Chinese scientists unearth 2,000-year-old cousin of chess played by royals and commoners

There is no game quite like chess, which is so beloved and intricate that millions of people around the world dedicate their lives to mastering its strategies. The history of chess stretches back thousands of years to ancient India and has seen various relatives emerge over the centuries across the globe. One such counterpart is Liubo, or “six sticks,” a Chinese board game that enjoyed widespread popularity during the Western Han dynasty (202 BC–9). Recently, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute…