Valencia, Cradle of Modern Chess
The last two articles, sent to us by José A. Garzón, are more of a summary of his research.
Once again, I would like to thank him for these various contributions.
A Historical Journey through the Earliest Books and Manuscripts
by José A. Garzón
In this 2021 article published in eHumanista, historian José A. Garzón reflects on more than two decades of research devoted to a fundamental question:
Where and when was modern chess born?
Through a meticulous study of fifteenth- and early-sixteenth-century manuscripts and printed books, Garzón demonstrates that Valencia, on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, was the true birthplace of the modern game.
From Shatranj to the Chessboard of Europe
Garzón traces the evolution of chess from its Indian ancestor, chaturanga, to its Arabic form, shatranj, which reached medieval Europe through Muslim Spain.
For centuries, the rules barely changed: pieces moved slowly, and the alferza — the forerunner of today’s queen — could advance only one square diagonally. The game mirrored the static hierarchy of the feudal world.
The Valencian Revolution (1474–1495)
Everything changed in late-fifteenth-century Valencia. Around 1475, three humanist poets — Bernat Fenollar, Narcís Vinyoles, and Françí de Castellví — composed Scachs d’amor (“Chess of Love”).
This allegorical poem depicts the first known game using the modern rules: the Queen and the Bishop gain their current powers, pawns may advance two squares, and the game becomes faster, more tactical, and more dramatic.
In a stunning poetic metaphor, Castellví (Mars) defeats Vinyoles (Venus) under the arbitration of Fenollar (Mercury). The Queen — symbol of both divine femininity and royal authority — delivers the final checkmate.
Garzón interprets this poem as nothing less than the birth certificate of modern chess.
Francesch Vicent and the Printed Revolution
Twenty years later, in 1495, Francesch Vicent — a scholar from Segorbe living in Valencia — published the Llibre dels jochs partits dels scachs en nombre de 100, the first printed treatise on modern chess.
Although no copy survives, Garzón reconstructed its contents from a manuscript discovered in Cesena (Italy), which contains 100 modern problems written in Valencian.
Vicent’s treatise became the model for later authors such as Lucena (Salamanca, 1497) and Damiano (Rome, 1512), spreading the Valencian “game of the Queen” throughout Europe.
Manuscripts That Changed the Game
Garzón’s study examines a network of key documents that trace this transformation:
- the Scachs d’amor poem — the poetic origin of the modern rules;
- Vicent’s lost Llibre dels jochs partits (1495);
- the Cesena and Perugia manuscripts that preserve its content;
- and the Damiano (1512), which he interprets as a Roman adaptation of Vicent’s original work.
Together, these sources outline a clear chain of transmission from Valencia to Italy, from poetry to print.
The Chessboard of the Renaissance
Beyond the historical evidence, Garzón shows how this transformation mirrored a broader cultural shift.
The slow, contemplative “feudal” game gave way to a dynamic, creative, humanist chess — a perfect symbol of the Renaissance spirit.
The rise of the Queen on the board paralleled the rise of powerful women in politics and art, from Queen Isabella of Castile to Lucrezia Borgia.
A Legacy That Endures
Garzón’s conclusion is both scholarly and poetic:
Fenollar, Vinyoles, and Castellví created the new game in Valencia (1475).
→ Vicent codified and printed it (1495).
→ Lucena and Damiano carried it across Europe (1497–1512).
Five centuries later, every Queen’s move on the chessboard still carries the echo of that Valencian Renaissance, when poetry, printing, and humanism transformed an ancient oriental pastime into the modern game of chess.
Reference:
Garzón, José A. “Literatura y ajedrez en la Europa de los siglos XV y XVI: el origen valenciano del ajedrez moderno”. En eHumanista 47, 2021, pp., 197-218. Journal of Iberian Studies. University of California, Santa Barbara.