Invented

• While the modern form of the game dates back to fifteenth-century Europe, it is based on ancient Indian and Persian games that required a similar amount of brainpower. Chess's predecessor, chaturanga, was an Indian game that created the military theme as well as the overall format for chess. Created in the sixth century, the game spread over several centuries throughout the Middle East and into Europe.
  
  

Evolution

• The rules for the basic moves that each piece on the chessboard can make were adopted in Italy around 1475. The queen gained her abilities at this time, which gave the game the nickname "Queen's Chess" throughout this period. For several centuries, the game grew in importance, quickly becoming popular in intellectual circles. By the middle of the 1800s, chess tournaments had begun as a way to test chess players' skill.
  
  

The Facts

• A chessboard has eight rows and eight columns of squares, making 64 squares total. The two opposing armies are referred to as white and black, traditionally, and consist of eight pawns, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, a queen and a king. Play goes back and forth between both sides, with each player moving the pieces according to the abilities of each piece. When one player's king can no longer make a move because of the other player's pieces, that player loses.
  
  

Features

• Each piece, except for the queen, has limitations to its moves. The pawns can move straight forward and only one space at a time, unless they are going for a capture. In that case, they can move diagonally one space. The rooks can move forward, backward or sideways (but not diagonally) and an unlimited number of spaces. Bishops can only move diagonally and an unlimited number of spaces. Knights must move in an "L" shape: two spaces forward and one to the side (or one space forward and two to the side) in any direction. The king can move in any direction, though only one space at a time. The powerful queen can move in any direction and any number of spaces.
  
  

Type

• Chess can be played in a variety of different ways, the most popular being the traditional form of a board game. Real-time chess battles can also be played on the computer, by mail or by email. Different variants of chess include displacement chess, Dunsany's chess, Alice chess, checkers chess and dice chess.
  
  

Significance

• Due to its reliance on a heavy dose of strategy and tactics to be successful against a skilled opponent, chess has become something of a cultural staple. Intellectual disputes can still be settled over a game of chess. Chess is also accessible to anyone once they know the move capabilities of each piece, making it a game that can truly enjoyed by anyone and everyone.