Chess is one of the popular board games that is played all around the world. There are various online platforms where you can play online games too. With the advent of computer engines, anyone now could study this game and become a master at it. The internet also played a huge role in the expansion of this game.
Most people know how to play this game and many experts play chess and earn money by streaming their games. It is no longer a game of geeks and nerds. Even though the game is one of the most popular games, many people are still oblivious to many of the unknown and interesting facts about this game. So, in this article, we have collected some of the most unique facts about this game.
1.First-ever chess
If you want to learn how to play chess, taking a look at its history might just prove to be useful. It was once known as Chaturanga and originated in the Southern part of India. It later migrated to the Persian Kingdom and, after Islamic kings conquered Persia. It then migrated to European nations.
2.The game depicted the courtrooms
In ancient times, the chessboard was used to represent the courtroom of the king. Since in most of the courtrooms, the role of the queen was minimal, so is the significance of the queen on the board. Earlier queens used to move only one square diagonally. Later under the influence of the Queen of Spain, the importance of the queen became very significant as we see today.
3.This game enhances memory
According to psychologists, it is the game that is associated with high brain functions. In this game, you need to remember many patterns of games, and in addition to this, a lot of calculations need to be made with the best possible move. This uses brain activity, making more neurological connections and adding more wrinkles to our brains.
4.Three and four-player board
Traditional chess only allows two players to play at a time. But with some modifications, the board can accommodate 3 and even 4 players at the same time. you can play as teams in a four-player board.
5.Fool’s mate
It is the shortest game that is only winnable if you are playing as white. It is a two-move checkmate sequence that ends with the white queen delivering a checkmate diagonally on the exposed king’s side.
6.The en passant
It is the only move in the game, in which a pawn after capturing another pawn, does not take on to the square of the captured pawn. This move was first introduced in Spain in the 1280s.
7.The longest castle
The longest castle can be played if the pawn on the same file as the King promotes to a Rook. The condition of the castling must be met. That is, the king and the newly promoted rook must not have moved. The king covers 5 squares during castling.
8.Computer engines
Alan Turing created the first chess-playing computer program in the early 1950s. Early computers were not strong enough and took a couple of minutes to make a move. It was later in the year 1988, the computer algorithm became faster and more advanced to win against the top GMs.
Many famous personalities are caught using engines to play chess and earn money. They were later banned from various platforms and from playing in tournaments.
9.Split of the Federation
When the Soviet Union broke down, two organizations controlled and organized the tournament. So, during these times we had two separate world championships. One for those who favored the Soviet Union and another who was against it.
- Number of possible games
Take a guess, how many combinations of pieces and moves can be there in a game? The closest answer that we have was proved by an American mathematician. He came up with an astronomically large number of 10 120. For reference for those who cannot fathom the size of this number, in our observable universe, there are 1080 particles.
So, the number of possible games is far greater than the number of atoms in the universe.
Conclusion
These were ten of the facts that you probably did not know. Bonus fact you can play chess and earn money, using the Winzo mobile app. Here, you compete with thousands of players online. If you win you can win exciting rewards.
