Stefan Zweig once said, “As proved by evidence, chess is more lasting in its being and presence than all books and achievements; the only game that belongs to all people and all ages; of which none knows the divinity that bestowed it on the world, to slay boredom, to sharpen the senses, to exhilarate the spirit.”
In this quote, everything was said. Chess is really the best board game ever invented. You need to have a really “trained” mind to play it and an even better mind to win in it. There are a lot of books and films about chess players. Some players are so famous that their names aren’t forgotten even for decades. Chess players are considered to be smart people as you need to be smart and have good logic in order to win the game.
In the USSR chess was a very popular game. Chess competitions were really like a struggle for life. There were many good players from different parts of the USSR. For example, Armenia was really famous for its chess players. Nowadays Armenians as well love chess boards (shakhmat) and they keep playing it and developing.
Is Chess a sport?
Chess is regarded as a sport on a global scale. Chess is a sport that is officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
Interestingly, though, not all nations consider chess to be a sport. Most notably, chess is not regarded as a sport in the UK. This is not only detrimental to chess’ reputation in the UK. Financial funding for federations typically relies heavily on them being recognized as sports in those nations. Therefore, there is no public funding for chess in the UK.
Yet, some people doubt chess is a sport. They say that chess is competitive like sports. The participants are motivated to prevail in a challenging battle against a determined foe.
Unfortunately, there are flaws in this defense. Numerous games, such as Monopoly, Gin Rummy, and Tiddly Winks, can be competitive. No one contests that these activities are sports just because they involve competition.
All About Chess
Chess is one of the oldest and most well-known board games. It is played between two players using specially crafted pieces in contrasting colors, usually white and black, on a checkered board. Following White’s move, the players take turns switching roles according to predetermined rules, with the goal of forcing the opponent’s King, their most important piece, into checkmate—a situation in which it cannot escape capture.
Around the sixth century AD, chess made its debut in India, and by the tenth century, it had traveled from Asia to the Middle East and Europe. Chess has been referred to as the “royal game” since at least the 15th century due to the nobility’s love of the game. Early in the 19th century, both set design and rules had attained their current state. Chess, once a classy cerebral pastime, had a meteoric rise in popularity in the 20th century as players from the professional and state-sponsored circuits battled for a coveted world championship title and rising tournament payouts. Men, women, and kids from all around the world now participate in organized chess tournaments, postal correspondence games, and online chess.
Let’s see some interesting facts about chess.
- Chess is one of the required courses in Armenian schools.
- The longest chess game that may be played is 5,949 moves, which would be played by two players.
- In 1989, a 269-move game of chess that lasted more than 20 hours set the record for the longest official game.
- After each move made in a chess game, there are 400 other moves that could be made.
- In just two moves, you could checkmate your opponent.
- Chess has been shown to boost memory capacity.
- There are over 600 million chess players around the globe.
