Chess: Difference between revisions
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{{About|the Western board game|other chess games or other uses|Chess (disambiguation)}} |
{{About|the Western board game|other chess games or other uses|Chess (disambiguation)}} |
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{{Copy edit|date=December 2010}} |
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{{Infobox game |
{{Infobox game |
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| subject_name = Chess |
| subject_name = Chess |
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'''Chess''' is a two-player [[board game]] played on a [[chessboard]], a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Each player begins the game with sixteen [[Chess piece|pieces]]: one [[king (chess)|king]], one [[queen (chess)|queen]], two [[rook (chess)|rooks]], two [[knight (chess)|knights]], two [[bishop (chess)|bishops]], and eight [[pawn (chess)|pawns]]. The object of the game is to [[checkmate]] the opponent's king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "[[Check (chess)|check]]") and there is no way to remove or defend it from attack on the next move. The game's present form emerged in Europe during the second half of the 15th century, an evolution of an older Indian game, [[Shatranj]]. Theoreticians have developed extensive [[chess strategy|chess strategies]] and [[chess tactics|tactics]] since the game's inception. Computers have been used for many years to create [[Computer chess|chess-playing programs]], and their abilities and insights have contributed significantly to modern chess theory. One, [[Deep Blue (chess computer)|Deep Blue]], was the first machine to [[Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov|beat]] a reigning World Chess Champion when it defeated [[Garry Kasparov]] in 1997. |
'''Chess''' is a two-player [[board game]] played on a [[chessboard]], a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Each player begins the game with sixteen [[Chess piece|pieces]]: one [[king (chess)|king]], one [[queen (chess)|queen]], two [[rook (chess)|rooks]], two [[knight (chess)|knights]], two [[bishop (chess)|bishops]], and eight [[pawn (chess)|pawns]]. The object of the game is to [[checkmate]] the opponent's king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "[[Check (chess)|check]]") and there is no way to remove or defend it from attack on the next move. The game's present form emerged in Europe during the second half of the 15th century, an evolution of an older Indian game, [[Shatranj]]. Theoreticians have developed extensive [[chess strategy|chess strategies]] and [[chess tactics|tactics]] since the game's inception. Computers have been used for many years to create [[Computer chess|chess-playing programs]], and their abilities and insights have contributed significantly to modern chess theory. One, [[Deep Blue (chess computer)|Deep Blue]], was the first machine to [[Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov|beat]] a reigning World Chess Champion when it defeated [[Garry Kasparov]] in 1997. |
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Organized competitive chess began during the 16th century. The first official [[World Chess Champion]], [[Wilhelm Steinitz]], claimed his title in 1886; the current World Champion is [[Viswanathan Anand]] from [[India]]. In addition to the World Championship, there is the [[Women's World Chess Championship|Women's World Championship]], the [[World Junior Chess Championship|Junior World Championship]], the [[World Senior Chess Championship|World Senior Championship]], the [[Correspondence chess#ICCF World Champions|Correspondence Chess World Championship]], the [[World Computer Chess Championship]], and Blitz and Rapid World Championships (see [[fast chess]]). The [[Chess Olympiad]] is a popular competition among teams from different nations. Online chess has opened amateur and professional competition to a wide and varied group of players. Chess is a [[Olympic sports#Recognized sports|recognized sport]] of the [[International Olympic Committee]], and international chess competition is sanctioned by the [[FIDE]]. Chess is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in [[Chess club|clubs]], online, by [[correspondence chess|correspondence]], and in [[List of chess terms#Tournament|tournaments]]. Some other popular forms of chess are fast chess and computer chess. There are many [[chess variants]] that have different rules, different pieces, and different boards. These variants include [[blindfold chess]] and [[chess960|Fischer Random Chess/Chess960]]. |
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==Rules== |
==Rules== |
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{{Main|Rules of chess}} |
{{Main|Rules of chess}} |
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The official rules of chess are maintained by the [[FIDE|World Chess Federation]]. Along with information on official [[chess tournament]]s, the rules are described in the ''FIDE Handbook'', |
The official rules of chess are maintained by the [[FIDE|World Chess Federation]]. Along with information on official [[chess tournament]]s, the rules are described in the ''FIDE Handbook'', Laws of Chess section.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=124&view=article |
| url=http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=124&view=article |
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| title=Laws of Chess |
| title=Laws of Chess |
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===Setup=== |
===Setup=== |
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[[File:ChessStartingPosition.jpg|thumb |
[[File:ChessStartingPosition.jpg|thumb|Pieces at the start of a game]] |
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{{Chess diagram|= |
{{Chess diagram|= |
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|tright |
|tright |
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|Initial position: first row: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, and rook; second row: pawns |
|Initial position: first row: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, and rook; second row: pawns |
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}} |
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Chess is played on a square [[Chessboard|board]] of eight rows (called [[rank (chess)|''ranks'']] and denoted with numbers ''1'' to ''8'') and eight columns (called [[file (chess)|''files'']] and denoted with letters ''a'' to ''h'') of squares. The colors of the sixty-four squares alternate and are referred to as "light squares" and "dark squares". The chessboard is placed with a light square at the right |
Chess is played on a square [[Chessboard|board]] of eight rows (called [[rank (chess)|''ranks'']] and denoted with numbers ''1'' to ''8'') and eight columns (called [[file (chess)|''files'']] and denoted with letters ''a'' to ''h'') of squares. The colors of the sixty-four squares alternate and are referred to as "light squares" and "dark squares". The chessboard is placed with a light square at the right-hand end of the rank nearest to each player, and the pieces are set out as shown in the diagram, with each [[Queen (chess)|queen]] on its own color. |
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The pieces are divided, by convention, into white and black sets. The players are referred to as "[[White and Black in chess|White]]" and "[[White and Black in chess|Black]]," and each begins the game with sixteen [[Chess piece|pieces]] of the specified color. These consist of one [[king (chess)|king]], one [[queen (chess)|queen]], two [[rook (chess)|rooks]], two [[bishop (chess)|bishops]], two [[knight (chess)|knights]], and eight [[pawn (chess)|pawns]]. |
The pieces are divided, by convention, into white and black sets. The players are referred to as "[[White and Black in chess|White]]" and "[[White and Black in chess|Black]]," and each begins the game with sixteen [[Chess piece|pieces]] of the specified color. These consist of one [[king (chess)|king]], one [[queen (chess)|queen]], two [[rook (chess)|rooks]], two [[bishop (chess)|bishops]], two [[knight (chess)|knights]], and eight [[pawn (chess)|pawns]]. |
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===Movement=== |
===Movement=== |
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White always moves first. After the initial move, the players alternately move one piece at a time (with the exception of ''[[castling]]'', when two pieces are moved). Pieces are moved to either an unoccupied square or one occupied by an opponent's piece, |
White always moves first. After the initial move, the players alternately move one piece at a time (with the exception of ''[[castling]]'', when two pieces are moved). Pieces are moved to either an unoccupied square or one occupied by an opponent's piece, which is captured and removed from play. With the sole exception of ''[[en passant]]'', all pieces capture opponent's pieces by moving to the square that the opponent's piece occupies. A player may not make any move that would put or leave his king under attack. If the player to move has no legal moves, the game is over; it is either a ''[[checkmate]]''—if the king is under attack—or a ''[[stalemate]]''—if the king is not. |
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Each [[chess piece]] has its own style of moving. In the diagrams, the dots mark the squares where the piece can move if no other pieces (including one's own piece) are on the squares between the piece's initial position and its destination. |
Each [[chess piece]] has its own style of moving. In the diagrams, the dots mark the squares where the piece can move if no other pieces (including one's own piece) are on the squares between the piece's initial position and its destination. |
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* The [[king (chess)|king]] moves ''one'' square in any direction |
* The [[king (chess)|king]] moves ''one'' square in any direction. The king has also a special move which is called [[chess#Castling|''castling'']] and involves also moving a rook. |
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* The [[rook (chess)|rook]] can move any number of squares along any rank or file, but may not leap over other pieces. Along with the king, the rook is |
* The [[rook (chess)|rook]] can move any number of squares along any rank or file, but may not leap over other pieces. Along with the king, the rook is involved during the king's ''castling'' move. |
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* The [[bishop (chess)|bishop]] can move any number of squares diagonally, but may not leap over other pieces. |
* The [[bishop (chess)|bishop]] can move any number of squares diagonally, but may not leap over other pieces. |
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* The [[queen (chess)|queen]] combines the power of the rook and bishop and can move any number of squares along rank, file, or diagonal, but it may not leap over other pieces. |
* The [[queen (chess)|queen]] combines the power of the rook and bishop and can move any number of squares along rank, file, or diagonal, but it may not leap over other pieces. |
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* The [[knight (chess)|knight]] moves to any of the closest squares that are ''not'' on the same rank, file, or diagonal, thus the move forms an "L"-shape two squares long and one square wide. The knight is the only piece that |
* The [[knight (chess)|knight]] moves to any of the closest squares that are ''not'' on the same rank, file, or diagonal, thus the move forms an "L"-shape two squares long and one square wide. The knight is the only piece that can leap over other pieces. |
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* The [[pawn (chess)|pawn]] may move forward to the unoccupied square immediately in front of it on the same file |
* The [[pawn (chess)|pawn]] may move forward to the unoccupied square immediately in front of it on the same file; or on its first move it may advance two squares along the same file provided both squares are unoccupied; or it may move to a square occupied by an opponent's piece which is diagonally in front of it on an adjacent file, capturing that piece. The pawn has two special moves: the [[chess#En passant|''en passant'']] capture and pawn [[chess#Promotion|promotion]]. |
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{{Chess diagram small |
{{Chess diagram small |
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{{-}} |
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<small>* Pawns can optionally move two squares forward instead of one on their first move only. They capture diagonally (black x's); they cannot capture with their normal move (black circles). Pawns are also involved in the special move ''en passant'' |
<small>* Pawns can optionally move two squares forward instead of one on their first move only. They capture diagonally (black x's); they cannot capture with their normal move (black circles). Pawns are also involved in the special move called ''en passant''.</small> |
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===Castling=== |
===Castling=== |
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[[File:ChessCastlingMovie.gif|thumb|250px |
[[File:ChessCastlingMovie.gif|thumb|250px|Examples of castling]] |
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{{Main|Castling}} |
{{Main|Castling}} |
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Once in every game, each king is allowed to make a special move, known as ''[[castling]]''. Castling consists of moving the king two squares along the first rank toward a rook (which is on the |
Once in every game, each king is allowed to make a special move, known as ''[[castling]]''. Castling consists of moving the king two squares along the first rank toward a rook (which is on the player's first rank{{#tag:ref|Without this additional restriction, which was added to the FIDE rules in 1972, it would be possible to promote a pawn on the ''e'' [[File (chess)|file]] to a rook and then castle vertically across the board (as long as the other conditions are met). This way of castling was "discovered" by Max Pam and used by [[Tim Krabbé]] in a [[Joke chess problem#Offbeat interpretations of the rules of chess|chess puzzle]] before the rules were amended to disallow it. See ''Chess Curiosities'' by Krabbé. See also [[:de:Pam-Krabbé-Rochade]] for the diagrams online.|group=note}}) and then placing the rook on the last square the king has just crossed. Castling is permissible only if all of the following conditions hold:<ref>{{cite web |
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| title=The rules of chess |
| title=The rules of chess |
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| url=http://www.chessvariants.org/d.chess/chess.html |
| url=http://www.chessvariants.org/d.chess/chess.html |
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| accessdate=2008-01-07 |
| accessdate=2008-01-07 |
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}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
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* Neither of the pieces involved in |
* Neither of the pieces involved in castling may have been previously moved during the game. |
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* There must be no pieces between the king and the rook |
* There must be no pieces between the king and the rook. |
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* The king may not currently be in check, nor may the king pass through squares that are under attack by enemy pieces, nor move to a square where it is in check. |
* The king may not currently be in check, nor may the king pass through squares that are under attack by enemy pieces, nor move to a square where it is in check. |
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===''En passant''=== |
===''En passant''=== |
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[[File:ChessPawnSpecialMoves.gif|thumb|250px |
[[File:ChessPawnSpecialMoves.gif|thumb|250px|Examples of pawn moves: promotion (left) and ''en passant'' (right)]] |
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{{Main|En passant}} |
{{Main|En passant}} |
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When a pawn advances two squares and there is an opponent's pawn on an adjacent file next to its destination square, then the opponent's pawn can capture it ''en passant'' (in passing), and move to the square the pawn passed over. However, this can only be done on the very next move, or the right to do so is lost. For example, if the black pawn has just advanced two squares from g7 to g5, then the white pawn on f5 can take it via ''en passant'' on g6 (but only on white's next move). |
When a pawn advances two squares and there is an opponent's pawn on an adjacent file next to its destination square, then the opponent's pawn can capture it ''en passant'' (in passing), and move to the square the pawn passed over. However, this can only be done on the very next move, or the right to do so is lost. For example, if the black pawn has just advanced two squares from g7 to g5, then the white pawn on f5 can take it via ''en passant'' on g6 (but only on white's next move). |
