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Chess is a game played by two players that is dominated by strategy, precise movement, and advantageously trading pieces to get better positioning in order to win the game, which involves capturing the other players’ king. Chess has been played for hundreds of years in several countries around the world.
See the fact file below for more information on the chess or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Chess worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
HISTORY OF CHESS
- Although its earliest origins are uncertain, the game of chess is believed to have originated in India, where it was called chaturanga prior to the 6th century AD.
- It was from India that the game became popular and its popularity began spreading to Persia.
- When Persia was conquered by the Arabs in 633 AD, Muslims began to play as well.
- The Arabs took on the term “Shah Mat” which translates to “the King is dead;” this is where the word “checkmate” comes from.
- Soon, the game of chess spread to Europe, and this is where it evolved into its current form beginning in about the 15th century.
- The Greeks, Spanish, and Portuguese all had their own version of what chess was called.
- Archaeologists have uncovered ivory playing pieces and other chess artifacts in Uzbekistan which date to approximately 760 AD, providing evidence to the claim that the game had spread quite far during that time.
- Chess reached Western Europe, Russia, Iberia and Latin Europe by the year 1000.
- Around 1475, major changes were made to the game that resemble how we play today.
- It was around this time that formal rules regarding the theory of chess began to appear.
- The first standard chess manual was written by chess master Francois-Andre Danican Philidor in 1749.
- The period known as the “Romantic Era” in chess lasted from 1700-1873 and was characterized by the discovery of pawns as strategic pieces, the adaptation of rules concerning stalemates, as well as the convention that white pieces moved first.
RULES AND CONVENTIONS OF CHESS
- Chess begins with the division of pieces – white and black sets.
- Each set contains 16 pieces, as follows:
- 1 king
- 1 queen
- 2 rooks
- 2 bishops
- 2 knights
- 8 pawns
- Each game board has 64 squares, alternating in color between black and white, with 8 rows and 8 columns, called “ranks” and “files,” respectively.
- Typically, the person with the white set makes the first move.
- A piece is moved to an unoccupied square, or a square occupied by the opponent’s piece that is captured and taken off the board, no longer in play.
- Chess rules state that each player must make a move on his or her turn, and must not put their own king in check.
- Each piece has a different way of moving. For example, pawns can move forward unless they are capturing an opponent’s piece, in which case they can move diagonally.
- Knights move in “L” shapes, either two squares vertically and one square horizontally, or two squares horizontally and one square vertically – they are the only pieces that can jump over other pieces during the game.
- Bishops move diagonally across the board for any amount of spaces, forwards or backwards.
- Rooks move horizontally or vertically across the board for any amount of spaces, forwards or backwards.
- The queen can move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, in any direction, for any amount of spaces.
- The king can only move one square in any direction.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT CHESS
- In Armenian schools, chess is one of the mandatory subjects.
- Theoretically, two players could play a game of chess with 5,949 moves, making it the longest game possible.
- The longest official game of chess took place in 1989 that included 269 moves and went on for over 20 hours.
- In a single game of chess, there are 400 possible moves after each move played.
- It is possible to checkmate your opponent in just two moves.
- Chess is a proven way to improve memory function.
- Around 600 million people all around the world know how to play chess.
- The second book to ever be printed in the English language was about
the topic of chess. - Alan Turing, a world-renowned English mathematician and computer scientist, developed the first computer program for playing chess in 1951.
- The number of possible ways of playing the first four moves in a chess game is 318,979,564,000!
- Chess was criticized in the 19th century as a waste of time!
- Since chess was forbidden in the church in the 12th century, priests created a folding chess board so that it could be concealed as two books lying together.
- The world record for the number of moves without capture is 100; this was set in 1992.
Chess Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the chess across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Chess worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the chess which is a game played by two players that is dominated by strategy, precise movement, and advantageously trading pieces to get better positioning in order to win the game, which involves capturing the other players’ king. Chess has been played for hundreds of years in several countries around the world.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Chess Facts
- Specialty Moves
- Chess Crossword
- Titles and Rankings
- Chess Around the World
- Chess Wordsearch
- Full Concentration
- Chess Master Timeline
- Top Tips
- Opinion Piece
- Design a Badge
Frequently Asked Questions
How did chess get its name?
The game of chess was named by British merchants who misheard the original name, shah. Shah means king in Persian. The full meaning of shah mat is king is finished. Chess is also an acronym for Chariot (rook), Horse (knight), Elephant (bishop), and Soldiers (pawns).
Who first made chess?
There is a legend that says chess started around 200 B.C. A man named Hán Xin used it to help him win a war. But after he won the war, people forgot about the game. It wasn’t until many years later that it was remembered again in China during the 7th century AD. For a long time, some Chinese people believed that Shennong or Huangdi created chess.
Is chess a sport?
Chess is a sport that has rules and manners, like all other sports. The International Chess Federation makes sure that all international chess competitions are fair. The International Olympic Committee also says that chess is a sport.
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Link will appear as Chess Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, June 2, 2010
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.