#2 Chess
The history of chess can be dated back nearly 1500 years and the earliest predecessor of the game could be traced back to India. A precursor of the modern chess was called the 'chaturanga' which was very popular in India in the 6th century. Findings from the archaeological sites of Harappa and Mohenjodaro also suggest that board games similar to chess were familiar in the Indus Valley civilisation.
There are also theories that the game was called Ashtapada which in Sanskrit denotes a spider. The game was played with a dice on an 8x8 checkered board. The gambling and dice aspects of the game were removed because of religious objections. Persians and Arabians travelling to ancient India picked up the game of chess and thereafter it spread globally.
The sport's popularity has recently blown up especially after the success of chess Grandmaster and former World Champion Viswanathan Anand. India has a total of 37 Grandmasters in chess.