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{{Main|Promotion (chess)}} |
{{Main|Promotion (chess)}} |
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When a pawn advances to the eighth rank, as a part of the move it is ''promoted'' and must be exchanged for the player's choice of queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. Usually, the pawn is chosen to be promoted to a queen, but in some cases another piece is chosen |
When a pawn advances to the eighth rank, as a part of the move it is ''promoted'' and must be exchanged for the player's choice of queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. Usually, the pawn is chosen to be promoted to a queen, but in some cases another piece is chosen; this is called [[underpromotion]]. In the diagram on the right, the pawn on c7 can be advanced to the eighth rank and be promoted to an allowed piece. There is no restriction placed on the piece that is chosen on promotion, so it is possible to have more pieces of the same type than at the start of the game (for example, two queens). |
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===Check=== |
===Check=== |
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{{Main|Check (chess)}} |
{{Main|Check (chess)}} |
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When a king is under immediate attack by one or two of the opponent's pieces, it is said to be in [[Check (chess)|''check'']]. A response to a check is a legal move if it results in a position where the king is no longer under direct attack ( |
When a king is under immediate attack by one or two of the opponent's pieces, it is said to be in [[Check (chess)|''check'']]. A response to a check is a legal move if it results in a position where the king is no longer under direct attack (that is, not in check). This can involve capturing the checking piece; interposing a piece between the checking piece and the king (which is possible only if the attacking piece is a queen, rook, or bishop and there is a square between it and the king); or moving the king to a square where it is not under attack. Castling is not a permissible response to a check. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent; this occurs when the opponent's king is in check, and there is no legal way to remove it from attack. It is illegal for a player to make a move that would put or leave his own king in check. |
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===End of the game=== |
===End of the game=== |
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Although the objective of the game is to ''checkmate'' the opponent, chess games do not have to end in checkmate—either player may [[List of chess terms#Resign|resign]] if the situation looks hopeless. It is considered bad etiquette to continue playing when in a truly hopeless position.<ref>Burgess (2000), p. 481</ref> If it is a [[time control|timed]] game, a player may run out of time and lose, even with a much superior position. Games also may end in a [[Draw (chess)|draw]] (tie). A draw can occur in several situations, including [[draw by agreement]], [[stalemate]], [[threefold repetition]] of a position, the [[fifty-move rule]], or a draw by impossibility of checkmate (usually because of [[Glossary of chess#Insufficient material|insufficient material]] to checkmate). As checkmate from some positions cannot be forced in fewer than 50 moves ( |
Although the objective of the game is to ''checkmate'' the opponent, chess games do not have to end in checkmate—either player may [[List of chess terms#Resign|resign]] if the situation looks hopeless. It is considered bad etiquette to continue playing when in a truly hopeless position.<ref>Burgess (2000), p. 481</ref> If it is a [[time control|timed]] game, a player may run out of time and lose, even with a much superior position. Games also may end in a [[Draw (chess)|draw]] (tie). A draw can occur in several situations, including [[draw by agreement]], [[stalemate]], [[threefold repetition]] of a position, the [[fifty-move rule]], or a draw by impossibility of checkmate (usually because of [[Glossary of chess#Insufficient material|insufficient material]] to checkmate). As checkmate from some positions cannot be forced in fewer than 50 moves (such as in the [[pawnless chess endgame]] and [[two knights endgame]]), the fifty-move rule is not applied everywhere,{{#tag:ref|The 50 moves rule is not applied at FICGS.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ficgs.com/membership.html#chess |
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| title=50 moves rules |
| title=50 moves rules |
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| accessdate=2009-12-01 |
| accessdate=2009-12-01 |
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| publisher=FICGS |
| publisher=FICGS |
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}}</ref> particularly in correspondence chess. |
}}</ref>|group=note}} particularly in correspondence chess. |
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{{Chess diagram small|= |
{{Chess diagram small|= |
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| tleft |
| tleft |
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===Time control=== |
===Time control=== |
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[[File:Digitalna sahovska ura2.jpg |
[[File:Digitalna sahovska ura2.jpg|thumb|A modern digital chess clock]] |
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Besides casual games without any time restriction, chess is also played with a [[time control]], mostly by club and professional players. If a player's time runs out before the game is completed, the game is automatically lost (provided his opponent has enough pieces left to deliver checkmate). The duration of a game ranges from long games played up to seven hours to shorter [[rapid chess]] games |
Besides casual games without any time restriction, chess is also played with a [[time control]], mostly by club and professional players. If a player's time runs out before the game is completed, the game is automatically lost (provided his opponent has enough pieces left to deliver checkmate). The duration of a game ranges from long games played up to seven hours to shorter [[rapid chess]] games, usually lasting 30 minutes or one hour per game. Even shorter is [[blitz chess]], with a time control of three to fifteen minutes for each player, and [[bullet chess]] (under three minutes). In tournament play, time is controlled using a [[game clock]] that has two displays, one for each player's remaining time. |
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==Notation for recording moves== |
==Notation for recording moves== |
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{{Main|Chess notation}} |
{{Main|Chess notation}} |
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Chess games and positions are recorded using a special notation, most often [[algebraic chess notation]].<ref>See paragraph "E. Algebraic notation" in |
Chess games and positions are recorded using a special notation, most often [[algebraic chess notation]].<ref>See paragraph "E. Algebraic notation" in {{cite web |
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| url=http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=125&view=article |
| url=http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=125&view=article |
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| title=E.I.01B. Appendices |
| title=E.I.01B. Appendices |
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| accessdate=2008-11-26 |
| accessdate=2008-11-26 |
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| publisher=FIDE |
| publisher=FIDE |
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}}</ref> ''Abbreviated (or short) algebraic notation'' generally records moves in the format ''abbreviation of the piece moved |
}}</ref> ''Abbreviated (or short) algebraic notation'' generally records moves in the format ''abbreviation of the piece moved – file where it moved – rank where it moved''. For example, ''Qg5'' means "queen moves to the ''g''-file and ''5th'' rank (that is, to the square ''g5''). If there are two pieces of the same type that can move to the same square, one more letter or number is added to indicate the file or rank from which the piece moved, e.g. ''Ngf3'' means "knight from the g-file moves to the square f3". The letter ''P'' indicating a pawn is not used, so that ''e4'' means "pawn moves to the square ''e4''". |
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If the piece makes a capture, "x" is inserted before the destination square |
If the piece makes a capture, "x" is inserted before the destination square. Thus ''Bxf3'' means "bishop captures on f3". When a pawn makes a capture, the file from which the pawn departed is used in place of a piece initial, and ranks may be omitted if unambiguous. For example, ''exd5'' (pawn on the e-file captures the piece on ''d5'') or ''exd'' (pawn on e-file captures something on the d-file). |
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[[File:Scholars mate animation.gif|frame|"[[Scholar's mate]]"]] |
[[File:Scholars mate animation.gif|frame|"[[Scholar's mate]]"]] |
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If a pawn moves to its last rank, achieving promotion, the piece chosen is indicated after the move, for example ''e1Q'' or ''e1=Q''. Castling is indicated by the special notations |
If a pawn moves to its last rank, achieving promotion, the piece chosen is indicated after the move, for example ''e1Q'' or ''e1=Q''. Castling is indicated by the special notations 0–0 for [[kingside]] castling and 0–0–0 for queenside castling. A move that places the opponent's king in check usually has the notation "+" added. Checkmate can be indicated by "#" (occasionally "++", although this is sometimes used for a [[double check]] instead). At the end of the game, "1–0" means "White won," "0–1" means "Black won," and "½–½" indicates a draw.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=125&view=article |
| url=http://www.fide.com/fide/handbook.html?id=125&view=article |
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| title=FIDE Laws of Chess |
| title=FIDE Laws of Chess |
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# Qh5?! Nc6 |
# Qh5?! Nc6 |
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# Bc4 Nf6?? |
# Bc4 Nf6?? |
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# Qxf7# |
# Qxf7# 1–0 |
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==Strategy and tactics== |
==Strategy and tactics== |
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Chess strategy consists of setting and achieving long-term goals during the game – for example, where to place different pieces – while tactics concentrate on immediate maneuver. These two parts of chess |
Chess strategy consists of setting and achieving long-term goals during the game – for example, where to place different pieces – while tactics concentrate on immediate maneuver. These two parts of the chess-playing process cannot be completely separated, because strategic goals are mostly achieved by the means of tactics, while the tactical opportunities are based on the previous strategy of play. |
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A game of chess is normally divided into three phases: [[Chess opening|opening]], typically the first 10 to 25 moves, when players move their pieces into useful positions for the coming battle; [[Chess middlegame|middlegame]], usually the fiercest part of the game; and [[Chess endgame|endgame]], when most of the pieces are gone, kings typically take a more active part in the struggle, and [[pawn promotion]] is often decisive. |
A game of chess is normally divided into three phases: [[Chess opening|opening]], typically the first 10 to 25 moves, when players move their pieces into useful positions for the coming battle; [[Chess middlegame|middlegame]], usually the fiercest part of the game; and [[Chess endgame|endgame]], when most of the pieces are gone, kings typically take a more active part in the struggle, and [[pawn promotion]] is often decisive. |
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| | |ql| |bl|pl|pl|pl|= |
| | |ql| |bl|pl|pl|pl|= |
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| | |rl|rl| | |kl| |= |
| | |rl|rl| | |kl| |= |
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| After [[sacrifice (chess)|sacrificing]] a piece to expose Black's king, Botvinnik played 1. Bh5+ and Yudovich resigned as mate is inevitable |
| After [[sacrifice (chess)|sacrificing]] a piece to expose Black's king, Botvinnik played 1. Bh5+ and Yudovich resigned, as mate is inevitable: {{nowrap|1...Kxh5}} {{nowrap|2.Ng3+ Kh4}} {{nowrap|3.Qe4+ Rf4}} 4.Qxf4#, or {{nowrap|1...Kh7}} {{nowrap|2.Nf6+ [[double check]] Kh8}} 3.Qh7#. |
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}} |
}} |
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In chess, tactics in general concentrate on short-term actions – so short-term that they can be calculated in advance by a human player or by a computer. The possible depth of calculation depends on the player's ability. In quiet positions with many possibilities on both sides, a deep calculation is more difficult and may not be practical, while in "tactical" positions with a limited number of forced variations where much less than the best move would lose quickly, strong players can calculate long sequences of moves. |
In chess, tactics in general concentrate on short-term actions – so short-term that they can be calculated in advance by a human player or by a computer. The possible depth of calculation depends on the player's ability. In quiet positions with many possibilities on both sides, a deep calculation is more difficult and may not be practical, while in "tactical" positions with a limited number of forced variations where much less than the best move would lose quickly, strong players can calculate long sequences of moves. |
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Simple one-move or two-move tactical actions – threats, exchanges of [[material (chess)|material]], double attacks |
Simple one-move or two-move tactical actions – threats, exchanges of [[material (chess)|material]], and double attacks – can be combined into more complicated [[Combination (chess)|combinations]], sequences of tactical maneuvers that are often forced from the point of view of one or both players.<ref name="Harding 2003, p. 70ff">Harding (2003), p. 70ff</ref> Theoreticians described many elementary tactical methods and typical maneuvers; for example, [[Pin (chess)|pins]], [[Fork (chess)|forks]], [[Skewer (chess)|skewers]], [[battery (chess)|batteries]], [[discovered attack]]s (especially discovered checks), [[zwischenzug]]s, [[deflection (chess)|deflections]], [[decoy (chess)|decoys]], [[Sacrifice (chess)|sacrifices]], [[undermining (chess)|underminings]], [[Overloading (chess)|overloadings]], and [[Interference (chess)|interferences]].<ref>Harding (2003), p. 8ff</ref> |
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A forced variation that involves a sacrifice and usually results in a tangible gain is called a [[combination (chess)|combination]].<ref name="Harding 2003, p. 70ff"/> Brilliant combinations – such as those in the [[Immortal Game]] – are considered beautiful and are admired by chess lovers. A common type of chess exercise, aimed at developing players' skills, is showing players a position where a decisive combination is available and challenging them to find it.<ref>Burgess, Nunn, & Emms (2004), pp. 14–15</ref> |
A forced variation that involves a sacrifice and usually results in a tangible gain is called a [[combination (chess)|combination]].<ref name="Harding 2003, p. 70ff"/> Brilliant combinations – such as those in the [[Immortal Game]] – are considered beautiful and are admired by chess lovers. A common type of chess exercise, aimed at developing players' skills, is showing players a position where a decisive combination is available and challenging them to find it.<ref>Burgess, Nunn, & Emms (2004), pp. 14–15</ref> |
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{{Main|Chess strategy}} |
{{Main|Chess strategy}} |
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Chess strategy is concerned with evaluation of chess positions and with setting up goals and long-term plans for the future play. During the evaluation, players must take into account numerous factors such as the value of the pieces on the board, control of the center and centralization, the [[pawn structure]], |
Chess strategy is concerned with evaluation of chess positions and with setting up goals and long-term plans for the future play. During the evaluation, players must take into account numerous factors such as the value of the pieces on the board, control of the center and centralization, the [[pawn structure]], king safety, and the control of key squares or groups of squares (for example, diagonals, open files, and dark or light squares). |
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{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border:none; font-size: 95%; clear: right; padding:0" |
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| title=Siegbert Tarrasch vs Max Euwe, Bad Pistyan it, CZE 1922 |
| title=Siegbert Tarrasch vs Max Euwe, Bad Pistyan it, CZE 1922 |
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| publisher=ChessGames |
