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Chess is considered to be one of the oldest skill games in the world. The chess board and it's pieces are indicative of medieval life. The names of the pieces represent the people who lived in medieval times and the value of each piece indicates that person's rank in society. Chess was also played centuries ago in India, China and Persia.
The origins of the game chess are obscure as there no written account of the game until the 1600s. The first mention of chess is found in a Persian poem which say's that the game was first played in India. The game was called Chaturanga. The laws of chess and the rules governing movements of the pieces have been standard since the sixth century. The changes that took place quickened the pace of the game. Chess spread to Europe when the Moors invaded Spain in the eighth century. Chess is mentioned as a popular game in Russian folk poems.
By the end of the 15th century, the modern rules for the basic moves had been adopted from Italy. Chess in Europe since that time has been almost the same as today. The current rules of chess were finalized in the early 19th century, except for the exact conditions for a draw. Europe€™s biggest contribution to chess was the checkered board.
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The title "Grandmaster" was created by Russian Tsar Nicholas II who first awarded it in 1914 to five players after a tournament he had funded in Saint Petersburg.
BASIC RULES OF CHESS
THE BOARD
The game of chess is played between two opponents by moving pieces on a square board called a "chessboard".
The chessboard is composed of 64 equal squares, alternately light (the "white" squares) and dark (the "black" squares).
The chessboard is placed between the players in such a way that the near corner to the right of each player is white.
The eight vertical rows of squares are called "files".
The eight horizontal rows of squares are called "ranks".
The lines of squares of the same color, touching corner to corner, are called "diagonals".
The Pieces
there are 2 sets of chess pieces, white and black. Each set consists of a:
king, Queen, 2 Rooks, 2 Knights, 2 Bishops and 8 pawns.
| King E1
Queen D1
Rook A1+H1
Bishop C1 + F1
Knight B1 + G1
Pawns A2 to H2
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The player with the white pieces starts the game. The players alternate in making one move at a time until the game is finished.
HOW THE PIECES MOVE
The King
Except when castling, the king moves to any adjoining square that is not attacked by an opponent's piece.
Castling is a move of the king and either rook, counting as a single move of the king and executed as follows: The king is transferred from its original square two squares toward either rook on the same rank; then that rook is transferred over the king to the square the king has just crossed. Castling is illegal if the king has already been moved; or if the king's original square, or the square which the king must pass over, or that which it is to occupy, is attacked by an opponent's piece.
The Pawn.
The pawn must move forward except when making a capture, it advances from its original square either one or two vacant squares along the file on which it is placed, and on subsequent moves it advances one vacant square along the file. When capturing, it advances one square along either of the diagonals on which it stands.
A pawn, attacking a square crossed by an opponent's pawn which has been advanced two squares in one move from its original square, may capture this opponent's pawn as though the latter had been moved only one square. This capture may only be made in reply to such an advance, and is called an "en passant" capture.
On reaching the last rank, a pawn must immediately be exchanged, as part of the same move, for a queen, a rook, a bishop, or a knight, of the same color as the pawn, at the player's choice and without taking into account the other pieces still remaining on the chessboard. This exchange of a pawn for another piece is called "promotion", and the effect of the promoted piece is immediate.
The Queen.
The queen moves to any square on the file, rank, or diagonals on which it stands.
The Rook.
The rook moves to any square on the file or rank on which it stands.
The Bishop.
The bishop moves to any square on the diagonals on which it stands.
The Knight.
The knight's move is composed of two different steps; first, it makes one step of one single square along its rank or file, and then, still moving away from the square of departure, one step of one single square on a diagonal. It does not matter if the square of the first step is occupied.
Check
The king is in "check" when the square it occupies is attacked by one or more of the opponent's pieces; in this case, the latter is/are said to be "checking" the king. A player may not make a move which leaves his king on a square attacked by any of his opponent's pieces.
Check must be parried by the move immediately following. If any check cannot be parried, the king is said to be "checkmated" or "mated".
The Completed Game
The game is won by the player who has checkmated his opponent's king.
The game is won by the player whose opponent declares he resigns.
The game is drawn when the king of the player who has the move is not in check, and this player cannot make any legal move. The player's king is then said to be "stalemated".
The game is drawn when one of the following endings arises:
king against king; king against king with only bishop or knight; king and bishop against king and bishop, with both bishops on diagonals of the same color.
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