Chess

Chess is a board game for two players, played on a square board with 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The players, called "White" and "Black", each control sixteen pieces including a king, a queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. Each piece moves in specific ways, and the goal is to "checkmate" the opponent's king, meaning to threaten it with capture in a way that cannot be stopped.

The history of chess goes back to the 7th century in India, where a game called chaturanga was played. From there, it spread to Persia, the Arab world, and finally to Europe. The rules we use today were mostly set by the end of the 15th century and became worldwide standards by the late 19th century. Now, chess is one of the most popular games in the world, with millions of players.

Chess has also influenced many other areas, including mathematics, computer science, and psychology. In 1997, a computer program called Deep Blue defeated the world chess champion, showing how important chess is for testing computer intelligence. Today, chess computers are much stronger than any human player, but the game is still not fully solved, meaning there are always new strategies to discover.

Rules

Main article: Rules of chess

Chess is played on a square board with 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. Two players, called White and Black, each have 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. Each type of piece moves in its own special way.

White always moves first, and then players take turns. On each turn, a player moves one piece. The goal is to checkmate the opponent's king, which means the king is under attack and cannot escape. If a player cannot make a move to stop the checkmate, they lose. There are also special moves like castling and ways the game can end in a draw.

Notation

Main article: Algebraic notation

Chess moves are recorded using a special notation system called algebraic notation. Each square on the chessboard is identified by a letter (a-h) and a number (1-8). For example, "g3" refers to the square on the g-file and third rank. Pieces are shown by letters: K for king, Q for queen, R for rook, B for bishop, and N for knight.

When writing moves, you might see something like Qg5, which means the queen moves to g5. If a piece captures another, an "x" is added, like Bxf3 for the bishop capturing on f3. Special symbols show important moments, like "+" for check and "#" for checkmate.

Gameplay

Chess is a game where two players, called White and Black, take turns moving pieces on a board with 64 squares. Each player has 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns. The goal is to checkmate the opponent’s king, meaning to trap it so it can’t move to any safe square.

Players use strategy to plan their moves and tactics to find quick ways to gain an advantage. The game has three main parts: the opening, where players set up their pieces; the middlegame, where they attack and defend; and the endgame, when only a few pieces are left and pawns become very important.

Problems and studies

Chess problems are special positions made for fun and art, not for real games. People who make these are called chess composers. The most common type is called a directmate, where White must checkmate Black in a certain number of moves, like two or three. These problems often have surprising moves and can be very long, with some records over 200 moves!

Other types include helpmates, where Black helps White checkmate itself, and selfmates, where White forces Black to checkmate White. There are also problems where you have to figure out what happened before the position. Some problems use unusual rules or pieces, called fairy chess. Studies are similar but focus on endgame positions where White must win or draw. The World Federation for Chess Composition organizes tournaments for these creative chess challenges.

Chess in public spaces

Chess is often enjoyed in public spaces like parks and town squares. These games are usually casual, but some cities, such as New York City, have seen more competitive play in busy areas.

Children and adults can be found playing chess in many places around the world, from Washington Square Park in New York City to the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris, Kutaisi in Georgia, Mexico City, Kilifi in Kenya, Cathedral Square in Christchurch, New Zealand, Santiago de Cuba in Cuba, the Széchenyi baths in Budapest, Hungary, Salatiga in Indonesia, Lund in Sweden, and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Organized competition

Chess is played in organized competitions all around the world. Players can join tournaments or matches where they face off against others. In smaller tournaments, everyone plays each other once, called a round-robin. In larger ones, players are paired with others who have similar scores, called a Swiss system. Players earn points for wins and draws, and their total score decides their standing.

The international governing body for chess is FIDE, or the International Chess Federation. FIDE organizes important events like the World Chess Championship and supports many other chess competitions for players of all ages and skill levels. Players can earn special titles such as Grandmaster, International Master, or FIDE Master by achieving high enough skill ratings. These titles show how skilled a player is and are awarded based on their performance in tournaments.

History

Chess has a long and fascinating history. The earliest texts mentioning chess date back to the 7th century, with writings in Persian and Sanskrit. One of the oldest accounts comes from a Persian storyteller who described how the game was inspired by ancient battles, with pieces representing different parts of an army.

By the 9th century, chess had spread across the world. It reached Europe through several routes and became popular in many countries. Over time, the rules evolved. In the 15th century, important changes were made, such as allowing pawns to move two squares on their first move and giving the queen its powerful modern abilities. These changes helped shape the game into what we know today.

In the 19th century, chess began to organize more formally, with tournaments and chess clubs becoming common. The first official World Chess Championship was held in 1886, won by Wilhelm Steinitz. Since then, many talented players have held the title, each contributing to the game's rich history and development.

Connections to other fields

Arts and humanities

Chess has been an important part of culture for many years. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, it was used by noble people to teach strategies for war. It was called the "King's Game" and was popular among the upper classes. Over time, chess has appeared in many stories, songs, and artworks. For example, it plays a big role in books like Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass and films such as Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. Today, many schools around the world teach chess to children, and there are special tournaments just for kids.

Mathematics

See also: Mathematical chess problem and Solving chess

Chess has also inspired many math problems. For example, figuring out how a knight can move across a board to visit every square just once is a famous challenge called the knight's tour. There are even ways to use chess moves to hide secret messages in a special kind of code.

Psychology

Scientists have studied how people think while playing chess. They found that good chess players often notice important patterns on the board quickly. This skill comes from years of practice and studying the game. Researchers also look at how chess might help train the brain and what it tells us about how intelligence works.

Online chess

Main article: Online chess

Online chess is a fun way to play chess using the internet. People use special websites and apps to play against each other. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many more people started playing online chess because they were staying at home. A popular TV show called The Queen's Gambit also helped increase interest in chess. After the show came out, many more people downloaded chess apps and started playing games online. Both men and women joined in, making chess a great activity for everyone to enjoy together.

Computer chess

Main article: Computer chess

See also: Human–computer chess matches, Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov, and Chess engine

People have dreamed of creating a chess-playing machine since the 1700s. One famous early machine, called The Turk, turned out to be a trick. With the arrival of digital computers in the 1950s, people began building real chess-playing programs. In 1997, a computer named Deep Blue defeated the world chess champion, showing how powerful these programs could become. Today, the best chess computer programs can beat even the strongest human players. These programs help players learn and prepare for games, and people can play chess with others from all around the world using Internet Chess Servers.

Related games

Chess has many related games. Some early forms include chaturanga and shatranj. Other games similar to chess are played in different countries, such as xiangqi (Chinese chess), shogi (Japanese chess), janggi (Korean chess), and many more.

Chess variants

There are thousands of chess variants, which are games with rules slightly different from regular chess. These variants may use new rules, different pieces, or even change the shape of the board. When people talk about these variants, they often call regular chess orthodox chess, orthochess, or classic chess. Some examples include losing chess, Chess960, Capablanca chess, and hexagonal chess.