All About Chess

Chess, one of the oldest and most popular board games, played by two opponents on a checkered board with specially designed pieces of contrasting colours, commonly white and black. White moves first, after which the players alternate turns in accordance with fixed rules, each player attempting to force the opponent’s principal piece, the King, into checkmate—a position where it is unable to avoid capture.

Chess first appeared in India about the 6th century AD and by the 10th century had spread from Asia to the Middle East and Europe Since at least the 15th century, chess has been known as the “royal game” because of its popularity among the nobility. Rules and set design slowly evolved until both reached today’s standard in the early 19th century. Once an intellectual diversion favoured by the upper classes, chess went through an explosive growth in interest during the 20th century as professional and state-sponsored players competed for an officially recognized world championship title and increasingly lucrative tournament prizes. Organized chess tournaments, postal correspondence games, and Internet chess now attract men, women, and children around the world.

This article provides an in-depth review of the history and the theory of the game by noted author and international grandmaster Andrew Soltis.

Characteristics Of The Game:-
Chess is played on a board of 64 squares arranged in eight vertical rows called files and eight horizontal rows called ranks. These squares alternate between two colours: one light, such as white, beige, or yellow; and the other dark, such as black or green. The board is set between the two opponents so that each player has a light-coloured square at the right-hand corner.

Individual moves and entire games can be recorded using one of several forms of notation. By far the most widely used form, algebraic (or coordinate) notation, identifies each square from the point of view of the player with the light-coloured pieces, called White. The eight ranks are numbered 1 through 8 beginning with the rank closest to White. The files are labeled a through h beginning with the file at White’s left hand. Each square has a name consisting of its letter and number, such as b3 or g8. Additionally, files a through d are referred to as the queenside, and files e through h as the kingside.