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[[Image:Staunton chess set.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A typical chess set and tournament clock.]]

[[Image:Staunton chess set.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A typical chess set and tournament clock.]]

'''Chess''' is a turn-based [[board game]] for two players, and is one of the most popular games in the world. The goal of the game is to place the opposing king into ''checkmate'', that is, a position in which the king is under attack but cannot escape.  The game used to be treated as a status symbol of education and aristocracy but in recent times has become to be known as an [[elitist]]'s game.

'''Chess''' is a turn-based [[board game]] for two players, and is one of the most popular games in the world. The goal of the game is to place the opposing king into ''checkmate'', that is, a position in which the king is under attack but cannot escape.  The game used to be treated as a status symbol of education and aristocracy and in recent times has become to be known as an [[elitist]]'s game.

Modern international chess has a powerful, sweeping [[queen]] who was not in the original game.  The long reach of bishops today was also lacking at first.  Maneuvers such as castling or capturing ''en passant'' have been developed within the past few hundred years.

Modern international chess has a powerful, sweeping [[queen]] who was not a piece provided in the original game.  The long reach of bishops today was also lacking at first.  Maneuvers such as castling or capturing ''en passant'' have been developed within the past few hundred years.

Today, chess is one of the most popular board games in the world.  International competition, including world [[champion]]ship events, is organized by an organization called FIDE and American competition organized by the USCF (United States Chess Federation). The only American world champion was [[Bobby Fischer]], although [[Paul Morphy]] of [[Louisiana]] was likely the strongest player in the world in the 1850s, before a formal world champion was determined.  The current world champion is [[India | Indian]] Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand.

Today, chess is one of the most popular board games in the world.  International competitions, including world [[champion]]ship events, are organized by an organization called FIDE and American competition organized by the USCF (United States Chess Federation). The only American world champion was [[Bobby Fischer]], although [[Paul Morphy]] of [[Louisiana]] was likely the strongest player in the world in the 1850s, before a formal world champion was determined.  The current world champion is [[India | Indian]] Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand.

==Origins==

==Origins==

Chess has its roots in [[India]], where locals played a game called Shaturanga. The earliest extant description of the game is contained in the [[Bhavishya Purana]], which dates from A.D. 300 to A.D. 600. Shaturanga used [[dice]], but [[Hinduism]] bans gambling.  As a result, the game of chess developed free from any dice or chance. The exact rules of Shaturanga are not known, but the game developed further in Persia into something very like its modern form. The Persian game Shatranj - which remains popular in the middle east today - is nearly identical to modern chess. By A.D. 1200 the game reached southern Europe, and in the late fifteenth century the Europeans adopted a number of changes: the queen, which had formerly been a very weak piece, became the strongest piece on the board, and allowing pawns to move two squares on the first move became standard. These changes had the effect of speeding up play, and they brought the game into the form we know today.

Chess has its roots in [[India]], where a game called Shaturanga was played. The earliest extant description of the game is contained in the [[Bhavishya Purana]], which dates from A.D. 300 to A.D. 600. Shaturanga used [[dice]], but [[Hinduism]] bans gambling.  As a result, the game of chess developed free from any dice or chance. The exact rules of Shaturanga are not known, but the game developed further in Persia into something very like its modern form. The Persian game Shatranj - which remains popular in the middle east today - is nearly identical to modern chess. By A.D. 1200 the game reached southern Europe, and in the late fifteenth century the Europeans adopted a number of changes: the queen, which had formerly been a very weak piece, became the strongest piece on the board, and allowing pawns to move two squares on the first move became standard. These changes had the effect of speeding up play, and they brought the game into the form we know today.

There has been some speculation that chess has roots in [[China]]. It's clear that chess is in some way related to [[XiangQi]] (Chinese Chess) and [[Shogi]] (Japanese Chess), but scholars disagree about whether either of these variants predates Shaturanga.

There has been some speculation that chess has roots in [[China]]. It's clear that chess is in some way related to [[XiangQi]] (Chinese Chess) and [[Shogi]] (Japanese Chess), but scholars disagree about whether either of these variants predates Shaturanga.