Come Play Chess With Me...Please

Where and when it has originated is still not clear up to now. But the widely believed origin of the game is accounted way back in the 6^th Century AD. The Indians were the one’s believed to have first played chess. During these times, they called it “Chaturanga”.  Later on, the Persians (Persia is now Iran) learned about the game and were the ones to introduce it to the Arabs when they were conquered. In turn, upon conquering Spain, the Arab soldiers brought the game with them and made it known to the Spaniards. From here, chess easily spread throughout Europe.

The Europeans were the ones who gave the names of the chess pieces that we know today.

The game is played by two people and uses a chess board. It is a square board which has 8 rows and 8 columns and has two alternating colours. With this being said, it sums up to a total of 64 square spaces to which the chess pieces can move about.

At the start of the game, the chess pieces occupy only the first two rows of the board. This means that both players will have 16 pieces at his disposal. The second row is occupied by pawns, while the first row (starting from the middle) has the King, the Queen, two Bishops, two Knights, and lastly two Rooks.

One of the most interesting things about playing chess is that each piece moves differently on the board.

Here is quick lool on how each of the pieces move.

• Pawn- can only move two squares initially, after that, it is only allowed to move one square at a time
• Rook- can move both horizontally and vertically and can move as many squares as it likes as long as it’s free
• Knight- this piece has the most unique movement among them all. It moves in an L-pattern in both vertical and horizontal direction. This is also the only chess piece that can jump over other pieces.
• Bishop- has very similar movement with the rook, the difference is that it only moves diagonally across the board. It can also occupy as many squares as it likes as long as it’s free
• Queen-  the most versatile and most powerful among them all. It can move horizontally, vertically, diagonally, and can occupy any square it wishes as long as it is free
• King- although being the most important piece in chess, it can only move vertically, horizontally, or diagonally but only 1 square at a time

The goal of this game is to constantly and strategically attack the King. Once the King has no available moves left and can no longer be saved by the other pieces, the term is checkmate. The word checkmate is from the Persian word “shah mat” which means the king is defeated.

Chess is one of the most popular games in the world. This is supported by the fact that over 600 million people around the globe play chess. WOW! Just try to go outside, to a park for instance and chances are you’ll see a couple of people trying to outwit one another. In schools, since the discovery of the benefits of it, students are now encouraged to play the game more than ever. Its availability on computers and over the internet has made it more accessible to players anywhere and anytime.

For me, chess is one of the easiest games to learn. In a matter of minutes, even children can already learn, play, and enjoy this incredible game. This means that the rules and the goal of chess can be easily grasped by anyone who wishes to learn it.

On top of that, most people don’t know that we should also exercise our brains regularly. By doing so, you are not only keeping brain well-tuned but also avoiding diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Challenging the brain constantly by playing chess regularly is a great way to keep it in its optimum performance level. So do yourself a favor will you.

Children can be the most beneficial in learning chess at a very young age. Learning and developing skills during this stage is a breeze since the brain is still thirsty and can absorb information easily. Studies have shown that children who play chess performed better in school. Improved reading comprehension, decision-making, critical thinking, creativity, and memory are only some of the positive results. So what would be the reason for them not to play it?

As mentioned earlier, even children at a very young age can easily understand how the game works. It just takes a matter of minutes to learn all the basics and you’re off to go! Personally, I started playing chess at the age of 10 and has enjoyed it ever since. If you are not yet familiar with the game then I strongly suggest that you start learning now and become a part of the millions of people enjoying it.

Practice, practice, and more practice! This is perhaps the best advice anyone can give you if you’d like to be skilful in the game. There is no better way to be good at something but by practicing and putting your effort into it. Remember the adage “practice makes perfect”? Ever wonder we hear it so often? It’s because it is true! My tip is to set aside a few minutes every day and regularly and you might be surprised at the results!

Before, there were two common problems when one wishes to enjoy a game of chess. The first one is that is not unusual that you would have a problem to find someone to play the game with. Second, even if you do find that “someone” it is more likely that you two are not on the same skill level. Today, in the era of computers and internet, these are no longer considered to be hindrances.

The use of chess softwares and availability of the game online have provided a great solution to the problems that we had before. You can now play it anytime-your opponent is the computer. Now, you can even set the skill level of your opponent and this is very useful with beginners to hone their skills. You must remember that it is very important to build confidence especially when you are just starting out. For example, how would you feel if you kept on losing and losing time and time again? I bet you would feel discouraged to continue to play chess again!

Despite being around for several hundred years now, it still remains to be one of the most loved and played board games there is. It doesn’t matter if your young or old, chess has managed to captivate the hearts all of all ages.

I  assure you that this is just the beginning of something great for those of you who are not familiar playing chess. Enjoy!