What Is the Oldest Recorded Chess Game?

The usual answer for the oldest recorded modern chess game is Scachs d'Amor, Castellvi vs Vinyoles, Valencia 1475. It is famous because it records a complete game using modern-style queen and bishop movement.

The game is usually given as Francesc de Castellvi against Narcis Vinyoles, with Bernat Fenollar connected to the poem and commentary. The names are often modernised in different spellings.

The famous oldest recorded modern chess game is dated to 1475. That places it in the early modern-rule period of chess history.

It is associated with Valencia, Spain. The game appears in the Catalan poem Scachs d'Amor, usually translated as The Chess Game of Love.

Scachs d'Amor is a late 15th-century Catalan poem built around a chess game. It is important because it preserves a complete game often treated as the oldest recorded modern chess game.

It is presented through a poem rather than a normal tournament scoresheet, so historians discuss it carefully. For practical chess-history trivia, it is still the standard answer for the oldest recorded modern game.

The game began 1.e4 d5, which is now classified as the Scandinavian Defense. That is why the Scandinavian is often mentioned in oldest-opening discussions.

The famous Scachs d'Amor game is usually given as 21 moves and ends with checkmate by White. It is short by modern standards but historically important.

White, usually identified as Francesc de Castellvi, won the Scachs d'Amor game. The game ends with a queen checkmate.

It is widely treated as an early recorded game using modern-style queen and bishop movement. Some details of late 15th-century rules can still require careful historical wording.

There are older recorded games or fragments from shatranj and related chess history, but those are not modern chess in the same rule sense. That is why the category matters.

The oldest recorded modern chess game is usually given as Scachs d'Amor, Castellvi vs Vinyoles, Valencia 1475. It is the cleanest short answer for modern chess rather than older shatranj.

Older shatranj games and positions are discussed in chess history, but they belong to a different rule set with weaker queen-like and bishop-like pieces. They should not be merged with modern chess records.

Old chess records may use shatranj or related rules, while modern chess records use the powerful queen and long-range bishop. The same word chess can hide different rule sets.

The queen matters because modern chess is defined partly by the queen's long-range power. A game using the modern queen belongs to a different category from older shatranj records.

The bishop matters because modern bishops move any distance diagonally. Older bishop-like pieces in shatranj moved differently, so bishop movement helps separate modern chess from older forms.

Not exactly. The oldest recorded game gives evidence for an old opening sequence, but oldest opening, oldest named opening and oldest recorded game are separate questions.

Yes, by modern opening classification the game begins as a Scandinavian Defense after 1.e4 d5. The historical players would not necessarily have used that modern opening name.

No, Scachs d'Amor is preserved as a poem, not as a modern tournament scoresheet. It is a recorded game in a literary source rather than an organised tournament record.

The famous game score is normally presented as a complete 21-move game. Its literary setting is part of why historians discuss it differently from later tournament scores.

It is famous more for historical importance than for elite modern accuracy. The value is that it shows early modern chess ideas and rules, not that it should be copied as a model game.

Yes, beginners can study it as chess history and as a short tactical game. It is best treated as a historical curiosity rather than a complete opening recommendation.

Scachs d'Amor uses chess as a literary and symbolic structure. The poem format is unusual compared with later game scores, but it helped preserve the game.

Scachs d'Amor is commonly translated as The Chess Game of Love. The title reflects the poem's literary framing rather than a normal tournament title.

Remember Valencia 1475, Scachs d'Amor, Castellvi vs Vinyoles, and the Scandinavian Defense. Also remember that older shatranj material is a different category.

No, chess is much older than 1475. The date matters because it is linked to an early recorded modern chess game, not the invention of chess itself.

It is close to the early modern-rule period, but modern chess developed over time. Scachs d'Amor is a landmark, not a single birthday for all modern rules.

Use the ChessWorld page about the oldest chess opening if you want to compare the Scandinavian Defense, Ruy Lopez, King's Gambit and other old opening candidates.

The short answer is Scachs d'Amor, Castellvi vs Vinyoles, Valencia 1475, usually treated as the oldest recorded modern chess game.

Use the ChessWorld statistical chess trivia hub for more age, origin, opening, tournament and record questions. This page focuses on the oldest recorded game category.