Chess Was Invented in India, Not Europe

Chess originated in India around the 6th century AD as "chaturanga" — a game representing the four divisions of the Indian military: infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots. It spread to Persia, then to the Arab world after the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century, and eventually reached Europe via Moorish Spain and the Byzantine Empire. The modern rules took shape in 15th-century Europe.

Source: A History of Chess — H.J.R. Murray