In this traditional Muslim tale, a man invents the game of chess and presents it to his king, who is so pleased with the board game he offers the man any reward he desires. The man asks for 1 grain of rice on the first square of the chessboard, 2 on the second, 4 on the third, 8 on the fourth, and so forth until all 64 squares of the chessboard are filled. Thinking this a small request, the king grants it only to discover it’s much more than he could ever give.