| publisher=ChessGames |
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}} (Java needed)</ref> |
}} (Java needed)</ref>... |
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}} |
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| {{Chess diagram small |
| {{Chess diagram small |
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|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|= |
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| ...and its pawn skeleton (the "Rauzer formation") |
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The most basic step in evaluating a position is to count the [[Chess piece relative value|total value of pieces]] of both sides.<ref>Harding (2003), pp. 1–7</ref> The point values used for this purpose are based on experience; usually pawns are considered worth one point, knights and bishops about three points each, rooks about five points (the value difference between a rook and a bishop or knight being known as [[The exchange (chess)|the exchange]]), and queens about nine points. The king is more valuable than all of the other pieces combined, since its checkmate loses the game. But in practical terms, in the endgame the king as a fighting piece is generally more powerful than a bishop or knight but less powerful than a rook.<ref>Lasker (1934), p. 73</ref> These basic values are then modified by other factors like |
The most basic step in evaluating a position is to count the [[Chess piece relative value|total value of pieces]] of both sides.<ref>Harding (2003), pp. 1–7</ref> The point values used for this purpose are based on experience; usually pawns are considered worth one point, knights and bishops about three points each, rooks about five points (the value difference between a rook and a bishop or knight being known as [[The exchange (chess)|the exchange]]), and queens about nine points. The king is more valuable than all of the other pieces combined, since its checkmate loses the game. But in practical terms, in the endgame the king as a fighting piece is generally more powerful than a bishop or knight but less powerful than a rook.<ref>Lasker (1934), p. 73</ref> These basic values are then modified by other factors like position of the piece (for example, advanced pawns are usually more valuable than those on their initial squares), coordination between pieces (for example, a pair of bishops usually coordinate better than a bishop and a knight), or the type of position (knights are generally better in [[Glossary of chess#Closed game|closed positions]] with many pawns while bishops are more powerful in [[Glossary of chess#Open game|open]] positions).<ref>Watson (1998), p. 163ff</ref> |
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Another important factor in the evaluation of chess positions is the pawn structure (sometimes known as the pawn skeleton), or the configuration of pawns on the chessboard.<ref>Harding (2003), pp. 138ff</ref> |
Another important factor in the evaluation of chess positions is the pawn structure (sometimes known as the pawn skeleton), or the configuration of pawns on the chessboard.<ref>Harding (2003), pp. 138ff</ref> Since pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and largely determines the strategic nature of the position. Weaknesses in the pawn structure, such as [[Isolated pawn|isolated]], [[Doubled pawns|doubled]], or [[backward pawn]]s and [[chess terminology#Hole|holes]], once created, are often permanent. Care must therefore be taken to avoid these weaknesses unless they are compensated by another valuable asset (for example, by the possibility of developing an attack).<ref>Evans (1958), pp. 22–67</ref> |
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===Opening=== |
===Opening=== |
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{{Main|Chess opening}} |
{{Main|Chess opening}} |
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A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a game (the "opening moves"). Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as ''openings'' and have been given names such as the [[Ruy Lopez]] or [[Sicilian Defence]]. They are catalogued in reference works such as the ''[[Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings]]''. There are dozens of different openings, varying widely in character from quiet positional play ( |
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a game (the "opening moves"). Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as ''openings'' and have been given names such as the [[Ruy Lopez]] or [[Sicilian Defence]]. They are catalogued in reference works such as the ''[[Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings]]''. There are dozens of different openings, varying widely in character from quiet positional play (for example, the [[Réti Opening]]) to very aggressive (the [[Latvian Gambit]]). In some opening lines, the exact sequence considered best for both sides has been worked out to more than 30 moves.<ref>Tamburro (2010), p. 18</ref> Professional players spend years studying openings and continue doing so throughout their careers, as [[Chess theory#Opening theory|opening theory]] continues to evolve. |
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The fundamental strategic aims of most openings are similar:<ref>Tarrasch (1987)</ref> |
The fundamental strategic aims of most openings are similar:<ref>Tarrasch (1987)</ref> |
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* ''Development'': |
* ''Development'': This is the technique of placing the pieces (particularly bishops and knights) on useful squares where they will have an optimal impact on the game. |
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* ''Control of the center'': Control of the central squares allows pieces to be moved to any part of the board relatively easily, and can also have a cramping effect on the opponent. |
* ''Control of the center'': Control of the central squares allows pieces to be moved to any part of the board relatively easily, and can also have a cramping effect on the opponent. |
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* ''King safety'': |
* ''King safety'': It is critical to keep the king safe from dangerous possibilities. A correctly timed castling can often enhance this. |
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* ''[[Pawn structure]]'': Players strive to avoid the creation of pawn weaknesses such as isolated, doubled or backward pawns, and pawn islands – and to force such weaknesses in the opponent's position. |
* ''[[Pawn structure]]'': Players strive to avoid the creation of pawn weaknesses such as isolated, doubled, or backward pawns, and pawn islands – and to force such weaknesses in the opponent's position. |
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Most players and [[Chess theory|theoreticians]] consider that White, by virtue of the first move, [[First-move advantage in chess|begins the game with a small advantage]]. This initially gives White the [[initiative (chess)|initiative]].<ref>Evans (1958), p. 175</ref> Black usually strives to neutralize White's advantage and achieve [[Glossary of chess#Equalise/Equalize|equality]], or to develop [[Glossary of chess#Dynamism|dynamic]] [[List of chess terms#Counterplay|counterplay]] in an unbalanced position. |
Most players and [[Chess theory|theoreticians]] consider that White, by virtue of the first move, [[First-move advantage in chess|begins the game with a small advantage]]. This initially gives White the [[initiative (chess)|initiative]].<ref>Evans (1958), p. 175</ref> Black usually strives to neutralize White's advantage and achieve [[Glossary of chess#Equalise/Equalize|equality]], or to develop [[Glossary of chess#Dynamism|dynamic]] [[List of chess terms#Counterplay|counterplay]] in an unbalanced position. |
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{{Main|Chess middlegame}} |
{{Main|Chess middlegame}} |
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The middlegame is the part of the game which starts after the opening. There is no clear line between the opening and the middlegame, but typically the middlegame will start when most pieces have been developed. (Similarly, there is no clear transition from the middlegame to the endgame |
The middlegame is the part of the game which starts after the opening. There is no clear line between the opening and the middlegame, but typically the middlegame will start when most pieces have been developed. (Similarly, there is no clear transition from the middlegame to the endgame; see [[chess endgame#The start of the endgame|start of the endgame]].) Because the [[Chess theory#Opening theory|opening theory]] has ended, players have to form plans based on the features of the position, and at the same time take into account the tactical possibilities of the position.<ref>Harding (2003), p. 32–151</ref> The middlegame is the phase in which most [[Combination (chess)|combinations]] occur. Combinations are a series of tactical moves executed to achieve some gain. Middlegame combinations are often connected with an attack against the opponent's king; some typical patterns have their own names; for example, the [[Boden's Mate]] or the [[Lasker - Bauer, Amsterdam, 1889|Lasker–Bauer]] combination.<ref>Hooper & Whyld (1992), p. 86</ref> |
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Specific plans or strategic themes will often arise from particular groups of openings which result in a specific type of [[pawn structure]]. |
Specific plans or strategic themes will often arise from particular groups of openings which result in a specific type of [[pawn structure]]. An example is the [[Glossary of chess#Minority attack|minority attack]], which is the attack of [[Glossary of chess#queenside|queenside]] pawns against an opponent who has more pawns on the queenside. The study of openings is therefore connected to the preparation of plans that are typical of the resulting middlegames.<ref>Silman (1998), pp. 202–5</ref> |
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Another important strategic question in the middlegame is whether and how to reduce material and |
Another important strategic question in the middlegame is whether and how to reduce material and transition into an endgame (i.e. [[Chess terms#Simplification|simplify]]). Minor material advantages can generally be transformed into victory only in an endgame, and therefore the stronger side must choose an appropriate way to achieve an ending. Not every reduction of material is good for this purpose; for example, if one side keeps a light-squared bishop and the opponent has a dark-squared one, the transformation into a [[Chess endgame#Bishop and pawn endings|bishops and pawns]] ending is usually advantageous for the weaker side only, because an endgame with [[opposite-colored bishops endgame|bishops on opposite colors]] is likely to be a draw, even with an advantage of a pawn, or sometimes even with a two-pawn advantage.<ref>Hooper & Whyld (1992), p. 373</ref> |
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===Endgame=== |
===Endgame=== |
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===Predecessors=== |
===Predecessors=== |
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[[File:Shatranj.jpg|thumb|Iranian chess set, glazed [[fritware]], 12th century |
[[File:Shatranj.jpg|thumb|Iranian chess set, glazed [[fritware]], 12th century [[New York Metropolitan Museum of Art]]]] |
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[[File:KnightsTemplarPlayingChess1283.jpg|thumb|right|[[Knights Templar]] playing chess, ''[[Libro de los juegos]]'', 1283 |
[[File:KnightsTemplarPlayingChess1283.jpg|thumb|right|[[Knights Templar]] playing chess, ''[[Libro de los juegos]]'', 1283]] |
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Chess is commonly believed to have originated in |
Chess is commonly believed to have originated in northwest [[India]] during the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta empire]],<ref>Leibs (2004), p. 92</ref><ref>Robinson & Estes (1996), p. 34</ref><ref name="Murray (1913)">Murray (1913)</ref><ref>Bird (1893), p. 63</ref> where its early form in the 6th century was known as [[chaturanga|''{{IAST|caturaṅga}}]]'' ({{Lang-sa|''four divisions [of the military]'' – [[infantry]], [[cavalry]], [[war elephant|elephants]], and [[chariot]]ry, represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively}}). The earliest evidence of chess is found in the neighboring [[Sassanid Persia]] around 600, where the game came to be known under the name ''[[chatrang]]''. Chatrang is evoked inside three epic romances written in Pahlavi ([[Middle Persian]]). Chatrang was taken up by the [[Muslim world]] after the [[Islamic conquest of Persia]] (633–644), where it was then named ''[[shatranj]]'', with the pieces largely retaining their Persian names. In Spanish "shatranj" was rendered as ''ajedrez'', in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] as ''xadrez'', and in [[Greek language|Greek]] as ''zatrikion'' (which comes directly from the Persian ''chatrang''), but in the rest of Europe it was replaced by versions of the Persian ''shāh'' ("king"), which was familiar as an exclamation and became the English words "[[Check (chess)|check]]" and "chess".{{#tag:ref|At that time Spanish 'j' and 'x' were pronounced as English "sh", as the Portuguese 'x' still is today.|group=note}} Murray theorized that Muslim traders came to European seaports with ornamental chess kings as curios before they brought the game of chess.<ref name="Murray (1913)"/> |
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The game reached Western Europe and Russia by at least three routes, the earliest being in the 9th century. By the year 1000 it had spread throughout Europe.<ref name="Hooper & Whyld (1992), pp. 173–75">Hooper & Whyld (1992), pp. 173–75</ref> Introduced into the [[Iberian Peninsula]] by the [[Moors]] in the 10th century, it was described in a famous 13th-century manuscript covering shatranj, [[backgammon]], and [[dice]] named the ''[[Libro de los juegos]]''. Another theory contends that chess arose from the game [[xiangqi]] (Chinese Chess) or one of its predecessors,<ref>Li (1998)</ref> although this has been contested.<ref>{{cite web| last = Banaschak| first = Peter | title = A story well told is not necessarily true : a critical assessment of David H. Li's ''The Genealogy of Chess '' | url = http://www.banaschak.net/schach/ligenealogyofchess.htm }}</ref> |
The game reached Western Europe and Russia by at least three routes, the earliest being in the 9th century. By the year 1000 it had spread throughout Europe.<ref name="Hooper & Whyld (1992), pp. 173–75">Hooper & Whyld (1992), pp. 173–75</ref> Introduced into the [[Iberian Peninsula]] by the [[Moors]] in the 10th century, it was described in a famous 13th-century manuscript covering shatranj, [[backgammon]], and [[dice]] named the ''[[Libro de los juegos]]''. Another theory contends that chess arose from the game [[xiangqi]] (Chinese Chess) or one of its predecessors,<ref>Li (1998)</ref> although this has been contested.<ref>{{cite web| last = Banaschak| first = Peter | title = A story well told is not necessarily true : a critical assessment of David H. Li's ''The Genealogy of Chess '' | url = http://www.banaschak.net/schach/ligenealogyofchess.htm }}</ref> |
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[[File:Lucena1497.jpg|thumb|left|A tactical puzzle from [[Luis Ramirez de Lucena|Lucena's]] 1497 book]] |
[[File:Lucena1497.jpg|thumb|left|A tactical puzzle from [[Luis Ramirez de Lucena|Lucena's]] 1497 book]] |
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Around 1200, rules of shatranj started to be modified in southern Europe, and around 1475, several major changes made the game essentially as it is known today.<ref name="Hooper & Whyld (1992), pp. 173–75"/> These modern rules for the basic moves had been adopted in Italy and Spain.<ref>Davidson (1949), p. 13–17</ref><ref name = "nauiua">{{cite web |
Around 1200, the rules of shatranj started to be modified in southern Europe, and around 1475, several major changes made the game essentially as it is known today.<ref name="Hooper & Whyld (1992), pp. 173–75"/> These modern rules for the basic moves had been adopted in Italy and Spain.<ref>Davidson (1949), p. 13–17</ref><ref name = "nauiua">{{cite web |
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| author=Calvo, Ricardo |
| author=Calvo, Ricardo |
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| url=http://www.goddesschess.com/chessays/ricardovalencia.html |
| url=http://www.goddesschess.com/chessays/ricardovalencia.html |
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| publisher=GoddessChess |
| publisher=GoddessChess |
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}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
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Pawns gained the option of advancing two squares on their first move, while bishops and queens acquired their modern abilities. The [[Queen (chess)|queen]] replaced the earlier [[Vizier#Influence on chess|vizier]] chess piece towards the end of the 10th century and by the 15th century |
