al-Adli

Al-Adli (* around 800; † around 870) lived in Arabia and was probably the strongest chess player of his time. He was nicknamed ar-Rumi.

When the Arabs conquered Persia in the middle of the 7th century , they also got to know the Chatrang , the Persian chess game. Arab authors showed a passionate interest in this game and wrote the first books on the theory of chess and its points of contact with mathematics .

At the same time, the Arabs tried their hand at a practical game, which was played according to different rules. For example, there was no castling or queen , and the king's battle value was much higher. The first professional chess players appeared with the training of the opening apprenticeship. According to their skill level, they were divided into several categories. One of them was al-Adli. He was a "player of the highest category" and in 842 he was the only player in this class. But in 847 he lost a match against ar-Razi at Kalif al-Mutawakkil , which replaced him in the role of the strongest player.

His lost book Kitab asch-Schatrandsch , which dates to the year 842, has been quoted frequently by other Arab Schatrandsch authors. It contained information on the history of Shatrandsch, openings ( tabijen ), endgames and hundreds of mansubs .

composition

From the field of chess mathematics , a jumper hike has been preserved.

Web links

• Bill Wall: al-Adli (English)