Chess in Azerbaijan
Chess may be found in the works of 12th century Persian poets such as Khaqani and Nizami, who lived in modern-day Azerbaijan, and also in the works of 16th century Azerbaijani writer and poet Fuzuli and others. Azerbaijani writer and philosopher Mirza Fatali Akhundov explained the rules of chess in his 1864 poem "The Game of Shatranj".