Wednesday 31 July 2013

Whites And Blacks

Chess has a very long and distinguished history.  It is believed to originate out of India during the Gupta empire, and subsequently made its way to the West in the 9th century.  Of course there have been many different advancements between the time periods of then and now, which has made chess what it is today.

The longest tournament game of chess lasted for 269 moves (20 hours, 15 minutes), which ended in a draw.  Theoretical estimates for a longest game are varied and extreme (5,000+ moves), which are complicated by special rules (and bad play!); i.e. the 50-move rule and 3-move repetition.

There could be a top 10 list just on the queen, which has undergone a number of changes over history. Starting out as being able to move only one square diagonally, it was later able to move two squares – and further along the road, able to move like a knight.  Of course now, thankfully, the queen is able to move diagonally, horizontally, and vertically to the scope of another piece. Originally the queen was the “fers,” a counselor or prime minister, the king’s advisor.  The Europeans later changed it in the 1400s to become the strongest piece in chess.

After three moves – that is three moves by each side (each “move” in chess takes into consideration a move by White and Black) – there are over nine million possible positions.  Similar calculations have been made; if you’re mathematically-inclined, look up Shannon number for estimates on the complexity of chess. The possibilities in chess add to its beauty.  You surely don’t have to worry of the same position when you play, which lends to the importance of pattern recognition and position-specific strategies.  In other words, you have to think when at the board – it’s definitely not all the same.

Source : www.toptenz.net/top-10-interesting-facts-about-chess.php?wpst=1

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