Pawns gained the option of advancing two squares on their first move, while bishops and queens acquired their modern abilities. The [[Queen (chess)|queen]] replaced the earlier [[Vizier#Influence on chess|vizier]] chess piece towards the end of the 10th century and by the 15th century had become the most powerful piece;<ref>Yalom (2004)</ref> consequently modern chess was referred to as "Queen's Chess" or "Mad Queen Chess".<ref>Weissberger (2004), pp. 152ff</ref> These new rules quickly spread throughout western Europe. [[Stalemate#History of the stalemate rule|The rules about stalemate]] were finalized in the early 19th century. To distinguish it from its predecessors, this version of the rules is sometimes referred to as ''western chess''<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3492 |
| url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3492 |
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| title=XiangQi – an alternate to Western Chess |
| title=XiangQi – an alternate to Western Chess |
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}}</ref> or ''international chess''.<ref>{{cite web |
}}</ref> or ''international chess''.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.chessvariants.org/oriental.dir/thaikramnik.html |
| url=http://www.chessvariants.org/oriental.dir/thaikramnik.html |
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| title= |
| title=Kramnik plays Makruk Thai |
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| author=René Gralla |
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| accessdate=2010-09-04 |
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| accessdate=2010-12-12 |
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| publisher=Variant Chess |
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| publisher=The Chess Variant Pages |
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}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
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Writings about the [[chess theory|theory]] of how to play chess began to appear in the 15th century. The ''Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez'' (''Repetition of Love and the Art of Playing Chess'') by [[Spanish people|Spanish]] churchman [[Luis Ramirez de Lucena]] was published in [[Salamanca]] in 1497.<ref name = "nauiua"/> Lucena and later masters like [[Portugal|Portuguese]] [[Pedro Damiano]], [[Italians]] [[Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona]], [[Giulio Cesare Polerio]] and [[Gioachino Greco]] |
Writings about the [[chess theory|theory]] of how to play chess began to appear in the 15th century. The ''Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez'' (''Repetition of Love and the Art of Playing Chess'') by [[Spanish people|Spanish]] churchman [[Luis Ramirez de Lucena]] was published in [[Salamanca]] in 1497.<ref name = "nauiua"/> Lucena and later masters like [[Portugal|Portuguese]] [[Pedro Damiano]], [[Italians]] [[Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona]], [[Giulio Cesare Polerio]] and [[Gioachino Greco]], and Spanish bishop [[Ruy López de Segura]] developed elements of [[Chess opening|opening]]s and started to analyze simple [[Chess endgame|endgames]]. |
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[[File:André Philidor.jpg |
[[File:André Philidor.jpg|thumb|caption|[[François-André Danican Philidor]], 18th-century French chess master]] |
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In the 18th century the center of European chess life moved from the Southern European countries to France. The two most important French masters were [[François-André Danican Philidor]], a musician by profession, who discovered the importance of pawns for chess strategy, and later [[Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais]] who won a famous series of matches with the [[ |
In the 18th century, the center of European chess life moved from the Southern European countries to France. The two most important French masters were [[François-André Danican Philidor]], a musician by profession, who discovered the importance of pawns for chess strategy, and later [[Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais]], who won a famous series of matches with the [[Irish people|Irish]] master [[Alexander McDonnell]] in 1834.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=31596 |
| url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=31596 |
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| title=Louis Charles Mahe De La Bourdonnais |
| title=Louis Charles Mahe De La Bourdonnais |
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}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
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As the 19th century progressed, chess organization developed quickly. Many [[chess club]]s, chess books and chess journals appeared. There were correspondence matches between cities; for example the London Chess Club played against the [[Edinburgh]] Chess Club in 1824.<ref>{{cite web |
As the 19th century progressed, chess organization developed quickly. Many [[chess club]]s, chess books, and chess journals appeared. There were correspondence matches between cities; for example, the London Chess Club played against the [[Edinburgh]] Chess Club in 1824.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=80740 |
| url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=80740 |
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| title=London Chess Club |
| title=London Chess Club |
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| publisher=ChessGames |
| publisher=ChessGames |
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| accessdate=2008-11-26 |
| accessdate=2008-11-26 |
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}}</ref> [[Chess problems]] became a regular part of 19th-century newspapers; [[Bernhard Horwitz]], [[Josef Kling]] and [[Samuel Loyd]] composed some of the most influential problems. In 1843, [[Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa|von der Lasa]] published his and [[Paul Rudolf von Bilguer|Bilguer's]] ''[[Handbuch des Schachspiels]]'' (''Handbook of Chess''), the first comprehensive manual of chess theory. |
}}</ref> [[Chess problems]] became a regular part of 19th-century newspapers; [[Bernhard Horwitz]], [[Josef Kling]], and [[Samuel Loyd]] composed some of the most influential problems. In 1843, [[Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa|von der Lasa]] published his and [[Paul Rudolf von Bilguer|Bilguer's]] ''[[Handbuch des Schachspiels]]'' (''Handbook of Chess''), the first comprehensive manual of chess theory. |
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===Birth of a sport (1850–1945)=== |
===Birth of a sport (1850–1945)=== |
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[[File:immortal game animation.gif|frame|left|The "[[Immortal Game]]", Anderssen-Kieseritzky, 1851]] |
[[File:immortal game animation.gif|frame|left|The "[[Immortal Game]]", Anderssen-Kieseritzky, 1851]] |
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The first modern chess tournament was [[London 1851 chess tournament|held in London in 1851]] and |
The first modern chess tournament was [[London 1851 chess tournament|held in London in 1851]] and was won by German [[Adolf Anderssen]], relatively unknown at the time. Anderssen was hailed as the leading chess master and his brilliant, energetic attacking style became typical for the time, although it was later regarded as [[chess strategy|strategically]] shallow.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://web.archive.org/web/2006/worldchessnetwork.com/English/chessHistory/salute/matchesTournaments/london1851.php |
| url=http://web.archive.org/web/2006/worldchessnetwork.com/English/chessHistory/salute/matchesTournaments/london1851.php |
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| title=London, 1851 |
| title=London, 1851 |
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}}</ref><ref>Hartston (1985), p.36</ref> Sparkling games like Anderssen's ''[[Immortal game]]'' and ''[[Evergreen game]]'' or [[Paul Morphy|Morphy's]] ''[[Opera game]]'' were regarded as the highest possible summit of the chess art.<ref>Burgess, Nunn, & Emms (2004) p. 14</ref> |
}}</ref><ref>Hartston (1985), p.36</ref> Sparkling games like Anderssen's ''[[Immortal game]]'' and ''[[Evergreen game]]'' or [[Paul Morphy|Morphy's]] ''[[Opera game]]'' were regarded as the highest possible summit of the chess art.<ref>Burgess, Nunn, & Emms (2004) p. 14</ref> |
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Deeper insight into the nature of chess came with two younger players. American [[Paul Morphy]], an extraordinary [[chess prodigy]], won against all important competitors (except [[Howard Staunton]], who refused to play), including Anderssen, during his short chess career between 1857 and 1863. Morphy's success stemmed from a combination of brilliant attacks and sound strategy; he intuitively knew how to prepare attacks.<ref>Shibut (2004)</ref> [[Prague]]-born [[Wilhelm Steinitz]] later described how to avoid weaknesses in one's own position and how to create and exploit such weaknesses in the opponent's position.<ref>Steinitz (2002)</ref> The scientific approach and positional understanding of Steinitz revolutionized the game. Steinitz was the first to break a position down into its components.<ref>Kasparov (2003a), p. 6</ref> Before Steinitz, players brought their queen out early, did not completely [[development (chess)|develop]] their other pieces, and mounted a quick attack on the opposing king, which either succeeded or failed. The level of defense was poor and players did not form any deep plan.<ref>Kasparov (2003a), p. 11</ref> In addition to his theoretical achievements, Steinitz founded an important tradition: his triumph over the leading German master [[Johannes Zukertort]] in 1886 is regarded as the first official [[World Chess Championship]]. Steinitz lost his crown in 1894 to a much younger German mathematician [[Emanuel Lasker]], who maintained this title for 27 years, the longest tenure of all World Champions.<ref>Kasparov (1983a), p. 117</ref> |
Deeper insight into the nature of chess came with two younger players. American [[Paul Morphy]], an extraordinary [[chess prodigy]], won against all important competitors (except [[Howard Staunton]], who refused to play), including Anderssen, during his short chess career between 1857 and 1863. Morphy's success stemmed from a combination of brilliant attacks and sound strategy; he intuitively knew how to prepare attacks.<ref>Shibut (2004)</ref> [[Prague]]-born [[Wilhelm Steinitz]] later described how to avoid weaknesses in one's own position and how to create and exploit such weaknesses in the opponent's position.<ref>Steinitz (2002)</ref> The scientific approach and positional understanding of Steinitz revolutionized the game. Steinitz was the first to break a position down into its components.<ref>Kasparov (2003a), p. 6</ref> Before Steinitz, players brought their queen out early, did not completely [[development (chess)|develop]] their other pieces, and mounted a quick attack on the opposing king, which either succeeded or failed. The level of defense was poor and players did not form any deep plan.<ref>Kasparov (2003a), p. 11</ref> In addition to his theoretical achievements, Steinitz founded an important tradition: his triumph over the leading German master [[Johannes Zukertort]] in 1886 is regarded as the first official [[World Chess Championship]]. Steinitz lost his crown in 1894 to a much younger player, the German mathematician [[Emanuel Lasker]], who maintained this title for 27 years, the longest tenure of all World Champions.<ref>Kasparov (1983a), p. 117</ref> |
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It took a prodigy from [[Cuba]], [[José Raúl Capablanca]] (World Champion 1921–27), who loved simple positions and endgames, to end the German-speaking dominance in chess; he was undefeated in tournament play for eight years until 1924. His successor was Russian-French [[Alexander Alekhine]], a strong attacking player |
It took a prodigy from [[Cuba]], [[José Raúl Capablanca]] (World Champion 1921–27), who loved simple positions and endgames, to end the German-speaking dominance in chess; he was undefeated in tournament play for eight years, until 1924. His successor was Russian-French [[Alexander Alekhine]], a strong attacking player who died as the World champion in 1946. He briefly lost the title to [[Dutch people|Dutch]] player [[Max Euwe]] in 1935 and regained it two years later.<ref>Kasparov (1983b), p. 9</ref> |
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Between the world wars, chess was revolutionized by the new theoretical school of so-called [[Hypermodernism (chess)|hypermodernists]] like [[Aron Nimzowitsch]] and [[Richard Réti]]. They advocated controlling the center of the board with distant pieces rather than with pawns, |
Between the world wars, chess was revolutionized by the new theoretical school of so-called [[Hypermodernism (chess)|hypermodernists]] like [[Aron Nimzowitsch]] and [[Richard Réti]]. They advocated controlling the center of the board with distant pieces rather than with pawns, which invited opponents to occupy the center with pawns, which become objects of attack.<ref>Hooper & Whyld (1992), p. 178</ref> |
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After the end of the 19th century, the number of |
After the end of the 19th century, the number of master tournaments and matches held annually quickly grew. Some sources state that in 1914 the title of [[International Grandmaster|chess grandmaster]] was first formally conferred by Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia]] to Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, [[Siegbert Tarrasch|Tarrasch]], and [[Frank Marshall (chess player)|Marshall]], but this is a disputed claim.{{#tag:ref|This is stated in ''The Encyclopaedia of Chess'' (1970, p.223) by [[Anne Sunnucks]], but is disputed by [[Edward Winter (chess historian)]] in his [http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter38.html Chess Notes 5144 and 5152].|group=note}} The tradition of awarding such titles was continued by the World Chess Federation ([[FIDE]]), founded in 1924 in Paris. In 1927, the [[Women's World Chess Championship]] was established; the first to hold the title was [[Czech people|Czech]]-English master [[Vera Menchik]].<ref>{{cite web |
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| title=Vera Menchik |
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===Post-war era (1945 and later)=== |
===Post-war era (1945 and later)=== |
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<!-- [[File:Capablanca-Lasker 1925.jpg|thumb|left|World Champions [[José Raúl Capablanca]] (left) and [[Emanuel Lasker]] in 1925]] --> |
<!-- [[File:Capablanca-Lasker 1925.jpg|thumb|left|World Champions [[José Raúl Capablanca]] (left) and [[Emanuel Lasker]] in 1925]] --> |
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After the death of Alekhine, a new World Champion was sought. FIDE, who have controlled the title since then (except for one interruption), ran a tournament of elite players. The winner of the [[World Chess Championship 1948|1948 tournament]], Russian [[Mikhail Botvinnik]], started an era of [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] dominance in the chess world. Until the end of the Soviet Union, there was only one non-Soviet champion, American [[Bobby Fischer]] (champion 1972–1975).<ref>Kasparov (2003b), pp. 7–8</ref> Botvinnik revolutionized opening theory. Previously Black strove for equality, to neutralize White's [[first-move advantage in chess|first-move advantage]]. As Black, Botvinnik strove for the initiative from the beginning.<ref>Kasparov (2003b), p. 7</ref> In the previous informal system of World Championships, the current champion decided which challenger he would play for the title and the challenger was forced to seek sponsors for the match. FIDE set up a new system of qualifying tournaments and matches. The world's strongest players were seeded into |
After the death of Alekhine, a new World Champion was sought. FIDE, who have controlled the title since then (except for one interruption), ran a tournament of elite players. The winner of the [[World Chess Championship 1948|1948 tournament]], Russian [[Mikhail Botvinnik]], started an era of [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] dominance in the chess world. Until the end of the Soviet Union, there was only one non-Soviet champion, American [[Bobby Fischer]] (champion 1972–1975).<ref>Kasparov (2003b), pp. 7–8</ref> Botvinnik revolutionized opening theory. Previously Black strove for equality, to neutralize White's [[first-move advantage in chess|first-move advantage]]. As Black, Botvinnik strove for the initiative from the beginning.<ref>Kasparov (2003b), p. 7</ref> In the previous informal system of World Championships, the current champion decided which challenger he would play for the title and the challenger was forced to seek sponsors for the match. FIDE set up a new system of qualifying tournaments and matches. The world's strongest players were seeded into [[Interzonal]] tournaments, where they were joined by players who had qualified from Zonal tournaments. The leading finishers in these Interzonals would go on the "[[Candidates Tournament|Candidates]]" stage, which was initially a tournament, and later a series of knock-out matches. The winner of the Candidates would then play the reigning champion for the title. A champion defeated in a match had a right to play a rematch a year later. This system operated on a three-year cycle. Botvinnik participated in championship matches over a period of fifteen years. He won the world championship tournament in 1948 and retained the title in tied matches in 1951 and 1954. In 1957, he lost to [[Vasily Smyslov]], but regained the title in a rematch in 1958. In 1960, he lost the title to the 23-year-old [[Latvia]]n prodigy [[Mikhail Tal]], an accomplished [[Chess tactics|tactician]] and attacking player. Botvinnik again regained the title in a rematch in 1961. |
