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By Paul R. Wonning
© 2005
An unchanging trait humans have is their desire to devise games to amuse
themselves, foster competition, and have fun. This article will entertain a
brief discussion on the history and rules of the game.Board games have become
very popular and have been with us for a long time. Evidence for these
types of games has been found as far back as 1600 B.C. Modern forms of
various board games began to emerge about 600 AD in Persia - now Iran.
These ancient games gradually evolved into the modern games of chess,
Parcheesi, backgammon, and others.
Chess is considered by many to be the king of board games. No one knows
the exact origin of the game. It is thought to be descended from an Indian
game called Chaturanga. The word is Indian and refers to the four arms of
an Indian army - elephants, cavalry, infantry, and chariots. It emerged
in India sometime around 600 AD. It quickly became popular and acquired
most of the rules of the modern game. Its popularity spread by trade
routes into the rest of the near East, and eventually to China.
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The Arabs became acquainted with the game through their Eastern conquests.
Using their vast empires as a conduit, they spread the newly popular game
throughout Asia Minor. Europeans learned the game through Arab contact
sometime in the tenth century.
Chess was a lot slower paced at this time. During the fifteenth century
Europeans began revising the rules and replacing some of the pieces with
new ones. The revisions quickened the play by giving certain key pieces
new powers and moves. These alterations gained almost universal
acceptance by the 1500's. The new rules also increased the popularity of
the game, which caused the formation of national chess associations.
These associations began to sponsor chess tournaments, beginning in
Russia and Germany. The tournaments produced national chess masters,
which led, in turn, to international tournaments. A German - Adolph
Anderssen - was the first international chess champion winning the
tournament in London, England in 1851.
Many nations have dominated the game over the years. Early in the
tournament history the game was dominated by the Italians. Then the
French became masters. By the early 20th Century Russia began to dominate.
By the late 20th century Russia and the United States became rivals for
chess champions, although the Russians are still dominant at the game.
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Chess Rules
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