As an old man, Mohan is wealthy and successful but wishes he had been a king and able to do something great with his life. True, he is the inventor of Chaturanga, a game of strategy played with carved figures. The game has made him rich, but wealth alone has not satisfied him. One day the king, who has enjoyed playing Mohan’s game, summons him to court and asks him to name a suitable reward. Mohan asks for a “token gift” – one grain of rice for the first square of his game, two for the second, four for the third, and doubling until each of the 64 squares is represented. The king thinks this a trivial request, but soon discovers that it would require 65,536 years for the whole world to grow enough grain. Unable to honour his pledge, the king gives up the throne to Mohan. But now that he is king at last, Mohan realizes that although he has tricked the king with cleverness, cleverness must be accompanied by honour. The king has behaved with honour, and he has not. Mohan returns the throne to the king, and lives out the rest of his days in peace.

his intriguing tale is based on a Persian legend about the inventor of chess, and will particularly appeal to chess fans and those fascinated by mathematical puzzles. Scott Cameron’s richly coloured illustrations evoke the mood of ancient India and offer modern readers a wealth of detail about life in this distant culture. As fascinating as the story is, however, the characters – and especially Mohan – lack emotional depth. We are never sure why he feels his life is empty at the beginning, or whether or not his request for the “token gift” is deliberately designed to bring about the king’s abdication. The characters remain one-dimensional and fail to engage the reader’s sympathies. The Token Gift will be most valuable as an introduction to the history of chess.