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Following the 1961 event, FIDE abolished the automatic right of a deposed champion to a rematch, and the next champion, [[Armenia]]n [[Tigran Petrosian]], a genius of defense and strong [[Positional chess|positional]] player, held the title for two cycles, 1963–1969. His successor, [[Boris Spassky]] from Russia (champion 1969–1972), was |
Following the 1961 event, FIDE abolished the automatic right of a deposed champion to a rematch, and the next champion, [[Armenia]]n [[Tigran Petrosian]], a genius of defense and a strong [[Positional chess|positional]] player, held the title for two cycles, 1963–1969. His successor, [[Boris Spassky]] from Russia (champion 1969–1972), was able to win in both positional and sharp tactical style.<ref>Kasparov (2004a), pp, 5–6; Kasparov (2003b), p, 8</ref> The next championship, the so-called [[World Chess Championship 1972|Match of the Century]], saw the first non-Soviet challenger since World War II, American [[Bobby Fischer]], who defeated his Candidates opponents by unheard-of margins and clearly won the world championship match. In 1975, however, Fischer refused to defend his title against Soviet [[Anatoly Karpov]] when FIDE refused to meet his demands, and Karpov obtained the title by default.<ref>Kasparov (2004b), pp. 5–6</ref> Fischer modernized many aspects of chess, especially by extensively preparing openings.<ref>Kasparov (2003a), p. 8</ref> |
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Karpov defended his title twice against [[Viktor Korchnoi]] and dominated the 1970s and early 1980s with a string of tournament successes.<ref>Kasparov (2004b), pp. 5–6; Kasparov (2006), pp. 5–6</ref> Karpov's reign finally ended in 1985 at the hands of another Soviet player from [[Baku]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Garry Kasparov]]. Kasparov and Karpov contested five world title matches between 1984 and 1990; Karpov never won his title back.<ref>Keene (1993), p. 16</ref> In 1993, Garry Kasparov and [[Nigel Short]] broke with FIDE to organize their own match for the title and formed a competing [[Professional Chess Association]] (PCA). From then until 2006, there were two simultaneous World Champions and World Championships: the PCA or Classical champion extending the Steinitzian tradition in which the current champion plays a challenger in a series of many games |
Karpov defended his title twice against [[Viktor Korchnoi]] and dominated the 1970s and early 1980s with a string of tournament successes.<ref>Kasparov (2004b), pp. 5–6; Kasparov (2006), pp. 5–6</ref> Karpov's reign finally ended in 1985 at the hands of another Soviet player from [[Baku]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Garry Kasparov]]. Kasparov and Karpov contested five world title matches between 1984 and 1990; Karpov never won his title back.<ref>Keene (1993), p. 16</ref> In 1993, Garry Kasparov and [[Nigel Short]] broke with FIDE to organize their own match for the title and formed a competing [[Professional Chess Association]] (PCA). From then until 2006, there were two simultaneous World Champions and World Championships: the PCA or Classical champion extending the Steinitzian tradition in which the current champion plays a challenger in a series of many games, and the other following FIDE's new format of many players competing in a tournament to determine the champion. Kasparov lost his Classical title in [[Classical World Chess Championship 2000|2000]] to [[Vladimir Kramnik]] of Russia.<ref>{{cite news |
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| url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/11/02/chess.kramnik/index.html |
| url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/11/02/chess.kramnik/index.html |
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| title=Kramnik beats Kasparov, 2000 |
| title=Kramnik beats Kasparov, 2000 |
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| publisher=CNN |
| publisher=CNN |
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| date=2000-11-02 |
| date=2000-11-02 |
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}}</ref> The [[World Chess Championship 2006]] reunified the titles |
}}</ref> The [[World Chess Championship 2006]] reunified the titles. Kramnik beat the FIDE World Champion [[Veselin Topalov]] and became the undisputed World Chess Champion.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=12295 |
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| title=Vladimir Kramnik |
| title=Vladimir Kramnik |
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| publisher=ChessGames |
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| accessdate=2008-11-26 |
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}}</ref> In September 2007, he lost the title to [[Viswanathan Anand]] of India, who won the [[World Chess Championship 2007|championship tournament]] in [[Mexico City]]. Anand defended his title in the [[World Chess Championship 2008|revenge match 2008]].<ref>{{cite news |
}}</ref> In September 2007, he lost the title to [[Viswanathan Anand]] of India, who won the [[World Chess Championship 2007|championship tournament]] in [[Mexico City]]. Anand defended his title in the [[World Chess Championship 2008|revenge match of 2008]].<ref>{{cite news |
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| title=Viswanathan Anand regains world chess title |
| title=Viswanathan Anand regains world chess title |
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| date=2007-09-30 |
| date=2007-09-30 |
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===Pre-modern=== |
===Pre-modern=== |
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In the [[Middle Ages]] and during the [[Renaissance]], chess was a part of [[Nobility|noble]] culture; it was used to teach war strategy and was dubbed the "[[Chess or the King's Game|King's Game]]".<ref>Vale (2001), pp. |
In the [[Middle Ages]] and during the [[Renaissance]], chess was a part of [[Nobility|noble]] culture; it was used to teach war strategy and was dubbed the "[[Chess or the King's Game|King's Game]]".<ref>Vale (2001), pp. 170–99</ref> Gentlemen are "to be meanly seene in the play at Chestes", says the overview at the beginning of [[Baldassare Castiglione]]'s ''[[The Book of the Courtier]]'' (1528, English 1561 by Sir Thomas Hoby), but chess should not be a gentleman's main passion. Castiglione explains it further: |
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<blockquote>And what say you to the game at chestes? |
<blockquote>And what say you to the game at chestes? |
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It is truely<!--sic--> an honest kynde of enterteynmente and wittie, quoth Syr Friderick. But me think it hath a fault, whiche is, that a man may be to couning at it, for who ever will be excellent in the playe of chestes, I beleave he must beestowe much tyme about it, and applie it with so much study, that a man may assoone learne some noble scyence, or compase any other matter of importaunce, and yet in the ende in beestowing all that laboure, he knoweth no more but a game. Therfore in this I beleave there happeneth a very rare thing, namely, that the meane is more commendable, then the excellency.<ref> |
It is truely<!--sic--> an honest kynde of enterteynmente and wittie, quoth Syr Friderick. But me think it hath a fault, whiche is, that a man may be to couning at it, for who ever will be excellent in the playe of chestes, I beleave he must beestowe much tyme about it, and applie it with so much study, that a man may assoone learne some noble scyence, or compase any other matter of importaunce, and yet in the ende in beestowing all that laboure, he knoweth no more but a game. Therfore in this I beleave there happeneth a very rare thing, namely, that the meane is more commendable, then the excellency.<ref>{{cite book |
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|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20080519185956/http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/courtier/courtier2.html |title=The Second Book of the Courtier |
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|author=Count Bladessar Castilio |
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|origyear=1561 |
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|author2= Translated by Sir Thomas Hoby as edited by Walter Raleigh. Online at University of Oregon. Retrieved by Internet Archive, 2008-05-19 |
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|publisher=David Nutt |
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|location=London, 1900 |
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|accessdate=2010-05-07}}</ref></blockquote> |
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[[File:UigChessmen SelectionOfKings.jpg|thumb|left|Two kings and two queens from the [[Lewis chessmen]] at the [[British Museum]] ]] |
[[File:UigChessmen SelectionOfKings.jpg|thumb|left|Two kings and two queens from the [[Lewis chessmen]] at the [[British Museum]] ]] |
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Many of the elaborate chess sets used by the aristocracy have been lost, but others partially survive, such as the [[Lewis chessmen]]. |
Many of the elaborate chess sets used by the aristocracy have been lost, but others partially survive, such as the [[Lewis chessmen]]. |
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Chess was often used as a basis of sermons on [[morality]]. An example is ''Liber de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium sive super ludo scacchorum'' ('Book of the customs of men and the duties of nobles or the Book of Chess'), written by an Italian [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] monk [[Jacobus de Cessolis]] circa 1300. This book was one of the most popular of the Middle Ages.<ref>Olmert (1996), p. 127</ref> The work was translated into many other languages (the first printed edition was published at Utrecht in 1473) and was the basis for [[William Caxton]]'s ''The Game and Playe of the Chesse'' (1474), one of the first books printed in English.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/212/1303.html The Introduction of Printing into England and the Early Work of the Press: The First Book printed in English], from ''[[The Cambridge History of English and American Literature]]'', Vol II. (1907) Online at bartleby.com. Retrieved 12 December 2006.</ref> Different chess pieces were used as metaphors for different classes of people, and human duties were derived from the rules of the game or from visual properties of the chess pieces:<ref>Adams (2006)</ref> |
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<blockquote> |
<blockquote> |
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</blockquote> |
</blockquote> |
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Known in the circles of clerics, students and merchants, chess entered into the popular culture of Middle Ages. An example is the 209th song of [[Carmina Burana]] from the 13th century, which starts with the names of chess pieces, ''Roch, pedites, |
Known in the circles of clerics, students, and merchants, chess entered into the popular culture of Middle Ages. An example is the 209th song of [[Carmina Burana]] from the 13th century, which starts with the names of chess pieces, ''Roch, pedites, regina...''<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost13/CarminaBurana/bur_cpo2.html |
| url=http://www.fh-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost13/CarminaBurana/bur_cpo2.html |
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| title=Carmina potoria |
| title=Carmina potoria |
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===Modern=== |
===Modern=== |
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During the [[Age of Enlightenment]], chess was viewed as a means of self-improvement. [[Benjamin Franklin]], in his article "The Morals of Chess" (1750), wrote: |
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<blockquote> |
<blockquote> |
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'''I. Foresight''', which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action [...] |
'''I. Foresight''', which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action [...] |
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'''II. Circumspection''', which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action: |
'''II. Circumspection''', which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action: – the relation of the several Pieces, and their situations [...] |
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'''III. Caution''', not to make our moves too hastily [...]"<ref>Franklin (1779)</ref> |
'''III. Caution''', not to make our moves too hastily [...]"<ref>Franklin (1779)</ref> |
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</blockquote> |
</blockquote> |
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[[File:Red King sleeping.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]'' |
[[File:Red King sleeping.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]'': the Red King is snoring. Illustration by [[John Tenniel]] ]] |
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With these or similar hopes, chess is taught to children in schools around the world today. Many schools |
With these or similar hopes, chess is taught to children in schools around the world today. Many schools host chess clubs, and there are many scholastic tournaments specifically for children. Tournaments are held regularly in many countries, hosted by organizations such as the [[United States Chess Federation]] and the National Scholastic Chess Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.nscfchess.org/nscfmiss.html |
| url=http://www.nscfchess.org/nscfmiss.html |
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| title=National Scholastic Chess Foundation |
| title=National Scholastic Chess Foundation |
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}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
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[[File:Chess Large.JPG|thumb|250px|right|A Large sized Chess game is made available on a seasonal basis inside the [[Enoch Pratt Free Library]] in [[Baltimore]], Maryland]] |
[[File:Chess Large.JPG|thumb|250px|right|A Large sized Chess game is made available on a seasonal basis inside the [[Enoch Pratt Free Library]] in [[Baltimore]], Maryland]] |
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Chess is often depicted in the [[arts]]; significant works where chess plays a key role range from Thomas Middleton's ''[[A Game at Chess]]'' to ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]'' by Lewis Carroll to ''[[The Royal Game]]'' by Stefan Zweig and Vladimir Nabokov's ''[[The Defense]]''. The [[Thriller(genre)|thriller]] film ''[[Knight Moves]]'' is about a chess grandmaster who is accused of being a [[serial killer]]. Chess is featured in films like Ingmar Bergman's ''[[The Seventh Seal]]'' and Satyajit Ray's ''[[The Chess Players]]''. |
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In the [[video game]] [[Killer 7]] the protagonist and the |
In the [[video game]] [[Killer 7]], the protagonist and the antagonist frequently play chess together; in the [[survival horror]] game [[Deadly Premonition]], chess is the theme of a puzzle. |
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Chess is also present in the contemporary popular culture. For example, J. K. Rowling's [[Harry Potter]] plays "[[Magical_objects_in_Harry_Potter#Wizard.27s_Chess|Wizard's Chess]]" while the characters of ''[[Star Trek]]'' prefer "[[Tri-dimensional chess|Tri-Dimensional Chess]]" |
Chess is also present in the contemporary popular culture. For example, J. K. Rowling's [[Harry Potter]] plays "[[Magical_objects_in_Harry_Potter#Wizard.27s_Chess|Wizard's Chess]]", while the characters of ''[[Star Trek]]'' prefer "[[Tri-dimensional chess|Tri-Dimensional Chess]]". The hero of ''[[Searching for Bobby Fischer]]'' struggles against adopting the [[aggressive]] and [[misanthropic]] views of a real chess grandmaster.<ref>{{cite web |
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| author=O'Neill, Eamonn |
| author=O'Neill, Eamonn |
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| title=The Brain Issue |
| title=The Brain Issue |
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| format=PDF |
| format=PDF |
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| accessdate=2008-11-26 |
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}}</ref> Chess has |
