Chess is a recreational and competitive
game for two players. Sometimes called
Western Chess or
International Chess to distinguish it from its predecessors and other
chess variants, the current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe in the second half of the
15th century after evolving from similar, much older games of
Indian origin.
Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide in
clubs, online, by
correspondence (
mail and e-mail), in
tournaments (amateur and professional) and informally. Aspects of
art and
science are found in
chess composition and theory. Chess is also advocated as a way of enhancing
mental prowess.
The game is played on a square chequered
chessboard. At the start, each player ("white" and "black") controls sixteen
pieces: one
king, one
queen, two
rooks, two
knights, two
bishops, and eight
pawns. The object of the game is to
checkmate the opponent's king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "
check") and there is no way to remove it from attack on the next move. Theoreticians have developed extensive
chess strategies and
tactics since the game's inception.
The tradition of organized competitive chess started in the 16th century. The first official
World Chess Champion,
Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title in 1886;
Vladimir Kramnik is the current World Champion. There are also biennial world team events called
Chess Olympiads. Since the 20th century, two international organizations, the
World Chess Federation and the
International Correspondence Chess Federation have organized and overseen the top chess competitions and international titles.
One of the goals of early computer scientists was to create a
chess-playing machine, and today's chess is deeply influenced by the abilities of current chess programs. In 1997, a
match between
Garry Kasparov, then World Champion, and
IBM's Deep Blue chess program proved for the first time that computers are able to beat even the strongest human players. The popularity of online chess coincided with the growth of the
Internet, which started in the mid 1990s.
Rules History Main article: Origins of chess
Predecessors The pieces in
shatranj had limited movement; the elephant or
aufin (the predecessor of the modern bishop) could only move by jumping two spaces diagonally, the counselor or
fers (the predecessor of the modern queen) could move only one space diagonally, pawns could not advance two spaces on their first move, and there was no castling. Also, pawns could only promote to counselor, which was the weakest piece (after the pawn), due to its limited range.
Chess problems became a regular part of 19th century newspapers;
Bernhard Horwitz,
Josef Kling and
Samuel Loyd composed some of the most influential problems. In 1843, the first edition of
Handbuch des Schachspiels (
Handbook of Chess) was published; written by German chess masters
Paul Rudolf von Bilguer and
Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa, it was the first comprehensive manual of chess theory.
Origins of the modern game (1450–1850) The first modern chess tournament was held in
London in 1851 and was won, surprisingly, by German
Adolf Anderssen, relatively unknown at the time. Anderssen was hailed as the leading chess master and his brilliant, energetic — but from today's viewpoint strategically shallow — attacking style became typical for the time.
Birth of a sport (1850–1945) After the death of Alekhine, a new World Champion was sought in a tournament of elite players ruled by FIDE, who have, since then, controlled the title. The winner of the 1948 tournament, Russian
Mikhail Botvinnik, started an era of
Soviet dominance in the chess world. Until the end of the Soviet Union, there was only one non-Soviet champion, American
Bobby Fischer (champion 1972–1975).
Post-war era (1945 and later) Main article: Chess in the arts and literature Place in culture In the
Middle Ages and during the
Renaissance, chess was a part of
noble culture;
Pre-modern To the
Age of Enlightenment, chess appeared mainly for self-improvement.
Benjamin Franklin, in his article "The Morals of Chess" (1750), wrote:
"The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it. By playing at Chess then, we may learn:
1st, Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action ...
2nd, Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action: - the relation of the several Pieces, and their situations; ...
3rd, Caution, not to make our moves too hastily...."
Moreover, chess is often depicted in the
arts, used for example as a
metaphor of a struggle of two, as a
symbol of cold logic, or - in the spirit of medieval moralists - as an
allegory of society's life. Significant works, where chess plays a key role, range from Thomas Middleton's
A Game at Chess over
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll to
The Royal Game by Stefan Zweig or Vladimir Nabokov's
The Defense. In
Ingmar Bergman's 1957 movie
The Seventh Seal, a knight plays chess with Death.
When a person is considered expendable and manipulatable, they're considered
a pawn.
Modern Main article: Chess notation Notation for recording moves Chess strategy consists of setting and achieving long-term goals during the game — for example, where to place different pieces — while tactics concentrate on immediate manoeuvres. These two parts of chess thinking cannot be completely separated, because strategic goals are mostly achieved by the means of tactics, while the tactical opportunities are based on the previous strategy of play.
