International Chess Day

 

Happy International Chess Day! ♟️

Origin of Chess

The first form of chess seems to be more than 2000 years old. There are actually quite a lot of theories on the origin of chess. Some say that Persians invented the game about 1500 years ago. Yet, many people agree that the Persians had adapted the older Indian game called chaturanga.

The rules of chaturanga are quite different from the rules of our modern chess game. In chaturanga, pawns were called foot-soldiers. Stalemate was not considered a draw. The en passant rule never even existed. The queen was called the minister and could only move diagonally one square at a time. Rooks were called chariots. 

Gradually, this game was taken up by the Persians and modified. After the Arabs spread them through the Middle East, it spread over to Europe during the medieval times. The names of the pieces too changed. The minister became the queen. The elephant started being called a bishop, and the chariots were now the rooks.

Our modern chess game was born out of all these global adaptations and changes :)

How the Pieces Move

Pawn - The little soldiers who move one square forward at a time, or two squares on their first move. They capture diagonally. If a pawn moves two squares from its starting position and lands beside an opponent's pawn, the opponent can capture it diagonally, as if it had moved only one square - this is the en passant rule.

Bishop - Side-eyed strategists. They move only diagonally, any number of squares. Hence a bishop that starts on a white square remains on white squares for the entire game (same for black).

Knight - Galloping beauties, who move in an L-shape. They can leap over other pieces. A knight placed in the center of the board is really powerful due to the number of squares it covers.

Rook - The line commanders, who move in straight lines, any number of squares. On an open file, a rook becomes a formidable force.

Queen - Deadly gorgeous powerhouse, evidently the most powerful piece due to her range of motion. She can move in any direction as she pleases - forward, backward or diagonal - any number of squares. When a pawn reaches the opposite end of the board, it's promoted to any major piece (usually the queen - this is called promotion). Choosing a knight/bishop/rook instead is called underpromotion and can be useful in tricky situations.

King - The ruler of the realm. Moves in any direction like the queen - but only one step at a time. During the endgame, the kings showcase their power, especially through the use of oppositions.

FUN FACT: Do you know why we call it a "Checkmate" when the game ends? It's supposedly derived from the Persian word "Shah Mat" meaning "the King is helpless".

Chess is a wonderful world to explore - with no age limit! 😊 Anyone and everyone can play chess. All the best for your chess dreams!