}}</ref> Chess has been used as the core theme of a [[Musical theatre|musical]], ''[[Chess (musical)|Chess]]'', by [[Tim Rice]], [[Björn Ulvaeus]], and [[Benny Andersson]]. |
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Approximately 600 million people worldwide know how to play chess.<ref>{{cite web |
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|url=http://www.turowski.com/chess/world2007.html |
|url=http://www.turowski.com/chess/world2007.html |
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|title=World Chess 2007 |
|title=World Chess 2007 |
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|accessdate=2010-08-03 |
|accessdate=2010-08-03 |
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}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
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{{-}} |
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==Chess composition== |
==Chess composition== |
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{{Main|Chess problem}} |
{{Main|Chess problem}} |
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Chess composition is the art of creating chess problems ( |
Chess composition is the art of creating chess problems (the problems themselves are sometimes also called chess compositions). A person who creates such problems is known as a [[chess composer]].<ref>Howard (1961)</ref> There are many types of chess problems. The two most important are: |
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* '''Directmates''': white to move first and checkmate black within a specified number of moves against any defense. These are often referred to as "mate in ''n''" |
* '''Directmates''': white to move first and checkmate black within a specified number of moves against any defense. These are often referred to as "mate in ''n''" – for example "mate in three" (a ''three-mover'').<ref>Hooper & Whyld (1992), p. 110</ref> |
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* '''[[Endgame study|Studies]]''': orthodox problems in which the stipulation is that white to play must win or draw. Almost all studies are [[Chess endgame|endgame]] positions.<ref>Hooper & Whyld (1992), pp. 400–401</ref> |
* '''[[Endgame study|Studies]]''': orthodox problems in which the stipulation is that white to play must win or draw. Almost all studies are [[Chess endgame|endgame]] positions.<ref>Hooper & Whyld (1992), pp. 400–401</ref> |
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|<center>'''White to play and draw'''</center>}} |
|<center>'''White to play and draw'''</center>}} |
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{{Main|Réti endgame study}} |
{{Main|Réti endgame study}} |
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This is one of the most famous chess studies |
This is one of the most famous chess studies; it was published by [[Richard Réti]] in 1921. It seems impossible to catch the advanced black pawn, while the black king can easily stop the white pawn. The solution is a[[diagonal]] advance, which brings the king to ''both'' pawns at the same time: 1.Kg7! h4 2.Kf6! Kb6 (or 2...h3 3.Ke7 and the white king can support its pawn) 3. Ke5!! (now the white king comes just in time to support his pawn, or catch the black one) 3...h3 4. Kd6 draw.<ref>de la Villa (2008), pp.179–80</ref> |
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{{Clear}} |
{{Clear}} |
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==Competitive play== |
==Competitive play== |
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===Organization of competitions=== |
===Organization of competitions=== |
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Contemporary chess is an organized sport with structured international and national leagues, tournaments and [[congress]]es. Chess's international governing body is [[FIDE]] (Fédération Internationale des Échecs). Most countries have a national chess organization as well (such as the [[United States Chess Federation|US Chess Federation]] and [[English Chess Federation]]) |
Contemporary chess is an organized sport with structured international and national leagues, tournaments, and [[congress]]es. Chess's international governing body is [[FIDE]] (Fédération Internationale des Échecs). Most countries have a national chess organization as well (such as the [[United States Chess Federation|US Chess Federation]] and [[English Chess Federation]]) which in turn is a member of FIDE. FIDE is a member of the [[International Olympic Committee]],<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/if/fi_uk.asp?Id_federation=44 |
| url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/if/fi_uk.asp?Id_federation=44 |
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| title=World Chess Federation |
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}}</ref> but the game of chess has never been part of the [[Olympic Games]]; chess does have its own [[Chess Olympiad|Olympiad]], held every two years as a team event. |
}}</ref> but the game of chess has never been part of the [[Olympic Games]]; chess does have its own [[Chess Olympiad|Olympiad]], held every two years as a team event. |
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[[File:SchachWM2008.jpg|thumb|The current World Chess Champion [[Viswanathan Anand]] (left) playing chess against his predecessor [[Vladimir Kramnik]] |
[[File:SchachWM2008.jpg|thumb|The current World Chess Champion [[Viswanathan Anand]] (left) playing chess against his predecessor [[Vladimir Kramnik]]]] |
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The current World Chess Champion is [[Viswanathan Anand]] of India.<ref>{{cite news |
The current World Chess Champion is [[Viswanathan Anand]] of India.<ref>{{cite news |
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| date=2007-09-30 |
| date=2007-09-30 |
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}}</ref> The reigning Women's World Champion is [[Alexandra Kosteniuk]] from Russia |
}}</ref> The reigning Women's World Champion is [[Alexandra Kosteniuk]] from Russia. The world's highest rated female player, [[Judit Polgár]], has never participated in the [[Women's World Chess Championship]], instead preferring to compete with the leading men and maintaining a ranking among the top male players.<ref>{{cite web|title=Judit Polgar: 'I can work myself into the top ten again'|publisher=[[ChessBase]]|url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4244|date=2007-11-11|accessdate=2010-08-28}}</ref> |
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Other competitions for individuals include the [[World Junior Chess Championship]], the [[European Individual Chess Championship]] and the [[List of national chess championships|National Chess Championships]]. Invitation-only tournaments regularly attract the world's strongest players |
Other competitions for individuals include the [[World Junior Chess Championship]], the [[European Individual Chess Championship]], and the [[List of national chess championships|National Chess Championships]]. Invitation-only tournaments regularly attract the world's strongest players. Examples include Spain's [[Linares chess tournament|Linares]] event, Monte Carlo's [[Melody Amber]] tournament, the [[Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting|Dortmund Sparkassen]] meeting, Sofia's [[M-tel Masters]], and Wijk aan Zee's [[Corus chess tournament|Corus]] tournament. |
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Regular team chess events include the |
Regular team chess events include the [[Chess Olympiad]] and the [[European Team Championship]]. The [[38th Chess Olympiad]] was held 2008 in [[Dresden]], Germany; [[Armenia]] won the gold in the unrestricted event for the second time in a row after [[37th Chess Olympiad|Turin 2006]], and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] took the top medal for the women. The [[World Chess Solving Championship]] and World [[Correspondence Chess]] Championships include both team and individual events. |
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Besides these prestigious competitions, there are thousands of other chess tournaments, matches and festivals held around the world every year |
Besides these prestigious competitions, there are thousands of other chess tournaments, matches, and festivals held around the world every year catering to players of all levels. Chess is promoted as a "mind sport" by the [[Mind Sports Organisation]], alongside other [[mental-skill game]]s such as [[Contract Bridge]], [[Go (board game)|Go]], and [[Scrabble]]. |
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===Titles and rankings=== |
===Titles and rankings=== |
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{{Main|Chess titles}} |
{{Main|Chess titles}} |
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[[File:Kasparov-29.jpg|thumb |
[[File:Kasparov-29.jpg|thumb|[[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] [[Garry Kasparov]], former [[World Chess Championship|World Chess Champion]]]] |
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The best players can be awarded specific lifetime titles by the world chess organization FIDE:<ref>{{cite web |
The best players can be awarded specific lifetime titles by the world chess organization FIDE:<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=10&view=category |
| url=http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=10&view=category |
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}}</ref> |
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* ''[[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]]'' (shortened as GM |
* ''[[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]]'' (shortened as GM; sometimes ''International Grandmaster'' or IGM is used) is awarded to world-class chess masters. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Before FIDE will confer the title on a player, the player must have an [[Elo rating system|Elo chess rating]] (see below) of at least 2500 at one time and three favorable results (called norms) in tournaments involving other Grandmasters, including some from countries other than the applicant's. There are other milestones a player can achieve to attain the title, such as winning the World Junior Championship. |
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* ''[[International Master]]'' (shortened as IM). The conditions are similar to GM, but less demanding. The minimum rating for the IM title is 2400. |
* ''[[International Master]]'' (shortened as IM). The conditions are similar to GM, but less demanding. The minimum rating for the IM title is 2400. |
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* ''[[FIDE Master]]'' (shortened as FM). The usual way for a player to qualify for the FIDE Master title is by achieving a FIDE rating of 2300 or more. |
* ''[[FIDE Master]]'' (shortened as FM). The usual way for a player to qualify for the FIDE Master title is by achieving a FIDE rating of 2300 or more. |
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* ''[[Candidate Master]]'' (shortened as CM). Similar to FM, but with a FIDE rating of at least 2200. |
* ''[[Candidate Master]]'' (shortened as CM). Similar to FM, but with a FIDE rating of at least 2200. |
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All the titles are open to men and women. Separate women-only titles, such as Woman Grandmaster (WGM), are |
All the titles are open to men and women. Separate women-only titles, such as Woman Grandmaster (WGM), are available. Beginning with [[Nona Gaprindashvili]] in 1978, a number of women have earned the GM title, and most of the top ten women in 2006 hold the unrestricted GM title.<ref group=note name="FIDE_top_players">Current FIDE lists of top players with their titles are online at {{cite web |
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| url=http://ratings.fide.com/toplist.phtml |
| url=http://ratings.fide.com/toplist.phtml |
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| accessdate=2010-07-20 |
| accessdate=2010-07-20 |
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}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
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International titles are awarded to composers and solvers of chess problems |
International titles are awarded to composers and solvers of chess problems and to correspondence chess players (by the [[International Correspondence Chess Federation]]). National chess organizations may also award titles, usually to the advanced players still under the level needed for international titles; an example is the [[Chess expert]] title used in the United States. |
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In order to rank players, FIDE, [[International Correspondence Chess Federation|ICCF]] and national chess organizations use the [[Elo rating system]] developed by [[Arpad Elo]]. Elo is a [[Statistical model|statistical system]] based on assumption that the chess performance of each player in their games is a random variable. Arpad Elo thought of a player's true skill as the average of that player's performance random variable, and showed how to estimate the average from results of player's games. The [[US Chess Federation]] implemented Elo's suggestions in 1960, and the system quickly gained recognition as being both fairer and more accurate than older systems; it was adopted by FIDE in 1970. |
In order to rank players, FIDE, [[International Correspondence Chess Federation|ICCF]], and national chess organizations use the [[Elo rating system]] developed by [[Arpad Elo]]. Elo is a [[Statistical model|statistical system]] based on the assumption that the chess performance of each player in their games is a random variable. Arpad Elo thought of a player's true skill as the average of that player's performance random variable, and showed how to estimate the average from results of player's games. The [[US Chess Federation]] implemented Elo's suggestions in 1960, and the system quickly gained recognition as being both fairer and more accurate than older systems; it was adopted by FIDE in 1970.{{#tag:ref|For the official process see {{cite web |
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| title=02. FIDE Rating Regulations (Qualification Commission) |
| title=02. FIDE Rating Regulations (Qualification Commission) |
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| url=http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=11&view=category |
| url=http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=11&view=category |
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| publisher=FIDE |
| publisher=FIDE |
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| accessdate=2008-11-29 |
| accessdate=2008-11-29 |
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}} |
}}|group=note}} The highest ever FIDE rating was 2851, which Garry Kasparov had on the July 1999 and January 2000 lists.<ref>{{cite web |
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| title=Garry Kasparov |
| title=Garry Kasparov |
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| url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=15940 |
| url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=15940 |
||
| publisher=ChessGames |
| publisher=ChessGames |
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| accessdate=2008-11-29 |
| accessdate=2008-11-29 |
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}}</ref> In the most recent list (July 2010), the highest rated player is [[Magnus Carlsen]] of Norway with a rating of 2826.<ref name="FIDE_top_players"/> |
}}</ref> In the most recent list (July 2010), the highest rated player is [[Magnus Carlsen]] of Norway, with a rating of 2826.<ref group=note name="FIDE_top_players"/> |
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==Publications== |
==Publications== |
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{{main|List of chess books|List of chess periodicals}} |
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Chess is covered extensively in books and journals. Thousands of books about chess have been written, see [[list of chess books]]. Dozens of periodicals cover chess, see [[list of chess periodicals]]. |
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Chess is covered extensively in books and journals. Thousands of books about chess have been written, and dozens of periodicals cover chess. |
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==Mathematics and computers== |
==Mathematics and computers== |
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{{See also|Computer chess|List of mathematicians who studied chess|Human-computer chess matches|Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov|Chess engine}} |
{{See also|Computer chess|List of mathematicians who studied chess|Human-computer chess matches|Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov|Chess engine}} |
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[[File:Knight's tour.svg |
[[File:Knight's tour.svg|thumb|Mathematicians [[Euler]], [[Adrien-Marie Legendre|Legendre]], [[de Moivre]], and [[Vandermonde]] studied the [[knight's tour]].]] |
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The game structure and nature of chess is related to several branches of mathematics. Many [[combinatorics|combinatorical]] and [[topology|topological]] problems connected to chess were known of for hundreds of years. In 1913, [[Ernst Zermelo]] used |
