Chess in early literature

One of the most common ways for chess historians to trace when the board game chess entered a country is to look at the literature of that country. Although due to the names associated with chess sometimes being used for more than one game (for instance Xiang-qi in China and Tables in England), the only certain reference to chess is often several hundred years later than uncertain earlier references. The following list contains the earliest references to chess or chess-like games.
Byzantium.
a. 923 - at-Tabari's Kitab akhbar ar-rusul wal-muluk
China.
79 BC - 8 BC - lifetime of Liu Xiang 劉 向, who wrote "Shuo yuan", a compilation of early Confucian anecdotes: "Do you still feel like playing xiangqi and dancing?" However, "xiangqi", apart from being the name of the chess variant played in China, has also been the name of two other unrelated games. (Sources: "Meng Changjun Played Xiangqi and Danced with Lady Zheng", "The History of Xiangqi" and Reference Guide to Classical Book Titles: "(3) Sinological Indexes: Other Indices: Shuo yuan.)
c. 900 AD - Huan Kwai Lu ("Book of Marvels")
Describes the rules of xiangqi.
England.
c. 1180 - Alexander Neckam's De Natura Rerum
France.
a. 1127 - A song of Guilhem IX Count of Poitiers and Duke of Aquitaine.
Germany.
c. 1070 - Ruodlieb (IV 184-188) thought to be written by a monk near Tegernsee.
India.
c. 500 AD - Subandhu's Vasavadatta
c. 625 - Banabhatta's Harsha Charitha
c. 1030 - Al-Biruni's India describes the game of chaturaji.
1148 - Kalhana's Rajatarangini (translated by MA Stein, 1900)
Italy.
c. 1061 or 1062 - Letter from Petrus Damiani (Cardinal Bishop of Ostia) to the Pope-elect Alexander II and the Archdeacon Hildebrand. This letter is dated by the reference to Alexander as "Pope-elect".
Persia.
c. 600 - Karnamak-i-Artakhshatr-i-Papakan
(It is fairly certain chess is meant due to the word shatranj being used).
Russia.
13th century - Kormchaya Kniga, a set of church laws.
Spain.
c. 1009 - castrensian will of Ermengaud I (Count of Urgel)
Sumatra.
c. 1620 - Sejarah Malayu
Switzerland.
c. 997 - Versus de scachis in manuscript 319 at Stiftsbibliothek Einsiedeln.
References.
Bibliography