Chess

ChessStartingPosition

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SCD algebraic notation

Chess is a two-player strategy game played on a checkered gameboard with 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The game is played by millions of people worldwide. Chess is believed to have originated in India, sometime before the 7th century, being derived from the Indian game of chaturanga. Chaturanga is also the likely ancestor of the Eastern strategy games xiangqi (Chinese chess), janggi (Korean chess), and shogi (Japanese chess). The game reached Europe by the 9th century, due to the Moorish conquest of Spain. The pieces assumed their current powers in Spain in the late 15th century; the rules were standardized in the 19th century.

Gameplay

In chess, each player begins with sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The objective of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king, whereby the king is under direct attack (in "check") and there is no way to remove it from attack on the next move. There are also rules about stalemate, where the game is drawn because a player has no legal move and is not in check.

The game can also end in a draw if neither player has enough pieces to force a checkmate, or by the agreement of the players. One of the most important strategic aspects of chess is the evaluation of positions and the setting up of goals and long-term plans. The player with the white pieces always moves first. After the first move, players alternate turns. Moving is compulsory; it is illegal to skip a turn, even when having to move is detrimental.

Chess pieces and their moves

• The King moves one square in any direction. The king also has a special move called castling that involves also moving a rook.
• The Queen can move any number of squares along a rank, file, or diagonal, but cannot leap over other pieces.
• The Rook moves any number of squares along a rank or file, but cannot leap over other pieces.
• The Bishop moves any number of squares diagonally, but cannot leap over other pieces.
• The Knight moves to any of the nearest squares that are not on the same rank, file, or diagonal, in an L-shape: two squares in a horizontal or vertical direction, then move one square horizontally or vertically. The knight is the only piece that can leap over other pieces.
• The Pawn moves forward exactly one square, or optionally, two squares when on its starting square, but captures diagonally. Pawns have the unique ability to be promoted to any other piece (except a king) if they reach the opponent's back rank.

Chess strategy and tactics

Chess strategy involves setting and achieving long-term positioning advantages during the game – for example, where to place different pieces – while tactics concentrate on immediate maneuver. These two parts of the chess-playing process cannot be completely separated, because strategic goals are mostly achieved through tactics, while the tactical opportunities are based on the previous strategy of play.

Phases of the game

The game of chess is divided into three phases: the opening, where players develop their pieces from their original positions; the middlegame, where most of the chess battle occurs with attacks and counterattacks; the endgame, where players have fewer pieces left, and the kings become more active. The strategies and tactics in each phase differ significantly.

Chess competitions

Organized chess competitions began in the 16th century. The first official World Chess Championship was held in 1886. The current World Champion is Magnus Carlsen. Chess is governed by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), which organizes world championships, the Chess Olympiad, and other international competitions.

Chess notation

Chess games and positions are recorded using a special notation, the most common of which is algebraic chess notation. Each square of the chessboard is identified by a unique coordinate pair—a letter and a number—from a1 to h8.

Computer chess

The development of computer chess and chess software has been significant in the study of chess theory since the late 20th century. It has also led to the development of chess variants and new forms of gameplay, such as blitz chess and online chess. The advancement in computer chess culminated in the historic match between the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue and World Champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, where Deep Blue became the first computer to defeat a reigning World Champion in a match under standard chess tournament conditions.

Chess Resources
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