The game structure and nature of chess is related to several branches of mathematics. Many [[combinatorics|combinatorical]] and [[topology|topological]] problems connected to chess were known of for hundreds of years. In 1913, [[Ernst Zermelo]] used chess as a basis for his theory of game strategies, which is considered as one of the predecessors of [[game theory]].<ref>Zermelo, Ernst (1913), Uber eine Anwendung der Mengenlehre auf die Theorie des Schachspiels, Proceedings of the Fifth International Congress of Mathematicians 2, 501–4. Cited from Eichhorn, Christoph: Der Beginn der Formalen Spieltheorie: Zermelo (1913), [http://www.mathematik.uni-muenchen.de/~spielth/artikel/Zermelo.pdf Uni-Muenchen.de]. Retrieved 2007-03-23.</ref> |
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The number of legal positions in chess is estimated to be between 10<sup>43</sup> and 10<sup>47</sup> (a provable upper bound<ref>{{cite web | title = John's Chess Playground | author = John Tromp | year = 2010 | url = http://www.cwi.nl/~tromp/chess/chess.html}}</ref>), with a [[game-tree complexity]] of approximately 10<sup>123</sup>. The game-tree complexity of chess was first calculated by [[Claude Shannon]] as 10<sup>120</sup>, a number known as the [[Shannon number]].<ref>[http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Chess.html Chess.] ''Mathworld.Wolfram.com''. Retrieved |
The number of legal positions in chess is estimated to be between 10<sup>43</sup> and 10<sup>47</sup> (a provable upper bound<ref>{{cite web | title = John's Chess Playground | author = John Tromp | year = 2010 | url = http://www.cwi.nl/~tromp/chess/chess.html}}</ref>), with a [[game-tree complexity]] of approximately 10<sup>123</sup>. The game-tree complexity of chess was first calculated by [[Claude Shannon]] as 10<sup>120</sup>, a number known as the [[Shannon number]].<ref>[http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Chess.html Chess.] ''Mathworld.Wolfram.com''. Retrieved 2006-12-05.</ref> Typically an average position has thirty to forty possible moves, but there may be as few as zero (in the case of checkmate or stalemate) or as many as 218.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.chessbox.de/Compu/schachzahl2_e.html |
| url=http://www.chessbox.de/Compu/schachzahl2_e.html |
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| archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070613072827/http://www.chessbox.de/Compu/schachzahl2_e.html |
| archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070613072827/http://www.chessbox.de/Compu/schachzahl2_e.html |
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| title=The biggest Number of simultaneous possible legal Moves}}</ref> |
| title=The biggest Number of simultaneous possible legal Moves}}</ref> |
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The most important mathematical challenge of chess is the development of [[algorithm]]s that can play chess. The idea of creating a chess-playing machine dates to the 18th century; around 1769, the chess-playing [[automaton]] called [[The Turk]] became famous before being exposed as a [[hoax]].<ref>Levitt (2000)</ref> Serious trials based on |
The most important mathematical challenge of chess is the development of [[algorithm]]s that can play chess. The idea of creating a chess-playing machine dates to the 18th century; around 1769, the chess-playing [[automaton]] called [[The Turk]] became famous before being exposed as a [[hoax]].<ref>Levitt (2000)</ref> Serious trials based on automatons, such as [[El Ajedrecista]], were too complex and limited to be useful. |
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Since the advent of the [[digital computer]] in the 1950s, chess enthusiasts and [[computer engineer]]s have built, with increasing degrees of seriousness and success, chess-playing machines and computer programs. The groundbreaking paper on computer chess, "Programming a Computer for Playing Chess," was published in 1950 by Shannon. |
Since the advent of the [[digital computer]] in the 1950s, chess enthusiasts and [[computer engineer]]s have built, with increasing degrees of seriousness and success, chess-playing machines and computer programs. The groundbreaking paper on computer chess, "Programming a Computer for Playing Chess," was published in 1950 by Shannon.{{#tag:ref|[[Alan Turing]] made an attempt in 1953.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.turingarchive.org/browse.php/B/7 |
| url=http://www.turingarchive.org/browse.php/B/7 |
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| title=Digital computers applied to games |
| title=Digital computers applied to games |
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| author=Alan Turing |
| author=Alan Turing |
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| publisher=University of Southampton and King's College Cambridge |
| publisher=University of Southampton and King's College Cambridge |
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}}</ref> He wrote: |
}}</ref>|group=note}} He wrote: |
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<blockquote> |
<blockquote> |
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The chess machine is an ideal one to start with, since: (1) the problem is sharply defined both in allowed operations (the moves) and in the ultimate goal (checkmate); (2) it is neither so simple as to be trivial nor too difficult for satisfactory solution; (3) chess is generally considered to require "thinking" for skillful play; a solution of this problem will force us either to admit the possibility of a mechanized thinking or to further restrict our concept of "thinking"; (4) the discrete structure of chess fits well into the digital nature of |
The chess machine is an ideal one to start with, since: (1) the problem is sharply defined both in allowed operations (the moves) and in the ultimate goal (checkmate); (2) it is neither so simple as to be trivial nor too difficult for satisfactory solution; (3) chess is generally considered to require "thinking" for skillful play; a solution of this problem will force us either to admit the possibility of a mechanized thinking or to further restrict our concept of "thinking"; (4) the discrete structure of chess fits well into the digital nature of |
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modern computers.<ref>Shannon, Claude E. XXII. Programming a Computer for Playing Chess. ''Philosophical Magazine'', Ser.7, Vol. 41, No. 314 |
modern computers.<ref>Shannon, Claude E. XXII. Programming a Computer for Playing Chess. ''Philosophical Magazine'', Ser.7, Vol. 41, No. 314 – March 1950. Available online at {{PDFlink|[http://archive.computerhistory.org/projects/chess/related_materials/text/2-0%20and%202-1.Programming_a_computer_for_playing_chess.shannon/2-0%20and%202-1.Programming_a_computer_for_playing_chess.shannon.062303002.pdf ''computerhistory.org'']|175 KB}} Retrieved 2006-12-06.</ref> |
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</blockquote> |
</blockquote> |
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[[File:RS Chess Computer.JPG|thumb|left|1990s chess-playing computer]] |
[[File:RS Chess Computer.JPG|thumb|left|1990s chess-playing computer]] |
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The [[Association for Computing Machinery]] (ACM) held the first major chess tournament for computers, the [[North American Computer Chess Championship]], in September 1970. [[Chess (Northwestern University)|CHESS 3.0]], a chess program from [[Northwestern University]], won the championship. Nowadays, chess programs compete in the [[World Computer Chess Championship]], held annually since 1974. At first considered only a curiosity, the best [[chess engine|chess playing programs]], for example [[Rybka]], have become extremely strong. In 1997, a computer won a chess match against a reigning World Champion for the first time: [[International Business Machines|IBM's]] [[IBM Deep Blue|Deep Blue]] beat [[Garry Kasparov]] 3½–2½ (it scored two wins, one loss and three [[draw (chess)|draws]]).<ref>Hsu (2002), pp. 295–6</ref><ref>[http://researchweb.watson.ibm.com/deepblue/watch/html/c.shtml Deep Blue – Kasparov Match]. ''research.ibm.com''. Retrieved 30 |
The [[Association for Computing Machinery]] (ACM) held the first major chess tournament for computers, the [[North American Computer Chess Championship]], in September 1970. [[Chess (Northwestern University)|CHESS 3.0]], a chess program from [[Northwestern University]], won the championship. Nowadays, chess programs compete in the [[World Computer Chess Championship]], held annually since 1974. At first considered only a curiosity, the best [[chess engine|chess playing programs]], for example [[Rybka]], have become extremely strong. In 1997, a computer won a chess match against a reigning World Champion for the first time: [[International Business Machines|IBM's]] [[IBM Deep Blue|Deep Blue]] beat [[Garry Kasparov]] 3½–2½ (it scored two wins, one loss, and three [[draw (chess)|draws]]).<ref>Hsu (2002), pp. 295–6</ref><ref>[http://researchweb.watson.ibm.com/deepblue/watch/html/c.shtml Deep Blue – Kasparov Match]. ''research.ibm.com''. Retrieved 2006-11-30.</ref> In 2009, a [[mobile phone]] won a [[Category (chess tournament)|category]] 6 tournament with a performance rating 2898: chess engine [[Hiarcs]] 13 running on the mobile phone [[HTC Touch HD]] won the Copa Mercosur tournament with nine wins and one draw.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url=http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/twic771.html#13 |
| url=http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/twic771.html#13 |
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| title=Hiarcs 13 wins Copa Mercosur |
| title=Hiarcs 13 wins Copa Mercosur |
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}}</ref> |
}}</ref> |
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With huge databases of past games and high analytical ability, computers |
With huge databases of past games and high analytical ability, computers can help players to learn chess and prepare for matches. [[Internet Chess Server]]s allow people to find and play opponents all over the world. The presence of computers and modern communication tools have raised concerns regarding [[cheating]] during games, most notably the "[[FIDE World Chess Championship 2006#Bathroom controversy|bathroom controversy]]" during the 2006 World Championship.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/08/sports/othersports/08chess.html|title=Cheating Accusations in Mental Sports, Too|accessdate=2010-08-28 | work=The New York Times | date=2006-08-08}}</ref> |
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==Psychology== |
==Psychology== |
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There is an extensive scientific literature on chess psychology |
There is an extensive scientific literature on chess psychology. {{#tag:ref|A survey is given in [http://jeays.net/files/psychchess.htm Mark Jeays, "A brief survey of psychological studies of chess"].|group=note}} {{#tag:ref|Chess is even called the "[[drosophila]]" of [[cognitive psychology]] and artificial intelligence ([[AI]]) studies, because it represents the domain in which expert performance has been most intensively studied and measured.<ref>Grabner, Stern, & Neubauer (2007) pp. 398–420</ref>|group=note}}<ref>De Groot & Gobet (1996)</ref><ref>Gobet, de Voogt, & Retschitzki (2004) |
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</ref><ref>Holding (1985)</ref><ref>Saariluoma (1995)</ref> [[Alfred Binet]] and others showed that knowledge and verbal, rather than visuospatial, ability lies at the core of expertise.<ref>Binet (1894)</ref><ref>Robbins (1996), pp. 83–93</ref> [[Adriaan de Groot]] |
</ref><ref>Holding (1985)</ref><ref>Saariluoma (1995)</ref> [[Alfred Binet]] and others showed that [[knowledge]] and verbal, rather than visuospatial, ability lies at the core of expertise.<ref>Binet (1894)</ref><ref>Robbins (1996), pp. 83–93</ref> In his doctoral thesis, [[Adriaan de Groot]] showed that chess masters can rapidly perceive the key features of a position.<ref>de Groot (1946)</ref> According to de Groot, this [[perception]], made possible by years of practice and study, is more important than the sheer ability to anticipate moves. De Groot showed that chess masters can memorize positions shown for a few seconds almost perfectly. The ability to memorize does not alone account for chess-playing skill, since masters and novices, when faced with random arrangements of chess pieces, had equivalent recall (about half a dozen positions in each case). Rather, it is the ability to recognize patterns, which are then memorized, which distinguished the skilled players from the novices. When the positions of the pieces were taken from an actual game, the masters had almost total positional recall.<ref>Richards J. Heuer, Jr. ''Psychology of Intelligence Analysis'' Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency 1999 (see [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/psychology-of-intelligence-analysis/art6.html Chapter 3]).</ref> |
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More recent research has focused on [[chess as mental training]]; the respective roles of |
More recent research has focused on [[chess as mental training]]; the respective roles of knowledge and look-ahead search; [[brain imaging]] studies of chess masters and novices; [[blindfold chess]]; the role of [[Personality psychology|personality]] and [[intelligence]] in chess skill; gender differences; and computational models of chess expertise. The role of practice and talent in the development of chess and other domains of expertise has led to a lot of research recently. Ericsson and colleagues have argued that deliberate practice is sufficient for reaching high levels of expertise in chess.<ref>Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. Th., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). {{PDFlink| [http://web.archive.org/web/19960101-re_/http://www.freakonomics.com/pdf/DeliberatePractice%28PsychologicalReview%29.pdf The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance.] |1.25 MB}} ''Psychological Review'', 100, 363–406. Retrieved 2010-05-20.</ref> Recent research indicates that factors other than practice are also important. For example, Gobet and colleagues have shown that stronger players start playing chess earlier, that they are more likely to be left-handed, and that they are more likely to be born in late winter and early spring.<ref>Gobet, F. & Chassy, P. (in press). {{PDFlink| [http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/736/1/Seasonality%20and%20chess.pdf Season of birth and chess expertise.] |65.8 KB}} ''Journal of Biosocial Science''. <br> Gobet, F. & Campitelli, G. (2007). {{PDFlink| [http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/611/1/Gobet_DevPsyc_Final.pdf The role of domain-specific practice, handedness and starting age in chess.]|196 KB}} ''Developmental Psychology'', 43, 159–172. Both retrieved 2007-07-15.</ref> |
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==Variants== |
==Variants== |
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{{Main|Chess variant}} |
{{Main|Chess variant}} |
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[[File:Glinski Chess Setup.png|thumb|Glinski's [[hexagonal chess]] |
[[File:Glinski Chess Setup.png|thumb|Glinski's [[hexagonal chess]] was popular in the 1930s.]] |
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Chess variants are forms of chess where the game is played with a different board, special [[Fairy chess piece|fairy pieces]] or different rules. There are more than two thousand published chess variants, the most popular being [[xiangqi]] in China and [[shogi]] in Japan.<ref>Pritchard (2000)</ref><ref>Pritchard (1994)</ref> Chess variants include: |
Chess variants are forms of chess where the game is played with a different board, special [[Fairy chess piece|fairy pieces]], or different rules. There are more than two thousand published chess variants, the most popular being [[xiangqi]] in China and [[shogi]] in Japan.<ref>Pritchard (2000)</ref><ref>Pritchard (1994)</ref> Chess variants include: |
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* Direct predecessors of chess ([[chaturanga]] and [[shatranj]]) |
* Direct predecessors of chess ([[chaturanga]] and [[shatranj]]) |
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* Traditional national or regional chess variants like [[xiangqi]], [[shogi]], [[janggi]], and [[makruk]], which share common predecessors with Western chess |
* Traditional national or regional chess variants like [[xiangqi]], [[shogi]], [[janggi]], and [[makruk]], which share common predecessors with Western chess |
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* Modern variants of chess, such as ''[[Chess960]]'', where the initial position is one [[Chess960#Rules|selected randomly]] from a possible 960 starting positions. This random positioning makes it more difficult to prepare the opening play in advance.<ref>Verwer (2010), p. 63</ref> |
