Chess is probably one of the oldest and most famous games in the world. It is believed to have originated from India as early as the seventh century, although the exact origins of chess are unknown. Chess has appeared in many shapes and forms. Today most people play what is known as Europeans chess. Chess is a universal game – universal in the sense that it is accepted and played in every country and culture. There are many tournaments held worldwide and many more in each individual country.

The basic rules of chess are simple, however to be able to play strategically and master tactics requires skill and dedication. In its modern form the game consists of an eight by eight board of alternating black and white squares and chess pieces. Each player has sixteen different pieces, which are used to play the game with. A player starts off with a king, a queen, eight pawns, and two each of bishops, knights and rooks. The aim of the game is to corner and immobilize the opponent’s king so he cannot make any further moves.

Modern chess is also known as the ‘queens chess’ as the queen is the piece with the most power. It can move any number of squares in any direction, given there is enough space to maneuver. All pieces move in straight or diagonal lines with the exception of knights. A knight’s movements are similar to the shape of the letter ‘L’. When the opponent’s king piece has been immobilized it is known as “checkmate”.

Chess has many benefits and it is now being taught in many schools over the world to children from a young age. It has many academic benefits and improves ones ability and skill. Chess improves a child’s thinking ability by teaching many skills. These include the ability to focus, plan tasks ahead, thinking analytically, abstractly and strategically and consider all the options before making a move. They also improve one’s social and communication skills by playing against another human player. Research has shown that kids that play chess regularly have a significant improvement in their math and reading ability.

Nowadays chess can be played pretty much anywhere. All you need is the board and pieces and somebody to play against. If you cannot find another person to challenge then there are plenty of computerized versions of chess. The software comes in many different versions such as 2D or 3D and with nice animated effects or just as a plain board and pieces. It is possible to play against a computer player and up the difficulty level if required. With the advent of the Internet it is now easily possible to search for many other players online whom to play against.

Garry Kasparov is one of the world’s most famous chess players. He is a chess grandmaster and one of the strongest chess players in history. He has the highest ranking on the FIDE listing. Ranked first in the world for nearly all of the 20 years from 1985 to 2005, Kasparov was the last undisputed World Chess Champion from 1985 until 1993; and continued to be “classical” World Chess Champion until his defeat by Vladimir Kramnik in 2000.

In February 1996, IBM’s chess computer Deep Blue defeated Kasparov in one game using normal time controls, in Deep Blue – Kasparov, 1996, Game 1. However, Kasparov retorted with 3 wins and 2 draws, soundly winning the match. In May 1997, an updated version of Deep Blue defeated Kasparov in a highly publicized six-game match. This was the first time a computer had ever defeated a world champion in match play. An award-winning documentary film was made about this famous match up entitled Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine.
There are a number of theories available relating to chess opening play and these are practiced almost everywhere around the world although you will also find there are a number of variations to these Chess Opening plays available. Because of the large number of opening play variations in the game of chess it only goes to prove just how complex the game is. In fact there are some chess opening plays that are considered equally good for both the White and Black player, unfortunately these opening plays can not be learnt and only come through experience. It is important that you use logical and healthy thinking when playing the game of chess.
Each opening play has a name of its own so to classify any game of chess you will need to know the move which characterizes a particular opening. Unfortunately each opening play has a number of different variations to them and they also have names of their own as well. Many opening plays which are similar will lead to positions which also have similar features.
In any opening move, you can move your pawns either 1 or 2 squares forward. Before deciding which piece to move, however, you must think ahead to your main objective and how you want the game to play out. Then, move the piece that will help you move towards that plan.
The classification of any opening play depends greatly on the first move made and it can either be an open, semi or closed opening. An opening play is called Open if the white starts with the move of 1.e4 and black responds move 1.e5. Whilst a semi-open opening play is if the white starts with a move of 1.e4 but the black does not respond with the move of 1.e5. Then we come to an opening play which is called closed and this is when the white does not start with the move 1.e4.
There are wide variety of opening play open moves around from the Italian game through to the Spanish, Scotch, Four Knights Game to Phillidor’s Defence the Russian Game, Bishop’s Opening and King’s Gambit. Whilst such games as French Defence, Caro-Cann Defence, Scandinavian Game, Alechkin’s Defence and the Sicilian Defence are the more common semi-open opening plays used. Then finally there are the closed opening play moves used in such games as Queen’s Gambit, English Game, King’s Indian Defence, Dutch Defence and Slav Defence.
However any good player should know about all openings and be able to play them accordingly, it is important that you should gain experience and knowledge about these opening plays. Remember each opening play possesses a key idea and this becomes easier to implement once you are able to understand it.

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  2. The Basic Details Of The Game Of Chess
  3. Chess – An Introduction
  4. Middle Game Tactics in Chess
  5. Not Every Chess Game Has a Winner

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