Chess is commonly believed to have originated in North-West India during the Gupta empire, where its early form in the 6th century was known as caturaṅga (Sanskrit: four divisions [of the military] – infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry, represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively). The earliest evidence of Chess is found in the neighboring Sassanid Persia around 600 where the game came to be known under the name chatrang. Chatrang is evoked inside three epic romances written in Pahlavi (Medium Persian). Chatrang was taken up by the Muslim world after the Islamic conquest of Persia (633–644) where it was then named shatranj, with the pieces largely retaining their Persian names. In Spanish "shatranj" was rendered as ajedrez, in Portuguese as xadrez, and in Greek as zatrikion (which directly comes from Persian chatrang), but in the rest of Europe it was replaced by versions of the Persian shāh ("king"), which was familiar as an exclamation and became the English words "check" and "chess". Murray theorized that this change happened from Muslim traders coming to European seaports with ornamental chess kings as curios before they brought the game of chess.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Where Chess Came From?
Chess Tips From IEGGBERT TARRASCH (1862-1934) For Those Who Want To Play Chess
Chess Rules
| Piece | King | Queen | Rook | Bishop | Knight | Pawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Symbols |   |   |   |   |   |   |
Basic moves
Each chess piece has its own style of moving. Moves are made to vacant squares except when capturing an opponent's piece.
With the exception of the knight, pieces cannot jump over each other. When a piece is captured (or taken), the attacking piece replaces the enemy piece on its square (en passant) being the only exception). The captured piece is thus removed from the game and may not be returned to play for the remainder of the game. The king can be put in check but cannot be captured (see below).
- The king can move exactly one square horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. At most once in every game, each king is allowed to make a special move, known as castling (see below).
- The rook moves any number of vacant squares vertically or horizontally. It also is moved while castling.
- The bishop moves any number of vacant squares in any diagonal direction.
- The queen can move any number of vacant squares diagonally, horizontally, or vertically.
- The knight moves to the nearest square not on the same rank, file, or diagonal. In other words, the knight moves two squares like the rook and then one square perpendicular to that. Its move is not blocked by other pieces, i.e. it leaps to the new square. The knight moves in an "L" or "7" shape (or either shape inverted) with two steps one direction, a 90° turn, and one step in the new direction.
- Pawns have the most complex rules of movement:
- A pawn can move forward one square, if that square is unoccupied. If it has not yet moved, the pawn has the option of moving two squares forward provided both squares in front of the pawn are unoccupied. A pawn cannot move backward.
- Pawns are the only pieces that capture differently from how they move. They can capture an enemy piece on either of the two spaces adjacent to the space in front of them (i.e., the two squares diagonally in front of them) but cannot move to these spaces if they are vacant.
- The pawn is also involved in the two special moves en passant and promotion (Schiller 2003:17–19).
Benefits Of Playing Chess
Develops memory. The chess theory is complicated and many players memorize different opening variations. You will also learn to recognize various patterns and remember lengthy variations.
CHESS IS FUN! Dude, this isn't just another one of those board games. No chess game ever repeats itself, which means you create more and more new ideas each game. It never gets boring. You always have so much to look forward to. Every game you are the general of an army and you alone decide the destiny of your soldiers. You can sacrifice them, trade them, pin them, fork them, lose them, defend them, or order them to break through any barriers and surround the enemy king. You've got the power!
To summarize everything in three little words: Chess is Everything!
“Playing Chess: A Study of Problem-Solving Skills in Students with Average and Above Average Intelligence,'' By Philip Rifner
