I’ve seen a few references to the origin of the term “tabiya” in the Arabic طبيعة ṭabī‘a (Wehr: nature; natural disposition; peculiarity, individuality; character; regular, normal manner; physics; natural science). But given the theme of the game and the formations of the pieces, it seems possible that the term might also have originated from طابية ṭābiya (Wehr: fortress, fort; round fortress tower). Most references I’ve been able to find online seem to be quoting one another rather than any authoritative etymological source. The Arabic Wikipedia page on the former word is about nature, with no mention at all of chess even in the form of a link to a disambiguation page. Meanwhile, the English-language article on Shatranj makes reference to تبّيّة tabbiyya (not listed in Wehr) and translates it as “battle array” – but is ambiguous about whether it’s Arabic or Persian in origin. Conceivably, it could be related to Arabic تبيّئة tabawwa’a (Wehr: to settle down, occupy, hold). Again, most sites featuring this etymology simply quote each other; none cites an authoritative source.
So clearly, between the Internet and an Arabic dictionary, I’m not going to get a definitive answer. Can anyone here offer something more solid?
All I can do is offer something less solid – a question. As in, what on earth are you talking about? Is “tabiya” closely related to any well-known chess term? I can’t think of any just offhand.
Tabia (or Tabiya)
from Arabic طبيعة ṭabīʕa, “normal manner”
A position for the pieces from which a Shatranj game was started: piece movement in Shatranj was slow, hence games were possibly started from standard position, named Tabiyas, obtained by standard move sequences from the initial position
As extension: the final position of a well-known chess opening. The position (e.g. the isolani) can be reached via different move sequences, even arising from different openings, and is usually considered prototypical in terms of strategic ideas.
(from 2) The opening position from which two players familiar with each others’ tastes begin play.
I think, for example, the “Normal Position” in the Evans Gambit would be an example.
I suspect the translation of the word is a rough one at best. Much like the bible. Recent translations, say in the last 20 years (of those that try to get the closest to the original intent/meaning) of the Bible and have done direct translations from the Hebrew and Greek original bible languages. But invariably there will be words where even the English language will fall a bit short, even after trying to expand its meaning with one or more sentences.
Perfect example in the English language is words describing emotions. Take the word “affectionate”. Depending on the context, it could convey at least a half dozen different meanings. Anywhere from being friendly and courteous to your sibling (ie. a quick hug) who maybe you haven’t seen in a decade or more (and maybe describing something that only lasted a moment), to a much more intimate emotion your sharing with your spouse/lover, etc.
There’s a historical sense: as noted above, in pre-modern chess, the movements of pawns, queens, and bishops was more restricted, and the opposing forces took more moves to engage. So players might have banged out the first few moves (generally accepted as “good”) quickly. A modern analogue might be 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O O-O and the “real game” begins. But note the two armies have not yet engaged. That sense almost certainly predated the Arabic word…
Sometime in the twentieth century, the meaning of tabiya was adapted (by whom? I dunno, but my guess is some Soviet writer) to mean a critical opening position where the real battle begins:
In the Closed Spanish: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 and now Black has some interesting choices…
White has a similar choice to make in the Mar del Plata Variation of the King’s Indian after Black’s eighth move.
I don’t recall ever having heard the term as a kid, and it may have been as recently as twenty years ago that I first heard it. But I’ve seen it most often in Russian/Soviet/former Soviet writings.
Even Bill Smythe reaches tabiyas! 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3 6.bxc3 and now Black must choose between 6…Ne7 and 6…Qc7. Bill chose the latter against me in a 1978 game in Evanston and beat me in 19 moves.
That second paragraph led me down another path. I googled كتاب الشطرنج العدلي (Kitāb al-Shatranj al-‘Adlī) and found this page, a description of a manuscript that includes (or at least references) the two historic books on shatranj. This description repeatedly uses the word تعبية ta‘abiya, an alternative spelling of تعبئة ta‘abi’a (Wehr: mobilization, drafting, conscription; alerting [of military forces, etc.]; filling, drawing off, bottling; loading [of goods]). However, I wasn’t able to find any other site confirming that that term was the historically correct one, which means there’s a good chance that it isn’t.
Perusing the Arabic article on chess, however, I was able to confirm that the term تبييت tabiyyat, at least as used today, refers specifically to castling (and appears to be related to the word بيت bayt “house”).
