Chess is regarded as a game of the kings. Probably this is the oldest game. Some people are of the opinion that this game was started some 5,000 years ago. The word ‘chess’ finds its origin in the Persian word ‘Shah’ which means ‘King’. This gives the impression that chess was started in Persia, but this is not true.
In fact, the game of chess was started in India. This was called Chaturanga – the names for traditional four army divisions. It is said that in ancient India, kings and emperors used to play chess to satisfy their lust for fighting in a harmless manner. During Moghul period this game became a fashion of Royal families. This game remained confined to India for about 2000 years. But later on, it spread to Persia, Arabia and finally to the countries of Europe. Gradually it became popular in all the countries of the world. Today the chess pieces include kings, queens, rooks, knights, bishops and pawns. The two most important and powerful pieces on each side are the king and queen. The king is the only piece that can not be captured but only check-mated.
The game of chess reached England in the year 1255. The first international competition of chess was held in London in 1851. In 1924, the International Federation of Chess Players was founded in France. Dr Emanuel Lasker of Germany was the world chess champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921. Amongst the women chess players, Vera Menchik of Great Britain retained the world championship from 1927 till her death in 1944. The youngest chess champion of the world is Gary Kimovich Kasparov of Russia, who won the title on 9 November, 1985 at the age of 22 years and 210 days.
Chess is now very popular in India. India has produced its own chess Grand Masters and International Masters. Among the world class chess players of India Viswhanathan Anand and Dibyendu Barua are prominent today.
Nowadays the world competition of chess is held every three years. Also the artificial intelligence of computers have started challenging the human brain in the game of chess. The recent win of Kasparov over the IBM computer still proves the supremacy of man over machine.