INTRODUCTION.
Chess is regarded as a game of the kings. Probably this is the oldest game. Some people are of the opinion that this game was started about 5000 years ago.
ORIGIN.
The word chess finds its origin in the Persian word Shah which means King . This gives us the impression that Chess was started in Persia, but this is not true.
In fact, the game of Chess was started in India. This was called Chaturanga which means – The names for traditional four army divisions.
SOME IMPORTANT FACTS.
It is said that in ancient India, kings and emperors used to play Chess to satisfy their lust for fighting in a harmless manner.
During Moghul period this game became a fashion for royal families. This game remained confined to India for about 2000 years, but later on it spread to Persia, Arabia and finally to the countries of Europe. Gradually it became popular in all the countries of the world.
Today the Chess pieces include Kings, Queens, Rooks, Knights, Bishops and Pawns. The two most important and powerful pieces on each side are the King and Queen. The King is the only piece that cannot be captured but only check-mated.
HISTORY AND RECORDS.
The game of Chess reached England in year 1255. The first international competition was held in London in 1851. In 1924, the International Federation of Chess Players was founded in France.
Dr Emanuel Lasker of Germany was the World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921.
Amongst the women Chess players, Vera Menchik of Great Britain retained the World Championship from 1927 till her death in 1944.
The youngest Chess Champion of the World is Gary Kimovich Kasparov of Russia, who won the title on November 9th 1985 at the age of 22 years and 210 days.
CHESS IN INDIA.
Chess is now very popular in India. India has produced its own Chess Grand Masters. Among the World Class Chess Players of India Viswhanathan Anand and Dibyendu Barua are prominent today.
LASTLY.
Nowadays the World Competition of Chess is held after every 3 years. Also the artificial intelligence of computers have started challenging the human brain in the game of Chess. The win of Kasparov over the IBM computer proved the supremacy of Man over Machine, but he then lost to another Computer named Deep Blue.