Early forms of chess originated in India around the 6th century AD in the Gupta Empire. Its ancestor, “
Chess first appeared in India about the 6th century CE. By the 10th century it had spread from Asia to the Middle East and Europe. Some regard the game chaturanga to be the precursor of modern chess because of the different piece abilities and the win condition being the capture of a singular piece (king).
Chess (chaturanga) is thought to have originated in India around 600 CE. The Indian game was adopted by the Persians (as shatranj) and then reached the West through the Arab conquest of Spain. Simply put, in chess, two opposing teams of white and black pieces face each other on an 8 x 8 chequered square board.
Today we know that chess originated from the Gupta Empire (600CE), of India. However many people firmly believe that chess was played by the ancient Egyptians. But, the game we think of as chess and what the Egyptians used to play are completely different.
The original chess was invented in China, right around 200 B.C., by a military commander named Hán Xin ("Hahn Sheen"). The game was designed to represent a particular battle, anticipated by Hán Xin's troops as they waited out the winter holding their ground.
Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Champion, widely considered the "father of modern chess," extensively analyzed various double king-pawn openings (beginning 1.
Where Did Chess Originate? The earliest form of the game that's now called chess can be dated back to India in the sixth century. Like the modern game, this predecessor, called chaturanga (or catur) was played on an 8x8 grid and featured pieces generally similar to those of modern chess.
The queen (♕, ♛) is the most powerful piece in the game of chess. It can move any number of squares vertically, horizontally or diagonally , combining the powers of the rook and bishop. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of the first rank next to the king.
There are many ways to measure the strongest chess nations. By sheer volume, Russia dominates, with 2,559 titled players, including a remarkable 243 grandmasters. In fact, Russia has more grandmasters than 143 countries combined, according to FIDE's list of 179 federations.
Chess has been called the “game of kings” and pious Christian legend attributed its invention to King Solomon himself. Hindu legend says that it came from a wise man who invented the game to instruct a tyrannical king named Shimram what his subjects were actually like, hence the variety of characters on the board.
Muslim scholars tend to place chess, a skill-based game, in a different category from games of chance, such as dice, but frown upon it if it distracts a person from performing the five daily prayers. Placing bets under any circumstances is forbidden.
The Royal Game of Ur
The Royal Game of Ur is the oldest playable boardgame in the world, originating around 4,600 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia. The game's rules were written on a cuneiform tablet by a Babylonian astronomer in 177 BC.
Chinese Chess or Xiangqi is a traditional board game that has been around for thousands of years. Xiangqi is a popular board game especially in countries in the Far East: China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and others.
1. The Pawn. The pawn is the lowest-value piece on the chessboard, and there are eight pawns per player.
Chaturanga was flourishing in northwestern India by the 7th century and is regarded as the earliest precursor of modern chess because it had two key features found in all later chess variants—different pieces had different powers (unlike checkers and go), and victory was based on one piece, the king of modern chess.
Archaeological finds in Novgorod confirm that chess came to Russia from the Middle East, not during the Mongol invasion of the Rus'. The names of chess pieces have Persian and Arabian roots. Unique chess pieces made by Novgorod masters in the 14th century make unique finds.
The seventh and current world number one is Magnus Carlsen, who first achieved this ranking in the January 2010 list, and has been world number one since July 2011 after having lost and reclaimed the position from Anand during 2010 and 2011.
The game of chess is ingrained in Russian culture; this goes back to when it was part of the USSR. Both time and money are granted through the Russian Chess Federations for those wanting to achieve success in the sport/game.
1: Kasparov vs.
Kasparov vs. Topalov is everything a chess game should be, a ferocious fight with brilliance from both players, numerous tactical themes, and a king hunt that drives the king all the way from one side of the board to the other!
The King's weaknesses
The king is the most vulnerable piece on the board since everything else stops when the king is in check. In the opening and middle-game stage of the game your king is a target to the enemy pieces and you need to be sure you have enough resources near him to defend him against possible attacks.
The queen is known as the most powerful piece on the chess board, so the prospect of sacrificing it invokes an unparalleled excitement among chess enthusiasts. There is something inherently satisfying about giving up the strongest piece on the board in order to checkmate the enemy king.
summary: the king can take the queen if the queen moves right next to him and has no pieces supporting her.
It's not often that people associate Vikings with playing games. So it might surprise you to know that they played a version of chess for more than 1000 years. These chess-like games were known as Tafl games and they were once popular in medieval Scandinavia.
John Chess, Inventor of Chess, Named Chess after his last name.
The oldest recorded game in chess history is a 10th-century game played between a historian from Baghdad and a pupil. A manuscript explaining the rules of the game called "Matikan-i-chatrang" (the book of chess) in Middle Persian or Pahlavi still exists.