Chess

Chess is a turn-based board game for two players, and is generally considered the most popular game in the world. 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. European travelers visited India in the 15th century, and brought back knowledge of the game, and modern chess was developed in southern Europe. The goal of the game is to place the opposing king into checkmate, that is, a position in which the king is attacked and cannot escape from this situation.

Shaturanga used dice, but Hinduism bans gambling. As a result, the game of chess developed free from any dice or chance.

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.

Today, chess is one of the most popular board games in the world. International competition, including world championship 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 Robert J. Fischer. The current world champion is Russian Vladimir Kramnik.

Pieces

• The queen is the most powerful piece in the board. It can move as many squares as desired (without jumping over another piece), either straight or diagonally.

• The rook can move as many squares as desired in a straight direction.

• The bishop can move as many squares as desired diagonally.

• The knight, which is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, moves one square in one straight direction and two in the other.

• The king, which is the most important piece on the board, moves one square, either straight or diagonally.

• The pawn moves two squares forward, except on its first move, when it can optionally move two. It captures opposing pieces by capturing one square diagonally. It cannot capture in a backward diagonal motion. All other pieces capture opposing pieces by moving to the square on which the opposing piece is. A player cannot capture one of his own pieces.