ChessWed, 28 May 2008 18:21
The game chess explained in an easy to understand way.
Chess is one of the favorite and most popular board games around the globe. It is a game for all ages, gender, and nationality. Chess is a well-known game that helps enhance one's mental ability and competency. For this reason, chess is often referred to as a game for intelligent people.
The origins of chess can be traced back in India, where similar games were played thousands of years ago. However, the concept of chess as we know it today came from Southern Europe. It was believed that modern chess emerged here during the late 1600s. During that time, chess was a big part of the noble culture and was even dubbed as the King's Game.
Chess as a sport was introduced before the dawn of the 18th century and has never stopped evolving since. The latest development in the game is its Internet version, which allows chess to be played over the Web. Playing chess online has become increasingly popular because it allows players from all over the globe to participate in their favorite game. Furthermore, online chess comes with a chat component that also allows players to chat with each other while playing. Even though there had been many changes made to chess throughout the years, its concepts still remains the same.
The Players Mission
Chess is a game played between two people who are each given 16 pieces to move around a board that has 64 checkered squares. Each piece is designated a specific value that is significant to its role in the game. The goal of each of the two players is to checkmate his opponent's King, which is the highest ranking piece on board. To do this, you have to use your cunning and skill to break into your opponent's defense while protecting your King at the same time.
The Chess Pieces Defined
There are six different types of chess pieces: the pawn, the rook, the knight, the bishop, the queen, and the king. Each player has eight pieces of pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, a queen, and a king. Each piece moves around in a different way. The movements are often aimed to accomplish three goals: to capture the opponent's chess pieces; to put up defense for other pieces, more importantly the king; and to control the more important squares in the game.
Although the king is the most important piece in the game since its capture pronounces the end of the match, it is also very weak. Its movements are only limited to a square in any direction. The queen, on the other hand, is a very powerful piece. It can move across the board in any direction provided that it will not run through other chess pieces. The rest of the chess pieces have different move schemes as well: the bishops only move diagonally, the knights can move in an L shape; the rooks only move vertically or horizontally, and the pawns are only allowed to move forward.
The End Game
Chess is not a time-bound game. This means that players can play for as long as both their kings are still standing. More often than not, the game ends when a player's king is trapped or checkmated, but there are instances when this does not happen. Aside from a checkmate, a chess match may also end if any of the player resigned from the game or if there's a draw.