The attacking infantry advances steadily,?their elephants already having? broken the defensive line.

The king tries to retreat, but enemy?cavalry flanks him from the rear. Escape is impossible.

But this isn’t a real war nor is it just a game.

infantry n.? 步兵；步兵團

cavalry?n.? 騎兵；裝甲兵；裝甲部隊

flank?n.? 脅腹；（軍隊或球隊的）翼側(cè)，側(cè)面；（大型物體的）一側(cè)，一邊

? ? ? ? ?v.??側(cè)面有；位于……的兩側(cè)；側(cè)攻

Over the roughly one-and-a-half millennia? of its existence,?chess has been known as a tool? of military strategy, a metaphor for human affairs,? and a benchmark of genius.

While our earliest records of chess? are in the 7th century, legend tells that the game’s origins? lie a century earlier.?

military??adj.? 軍事的，軍隊的；陸軍的；軍人般的，軍人作風(fēng)的

? ? ? ? ? ? ? n.? ?軍人，軍方

metaphor??n.? 隱喻，暗喻；象征，標志

benchmark??n.??基準；

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? v.（根據(jù)某種標準）評估，衡量

Supposedly, when the youngest prince? of the Gupta Empire was killed in battle,?his brother devised a way of representing the scene to their grieving mother.

Set on the 8x8 ashtapada board used for other popular pastimes, a new game emerged with two key features: different rules for moving? different types of pieces, and a single king piece whose fate?determined the outcome.?

devise???v.??設(shè)計，發(fā)明

outcome?n.? 結(jié)果，效果

The game was originally? known as chaturanga?a Sanskrit word for "four divisions."

But with its spread to Sassanid Persia,?it acquired its current name? and terminology "chess," derived from "shah," meaning? king, and “checkmate” from "shah mat," or “the king is helpless.”?

After the 7th century Islamic conquest? of Persia,?chess was introduced to the Arab world.

Transcending its role as a? tactical simulation,?it eventually became a rich source? of poetic imagery.

Diplomats and courtiers used chess terms? to describe political power. Ruling caliphs became avid? players themselves.?

terminology??n.（某學(xué)科的）術(shù)語；專門用語；

transcending??v.??超出，超越；勝過（某人），超過（某項成就）

tactical??adj.??戰(zhàn)術(shù)的；策略的；善于策略的

imagery??n.??意象，比喻

Diplomat??n.?外交官，外交家

caliph??n.??哈里發(fā)（伊斯蘭教主）

avid??adj.??熱心的，熱衷的；渴望的，渴求的；狂熱的

And historian al-Mas’udi considered the? game a testament to human free will?compared to games of chance.

Medieval trade along the Silk Road carried the game to East and Southeast Asia, where many local variants developed.

In China, chess pieces were placed at? intersections of board squares rather than inside them, as in the native? strategy game Go.?

The reign of Mongol leader Tamerlane saw? an 11x10 board with safe squares called citadels.

And in Japanese shogi, captured pieces? could be used by the opposing player.

But it was in Europe that chess began to? take on its modern form.?

?testament??n.??證明，證據(jù)；遺囑，遺言

Medieval??adj.??中世紀的

variant??n.?變種，變形；

citadel??n.??城堡；大本營；

By 1000 AD, the game had become part? of courtly education.

Chess was used as an allegory for different social classes performing? their proper roles, and the pieces were reinterpreted? in their new context.

At the same time, the Church remained? suspicious of games. Moralists cautioned against devoting? too much time to them,? with chess even being briefly? banned in France.?

Yet the game proliferated, and the 15th century saw it cohering into the form we know today.

The relatively weak piece of advisor was? recast as the more powerful queen perhaps inspired by the recent surge? of strong female leaders.

This change accelerated the game’s pace, and as other rules were popularized, treatises analyzing common openings? and endgames appeared.?

Chess theory was born.?

courtly??adj.?尊嚴而有禮貌的；奉承的；有宮廷氣派的，威嚴的

allegory? n.寓言

proliferate??v.<正式>（在數(shù)或量上）激增，猛增

cohere?vi.??凝聚；連貫；粘著；一致

recast??vt.??重鑄；徹底改動 ;??n.重鑄；重做的事物

surge?n.??激增，猛增；v.??急劇上升，激增；

?treatise??n.論述；論文；專著

With the Enlightenment era, the game? moved from royal courts to coffeehouses.

Chess was now seen as an expression? of creativity, encouraging bold moves and dramatic plays.

This "Romantic" style reached its peak? in the Immortal Game of 1851 , where Adolf Anderssen managed a checkmate after sacrificing his queen? and both rooks.

But the emergence of formal competitive? play in the late 19th century meant that strategic calculation would? eventually trump dramatic flair.?

Enlightenment? ?n. 啟蒙運動；啟迪，指導(dǎo)，教導(dǎo)

bold??adj.大膽自信的，敢于冒險的；冒失的，魯莽的；粗體的，黑體的；n.黑體，粗體

And with the rise of international? competition,?chess took on a new? geopolitical importance.

During the Cold War,?the Soviet Union devoted great resources to cultivating chess talent, dominating the championships for the rest? of the century.

But the player who would truly upset? Russian dominance was not a citizen of another country but an IBM computer called Deep Blue.

Chess-playing computers had been? developed for decades,?but Deep Blue’s triumph? over Garry Kasparov in 1997 was the first time a machine? had defeated a sitting champion.

Today, chess software is capable of? consistently defeating the best human players.

But just like the game they’ve mastered,?these machines are products? of human ingenuity.

And perhaps that same ingenuity will guide us out of this apparent checkmate.?

sitting adj.? 現(xiàn)任的，當代的

consistently??adv.??一貫地，始終；一致地