Because of different strategic and tactical patterns, a game of chess is usually divided into three distinct phases:
Opening, usually the first 10 to 25 moves, when players develop their armies and set up the stage for the coming battle;
middlegame, the developed phase of the game; and
endgame, when most of the pieces are gone and kings start to take an active part in the struggle.
Strategy and tactics Main article: Chess strategy Fundamentals of strategy Main article: Chess tactics Fundamentals of tactics Main article: Chess opening
Opening Main article: Middlegame Middlegame Main article: Endgame Endgame Main article: Chess problem Chess composition Competitive play Contemporary chess is an organized sport with structured international and national leagues, tournaments and
congresses. Chess's international governing body is
FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs). Most countries have a national chess organization as well (such as the
US Chess Federation and
English Chess Federation), which in turn is a member of FIDE. FIDE is a member of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC), but the game of chess has never been part of the
Olympic Games; chess does have its own
Olympiad, held every two years as a team event. An estimated 605 million people worldwide know how to play chess, and 7.5 million are members of national chess federations, which exist in 160 countries worldwide. This makes chess one of the most popular sports worldwide. and the reigning Women's World Champion is
Xu Yuhua from
China. However, the world's highest rated female player,
Judit Polgar, has never participated in the
Women's World Chess Championship, instead preferring to compete with the leading men.
Other competitions for individuals include the
World Junior Chess Championship, the
European Individual Chess Championship and the
National Chess Championships. Invitation-only tournaments regularly attract the world's strongest players and these include Spain's
Linares event, Monte Carlo's
Melody Amber tournament, the
Dortmund Sparkassen meeting, Sofia's
M-tel Masters and Wijk aan Zee's
Corus tournament.
Regular team chess events include the aforementioned
Chess Olympiad and the
European Team Championship. The
37th Chess Olympiad was held 2006 in
Turin,
Italy;
Armenia won the gold in the unrestricted event, and
Ukraine took the top medal for the women. The
World Chess Solving Championship and World
Correspondence Chess Championships are both team and individual events.
Besides these prestigious competitions, there are thousands of other chess tournaments, matches and festivals held around the world every year, which cater to players of all levels, from beginners to experts.
Organization of competitions The best players can be awarded specific lifetime titles by the world chess organization FIDE:
International Grandmaster (shortened: Grandmaster, GM or IGM) is awarded to world-class chess masters. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Before FIDE will confer the title on a player, the player must have an ELO chess rating (see below) of at least 2500 at one time and three favorable results (called norms) in tournaments involving other Grandmasters, including some from countries other than the applicant's. There are also other milestones a player can achieve to attain the title, such as winning the World Junior Championship.
International Master (shortened: IM). The conditions are similar to GM, but less demanding. The minimum rating for the IM title is 2400.
FIDE Master (shortened: FM). The usual way for a player to qualify for the FIDE Master title is by achieving a FIDE Rating of 2300 or more.
Candidate Master (shortened: CM). Similar to FM, but with a FIDE Rating of at least 2200.
Mathematics and computers There is an extensive scientific literature on chess psychology.
Psychology Main article: Chess variant Variants Chess in early literature Chess terminology Comparing top chess players throughout history Timeline of chess List of chess players List of chess topics List of famous chess games List of strong chess tournaments List of chess world championship matches Women's World Chess Championship List of national chess championships Chess Olympiad See also Notes Davidson, Henry A. (1949, 1981). A Short History of Chess. McKay. ISBN 0-679-14550-8. Harding, Tim (2003). Better Chess for Average Players. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-29029-8. Hooper, David and Whyld, Kenneth (1992). The Oxford Companion to Chess, 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866164-9. Reprint: (1996)
ISBN 0-19-280049-3 Kasparov, Garry (2003a). My Great Predecessors, part I. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-330-6. Kasparov, Garry (2003b). My Great Predecessors, part II. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-342-X. Kasparov, Garry (2004a). My Great Predecessors, part III. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-371-3. Kasparov, Garry (2004b). My Great Predecessors, part IV. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-395-0. Kasparov, Garry (2006). My Great Predecessors, part V. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-404-3. International organizations Chessbase news Chessville The Week in Chess
