A Brief History of Chess

 “We don’t really know how the game was invented, though there are suspicions. As soon as we discover the culprits, we’ll let you know.”  (Bruce Pandolfini)
                                                 

When it comes to the origin of chess, the history is indefinite. The Chinese, the Indians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Arabs, among other ancient cultures, claim the invention of the game’s predecessors, if not the game itself. However, the earliest precursor of the game most probably originated in northern India during the Gupta empire in the fifth or sixth centuries A.D. Persian stories written in the seventh century reveal that the game spread to Persia from India. Arab scholars later support this view. The Arab world adopted Chess after conquering Persia in the seventh century A.D, and scattered it to southern Europe, where the game evolved to its current form, more or less, in the fifteenth century. The March of Chess picture displayed shows where the game originated, the directions of its spread, and its native name under different cultures.

The March of Chess

The first World Chess Championship was organized in 1987. The twentieth century marked major advancement in chess theory. The twenty first century is recognized for the introduction of computers for chess analysis. Online gaming first appeared in the mid-1990’s.

The Fool's Mate

        The fool’s mate is the quickest possible checkmate in a chess game.

The Fool's Mate

 The simplest version of this game is as              follows:

• White plays Pf3  
• Black plays Pe5 
• White plays Pg4 
• Black plays Qh4 and captures the white’s king.

Note that the white has to be a very naive player to open up for the black’s queen. Hence, this is why the mate is called “The Fool’s Mate.”

                           

Where does the word CHECKMATE come from?

I always thought that the origin of the word checkmate comes from the Arabic language, where Check is derived from Sheikh who is a leader in a Muslim community and Mate comes from Mata, which means died thus implying that checkmate comes from the Arabic for “The King is dead.” However, research suggests that checkmate is the equivalent phrase for the Persian “Shah Mat”, which means, “The King is ambushed.”  After all, the King never dies in chess game. He just gets defeated.

A puzzle for Geeks!

                            Assume your goal is to become the richest man or woman in the world. Would you rather that I give you $1,000,000,000,000 now (not that I have any of this J), or give you a penny to place on the first square of the chess board, two pennies on the next square, four on the next, eight on the next, and so on till the 64^th square, where you would finally get the sum of pennies on the 64^th square?

Magnus Carlson beats Bill Gates in 71 seconds

Chess Grandmaster,world champion, and the number 1 ranked player in the world Magnus Carlson beats Bill Gates in just 71 seconds.

Playing Chess blindfolded?

Playing Chess blindfolded

Blindfold chess is a type of chess where 

players are blindfolded and thus are not allowed to see the pieces or even touch them.  Maintaining a mental image of their game requires a remarkable memory and Visiospatial abilities. A Hungarian player named Janos Flesch played 52 games at the same time with his eyes blindfolded in Budapest in 1960. He won 31 of them.

Which chess piece are you? Take this five questions quiz and share your result, even if you come out a pawn! Click on "What Chess Piece Are You?" below to find out.

I am the King

I may not move quickly, but I move with purpose. I take every decision in my life seriously. I don't think that most risks are worth their potential downsides. I try to protect myself at all costs. Some people may consider me an egomaniac, but I am simply self-interested. It's perfectly natural to want to put myself first. I have a lot of responsibility, and a lot of people depend on me. If I were taken out of commission, those that depend on me would be doomed.

What Chess Piece Are You?

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones