by James Hickman
Schiff Sovereign
Over fifteen centuries ago, according to an ancient Sanskrit legend, a mythical Hindu priest named Sissa was ordered to invent a new board game to entertain the king of Taligana.
Sissa labored over the task for quite some time, but he eventually brought the King a military strategy game with a 64-square board and beautifully hand-carved pieces. Today we call this game chess. And according to the legend, the King was absolutely enamored with it.
So enamored, in fact, the King offered Sissa any reward he desired. So, the priest asked for a single grain of wheat to be placed on the first square of the chess board. Then two grains on the second square. Four grains on the third. Eight grains on the fourth. And so on.