with his Spanish captors was poignantly portrayed as fable in the 2005 short film “Atahualpa<\/a>,” directed by Jimmy Entraig\u00bces and Ivan Garcia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most famous account of Atahualpa’s education of the game comes from Ricardo Palma (1833-1919), the 19th century Peruvian author and scholar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palma took advantage of his position as director of  Peru’s National Library to develop a literary genre known as “tradiciones,” short stories mixing history, fiction and hearsay to chronicle life in Peru across several centuries:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Might Also Like: Family vacations in Peru 11 days 10 Nights<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Inca Chess Master<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Ricardo
EL INCA AJEDRECISTA Se sabe, por tradici\u00f3n, que los capitanes Hern\u00e1ndez de Soto, Juan de Rada, Francisco de Ch\u00e1vez, Blas de Atienza y el tesorero Riquelme se congregaban todas las tardes, en Cajamarca, en el departamento que sirvi\u00f3 de prisi\u00f3n al Inca Atahualpa desde el 15 de Noviembre de 1532, en que efectu\u00f3 la captura del monarca, hasta la antev\u00adspera de su injustificable sacrificio el 29 de agosto de 1533. All\u00ad, para los cinco nombrados y tres o cuatro m\u00e1s que no se mencionan en sucintos y curiosos apuntes (que a la vista tuvimos, consignados en rancio manuscrito que existi\u00f3 en la antigua Biblioteca nacional), funcionaban dos tableros, toscamente pintados, sobre la respectiva mesita de madera. Las pieza eran hecha del mismo barro que empleaban los ind\u00adgenas para la fabricaci\u00f3n de idolillos y dem\u00e1s objetos de alfarer\u00ada aborigen, que hoga\u00f1o se extraen de la huacas. Hasta los primeros a\u00f1os de la republica no se conocieron en el Per\u00fa otras piezas que las de marfil, que remet\u00adan para la venta los comerciantes filipinos. Honda preocupaci\u00f3n abrumar\u00ada el esp\u00adritu del Inca en los dos o tres primeros meses de su cautiverio, pues aunque todas las tardes tomaba asiento junto a Hernando de Soto, su amigo y amparador, no daba se\u00f1ales de haberse dado cuenta de la manera como actuaban las pieza ni de los lances y accidentes del juego. Pero una tarde, en las jugadas finales de una partida empa\u00f1ada entre Soto y Riquelme, hizo el adem\u00e1n Hernando de Soto de movilizar el caballo, y el Inca, toc\u00e1ndole ligeramente en el brazo, le dijo en voz baja: – No capit\u00e1n, no\u201d\u00a6 \u00a1El castillo\u00a1 La sorpresa fue general, Hernando, despu\u00e9s de breves segundos de meditaci\u00f3n, puso en juego la torre, como le aconsejara Atahualpa, y pocas jugadas despu\u00e9s sufr\u00ada Riquelme inevitable mate. Despu\u00e9s de aquella tarde, y cedi\u00e9ndole siempre las pieza blancas, y al cabo de un par de meses el disc\u00adpulo era ya digno del maestro jugaba de igual a igual. Se comentaba en los apuntes a que me he referido que los otros ajedrecistas espa\u00f1oles, con excepci\u00f3n de Riquelme invitaron al Inca; pero este se excuso siempre de aceptar, dici\u00e9ndoles por medio del int\u00e9rprete Filipillo: -\u00a1Yo juego muy poquito y vuestra merced juega mucho\u00a1 La tradici\u00f3n popular asegura que el Inca no habr\u00ada sido condenado a muerte si hubiera permanecido ignorante en el ajedrez. Dice el pueblo que Atahualpa pago con su vida el mate que por su consejo de veinticuatro jueces, consejo convocado por Pizarro, se impuso a Atahualpa la pena de muerte por trece cotos contra once. Riquelme fue de los trece que suscribieron la sentencia. Ricardo Palma (Tradiciones Peruanas)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tradition has it that the captains Hernando de Soto, Juan de Rada, Francisco de Chavez, Blas de Atienza, and the treasurer Riquelme gathered every afternoon in Cajamarca <\/a>in the room that served as a prison for the Inca Atahualpa from November 15, 1532, when the emperor was captured, until two days before his unjustifiable execution on August 29, 1533.<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the room, the five men named and three or four others not mentioned in succinct and curious notes (that we had at hand, set down in an old manuscript preserved in the former National Library) had the use of two crudely painted chess boards, set on a wooden chess table.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pieces were made of the same clay that the natives used for fashioning little idols and other objects of native pottery, which nowadays are dug up in huacas. Until the first years of the Republic the only pieces known in Peru were those made of ivory, sent by Philippine tradesmen for sale here.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
“During the many months of Atahualpa’s captivity, a number of the Spaniards grew fond of the native emperor, especially Hernando de Soto and Hernando Pizarro.
The two Spanish captains even taught the Inca emperor how to play chess and spent hours with him enjoying a game originally invented in India. Atahualpa soon became proficient and gave chess the name of taptana, or ‘surprise attack,’ thoroughly enjoying the game’s obvious parallels with military strategy.” <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The mind of the Inca must have been deeply preoccupied during the first two or three months of his captivity, for even though he seated himself every afternoon alongside Hernando de Soto, his friend and protector, he gave no sign of having realized how the pieces moved or how fortunes changed during a game.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one afternoon, in the final moves of a match between Soto and Riquelme, Hernando made a move toward putting the knight into play, and the Inca, touching him lightly on the arm, said to him in a low voice:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No, captain, no… the rook!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone was surprised. After a few brief seconds of reflection, Hernando played the castle, as Atahualpa had advised him, and a few moves later, Riquelme experienced the inevitable checkmate.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that afternoon, and always giving him the white pieces to play as a sign of respect and courtesy, Captain Hernando de Soto invited the Inca to play just one match with him, and after a couple of months the disciple was already a credit to his teacher,  playing as his equal.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The notes that I have mentioned tell how the other Spanish chess players, with the exception of Riquelme, also invited the Inca to play, but he always excused himself for not accepting, telling each of them through the interpreter Felipillo:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I play very little, and Your Grace plays a great deal!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"inca
Author Kim Macquarrie writes that Inca Atahualpa gave chess the Quechua name taptana, or “surprise attack,” because of the game’s obvious parallels with military strategy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Popular tradition assures us that the Inca would not have been condemned to death had he remained untutored in chess. The people say that Atahualpa paid with his life for the checkmate that Riquelme suffered because of his advice on that memorable afternoon. In the famous council of 24 judges called together by Pizarro, Atahualpa was sentenced to the death penalty by 13 votes for and 2 against. Riquelme was one of the 13 who signed the death sentence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first native South American to learn and master the game of chess was the Inca Atahualpa \u2014 taught by his Spanish executioners. As you’ll recall, after being taken hostage in one of history’s most brazen ambushes, the Inca ruler offered his kidnappers “a room filled with gold as high as their arms could reach”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[504,89],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-6206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-on-peru","tag-chess-in-peru","tag-inca-history","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t