Question: I had heard from someone that Chess evolved from [Chaturanga](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturanga) then [Shatranj](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatranj). Are there any pointers towards this?

I would like to know counter arguments as well, if any.

Answer: 
Those two games are indeed early forms of chess. The pieces were similar, although their moves were different, and there were some chess rules that had not yet been invented; however, chess evolved from those early games.
Chaturanga indeed is chess. In Hindi language Chaturanga (shatranj in Arablic), is what chess (which is in English) called.