Chess - Many countries lay claim to the invention of chess. It is presently thought that the game originated in India,[3] since the Arabic, Persian, Greek, Portuguese and Spanish words for chess are all derived from the ancient Indian chaturanga. In addition, only India had in its cavalry all three animals — horse, camel and elephant — represented by the knight, bishop and rook. The present version of chess stems from a form of chaturanga played in India around the 6th century. The first reference in literature to a game called chatrang is from Persia around 600, where the name became shatranj.