* Modern variants of chess, such as ''[[Chess960]]'', where the initial position is one [[Chess960#Rules|selected randomly]] from a possible 960 starting positions. This random positioning makes it more difficult to prepare the opening play in advance.<ref>Verwer (2010), p. 63</ref> |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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===Footnotes=== |
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{{Reflist|group=note}} |
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===Citations=== |
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{{Reflist|2}} |
{{Reflist|2}} |
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| title=Power Play: The Literature and Politics of Chess in the Late Middle Ages |
| title=Power Play: The Literature and Politics of Chess in the Late Middle Ages |
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| publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |
| publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |
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| location=Philadelphia |
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| year=2006 |
| year=2006 |
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| isbn=0-8122-3944-X |
| isbn=0-8122-3944-X |
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| location=Paris |
| location=Paris |
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| publisher=Hachette |
| publisher=Hachette |
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| oclc=287413777 |
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}} |
}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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| author= |
| author=Bird, Henry Edward|authorlink=Henry Bird (chess player) |
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| |
| origyear=First published 1893 |
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| year=2008 |
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| title=Chess History and Reminiscences |
| title=Chess History and Reminiscences |
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| publisher=Forgotten Books |
| publisher=Forgotten Books |
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| isbn= |
| isbn=978-1-60620-897-7 |
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}} |
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| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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| author=Graham Burgess |
| author=Graham Burgess |
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| title=The Mammoth Book of Chess |
| title=The Mammoth Book of Chess |
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| publisher=Carroll & Graf |
| publisher=Carroll & Graf |
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| year=2000 |
| year=2000 |
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| isbn=0-7867-0725-9 |
| isbn=0-7867-0725-9 |
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| location=New York |
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| oclc= |
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}} |
}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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|publisher=Carroll & Graf |
|publisher=Carroll & Graf |
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|isbn= 978-0-7867-1411-7 |
|isbn= 978-0-7867-1411-7 |
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|location=New York |
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|postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
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* {{Cite book |
}}* {{Cite book |
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| last=Davidson |
| last=Davidson |
||
| first=Henry A. |
| first=Henry A. |
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| year=1949 |
| year=1949 |
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| title=A Short History of Chess |
| title=A Short History of Chess |
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| publisher=McKay |
| publisher=D. McKay Co |
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| isbn=0-679-14550-8 |
| isbn=0-679-14550-8 |
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| oclc=17340178 |
| oclc=17340178 |
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| location=New York |
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| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
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}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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| author=de Groot, |
| author=de Groot, Adriaan D. |
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| year=1946 (first Dutch ed.); 1965 (English ed.) |
| year=1946 (first Dutch ed.); 1965 (English ed.) |
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| title=Thought and |
| title=Thought and Choice in Chess |
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| location=The Hague |
| location=The Hague |
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| publisher=[[Mouton de Gruyter|Mouton Publishers]] |
| publisher=[[Mouton de Gruyter|Mouton Publishers]] |
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| oclc=4988227 |
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}} |
}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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| author= |
| author=de Groot, Adriaan D., Gobet, Fernand |
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| title=Perception and |
| title=Perception and Memory in Chess: Heuristics of the Professional Eye |
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| location=Assen, NL |
| location=Assen, NL |
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| publisher= Van Gorcum |
| publisher= Van Gorcum |
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}} |
}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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| author= |
| author=de la Villa, Jesús|authorlink=Jesús de la Villa |
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| title=100 Endgames You Must Know |
| title=100 Endgames You Must Know |
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|publisher=[[New in Chess]] |
| publisher=[[New in Chess]] |
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| year=2008 |
| year=2008 |
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| isbn=978-90-5691-244-4}} |
| isbn=978-90-5691-244-4 |
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}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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| author=Estes, Rebecca |
| author=Estes, Rebecca |
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| year=1996 |
| year=1996 |
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| title=World Cultures Through Art Activities |
| title=World Cultures Through Art Activities |
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| publisher= |
| publisher=Teachers Ideas Press |
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| location=Englewood, CO |
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| isbn=1563082713 |
| isbn=1563082713 |
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}} |
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| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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|last=Evans|first=Larry|authorlink=Larry Evans |
|last=Evans |
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|first=Larry |
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|authorlink=Larry Evans |
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|title=New Ideas in Chess |
|title=New Ideas in Chess |
||
|year=1958 |
|year=1958 |
||
|publisher=Pitman (1984 [[Dover Publications|Dover]] edition) |
|publisher=Pitman (1984 [[Dover Publications|Dover]] edition) |
||
|isbn= 0-486-28305-4 |
|isbn= 0-486-28305-4 |
||
|location=New York |
|||
|postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Franklin, Benjamin |
| author=Franklin, Benjamin|authorlink=Benjamin Franklin |
||
| url=http://books.google.com/?id=nAl9tOwf5psC&pg=PA289&lpg=PA289&dq=%22Playing+at+Chess,+is+the+most+ancient+and+the+most+universal+game+%22&q=%22Playing%20at%20Chess%2C%20is%20the%20most%20ancient%20and%20the%20most%20universal%20game%20%22 |
| url=http://books.google.com/?id=nAl9tOwf5psC&pg=PA289&lpg=PA289&dq=%22Playing+at+Chess,+is+the+most+ancient+and+the+most+universal+game+%22&q=%22Playing%20at%20Chess%2C%20is%20the%20most%20ancient%20and%20the%20most%20universal%20game%20%22 |
||
| title= |
| title=A Benjamin Franklin Reader |
||
| |
| origyear = 1779 |
||
| year=2003 |
|||
| publisher=Google Books |
|||
| publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |
|||
| accessdate=2010-08-04 |
|||
| location=New York |
|||
| accessdate=2010-12-12 |
|||
| isbn=9780743257824 |
| isbn=9780743257824 |
||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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| |
| author1=Gobet, Fernand |
||
| author2=de Voogt, Alex |
|||
| author3=Retschitzki, Jean |
|||
| title=Moves in |
| title=Moves in Mind: The Psychology of Board Games |
||
| location=Hove, UK |
| location=Hove, UK |
||
| publisher= Psychology Press |
| publisher= Psychology Press |
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Line 815: | Line 841: | ||
| volume=124 |
| volume=124 |
||
| issue=3 |
| issue=3 |
||
| month=March | year=2007 |
| month=March |
||
| year=2007 |
|||
| pages=398–420 |
| pages=398–420 |
||
| doi=10.1016/j.actpsy.2006.07.008 |
| doi=10.1016/j.actpsy.2006.07.008 |
||
Line 834: | Line 861: | ||
| isbn=0-486-29029-8 |
| isbn=0-486-29029-8 |
||
| oclc=33166445 |
| oclc=33166445 |
||
| location=New York |
|||
| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Hartston, |
| author=Hartston, William R. |
||
| title=The Kings of Chess |
| title=The Kings of Chess |
||
| year=1985 |
| year=1985 |
||
| publisher=Pavilion Books |
| publisher=Pavilion Books |
||
| isbn=0-06-015358-X |
| isbn=0-06-015358-X |
||
| location=New York |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Holding, Dennis |
| author=Holding, Dennis |
||
| title=The |
| title=The Psychology of Chess Skill |
||
| publisher=Erlbaum |
| publisher=Erlbaum |
||
| year=1985 |
| year=1985 |
||
| isbn=978-0-89859-575-8 |
| isbn=978-0-89859-575-8 |
||
| oclc=11866227 |
| oclc=11866227 |
||
| location=Hillsdale, N.J. |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| |
| author1=Hooper, David|authorlink1=David Vincent Hooper |
||
| |
| author2=Whyld, Kenneth|authorlink2=Kenneth Whyld |
||
| title=[[The Oxford Companion to Chess]], Second edition |
| title=[[The Oxford Companion to Chess]], Second edition |
||
| publisher=Oxford University Press |
| publisher=Oxford University Press |
||
Line 858: | Line 888: | ||
| isbn=0-19-866164-9 |
| isbn=0-19-866164-9 |
||
| oclc=25508610 |
| oclc=25508610 |
||
| location=Oxford; New York |
|||
| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Howard, Kenneth S |
| author=Howard, Kenneth S |
||
| title=How to Solve Chess Problems |
| title=How to Solve Chess Problems |
||
|publisher=Courier Dover Publications |
| publisher=Courier Dover Publications |
||
| year=1961 |
| year=1961 |
||
| isbn=0-486-20748-X |
| isbn=0-486-20748-X |
||
| location=New York |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Feng-Hsiung Hsu |
| author=Feng-Hsiung Hsu |
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Line 872: | Line 905: | ||
| isbn=0-691-09065-3 |
| isbn=0-691-09065-3 |
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| oclc=50582855 |
| oclc=50582855 |
||
| location=Princeton |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| last=Kasparov |
| last=Kasparov |
||
| first=Garry |
| first=Garry |
||
| authorlink=Garry Kasparov |
|||
| title=[[My Great Predecessors]], part I |
| title=[[My Great Predecessors]], part I |
||
| year=2003a |
| year=2003a |
||
Line 881: | Line 916: | ||
| isbn=1-85744-330-6 |
| isbn=1-85744-330-6 |
||
| oclc=223602528 |
| oclc=223602528 |
||
| location=London; Guilford, CT |
|||
| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
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}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| last=Kasparov |
| last=Kasparov |
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| isbn=1-85744-342-X |
| isbn=1-85744-342-X |
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| oclc=223906486 |
| oclc=223906486 |
||
| location=London; Guilford, CT |
|||
| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
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}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| last=Kasparov |
| last=Kasparov |
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| isbn=1-85744-371-3 |
| isbn=1-85744-371-3 |
||
| oclc=52949851 |
| oclc=52949851 |
||
| location=London; Guilford, CT |
|||
| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
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}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| last=Kasparov |
| last=Kasparov |
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| isbn=1-85744-395-0 |
| isbn=1-85744-395-0 |
||
| oclc=52949851 |
| oclc=52949851 |
||
| location=London; Guilford, CT |
|||
| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
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}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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| last=Kasparov |
| last=Kasparov |
||
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| isbn=1-85744-404-3 |
| isbn=1-85744-404-3 |
||
| oclc=52949851 |
| oclc=52949851 |
||
| location=London; Guilford, CT |
|||
| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Keene, Raymond |
| author=Keene, Raymond |
||
| title=Gary Kasparov's Best Games |
| title=Gary Kasparov's Best Games |
||
|publisher=B. T. Batsford |
| publisher=B. T. Batsford |
||
| year=1993 |
| year=1993 |
||
| isbn=0-7134-7296-0 |
| isbn=0-7134-7296-0 |
||
| oclc=29386838 |
| oclc=29386838 |
||
| location=London |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
|last=Lasker|first=Emanuel|authorlink=Emanuel Lasker |
| last=Lasker|first=Emanuel|authorlink=Emanuel Lasker |
||
|title=Lasker's Chess Primer |
| title=Lasker's Chess Primer |
||
|year=1934 |
| year=1934 |
||
|publisher=Billings (1988 reprint) |
| publisher=Billings (1988 reprint) |
||
|isbn= 0-7134-6241-8 |
| isbn= 0-7134-6241-8 |
||
| location=London |
|||
|postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Leibs, Andrew |
| author=Leibs, Andrew |
||
Line 938: | Line 981: | ||
| publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |
| publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |
||
| isbn=0313327726 |
| isbn=0313327726 |
||
| location=Westport, CT |
|||
| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Levitt, Gerald M. |
| author=Levitt, Gerald M. |
||
| title=The Turk, |
| title=The Turk, Chess Automaton |
||
| publisher=McFarland & Company |
| publisher=McFarland & Company |
||
| year=2000 |
| year=2000 |
||
| isbn=0-7864-0778-6 |
| isbn=0-7864-0778-6 |
||
| oclc=226148928 |
| oclc=226148928 |
||
| location=Jefferson, N.C. |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author= |
| author=Li, David H.|authorlink=David H. Li |
||
| title=The Genealogy of Chess |
| title=The Genealogy of Chess |
||
| publisher=Premier |
| publisher=Premier |
||
| year=1998 |
| year=1998 |
||
| isbn=0-9637852-2-2 |
| isbn=0-9637852-2-2 |
||
| oclc=39281682 |
| oclc=39281682 |
||
| location=Bethesda, Md. |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Metzner, Paul |
| author=Metzner, Paul |
||
| title=Crescendo of the Virtuoso: Spectacle, Skill, and Self-Promotion in Paris during the Age of Revolution |
| title=Crescendo of the Virtuoso: Spectacle, Skill, and Self-Promotion in Paris during the Age of Revolution |
||
| publisher= |
| publisher=University of California Press |
||
| year=1998 |
| year=1998 |
||
| isbn=0-520-20684-3 |
| isbn=0-520-20684-3 |
||
| oclc=185289629 |
| oclc=185289629 |
||
| url=http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft438nb2b6&brand=ucpress |
| url=http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft438nb2b6&brand=ucpress |
||
| location=Berkeley |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author= |
| author=Murray, H.J.R.|authorlink=Harold James Ruthven Murray |
||
| title=A History of Chess |
| title=A History of Chess |
||
| publisher=Benjamin Press (originally published by Oxford University Press) |
| publisher=Benjamin Press (originally published by Oxford University Press) |
||
Line 970: | Line 1,018: | ||
| isbn=0-936317-01-9 |
| isbn=0-936317-01-9 |
||
| oclc=13472872 |
| oclc=13472872 |
||
| location=Northampton, Mass. |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
Line 977: | Line 1,026: | ||
| publisher=Simon & Schuster |
| publisher=Simon & Schuster |
||
| location=New York |
| location=New York |
||
| isbn=0684801647}} |
| isbn=0684801647 |
||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author= |
| author=Pritchard, David |authorlink=David Pritchard (chess writer) |
||
| title=The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants |
| title=The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants |
||
| publisher=Games & Puzzles Publications |
| publisher=Games & Puzzles Publications |
||
Line 985: | Line 1,035: | ||
| isbn=0-9524142-0-1 |
| isbn=0-9524142-0-1 |
||
| oclc=60113912 |
| oclc=60113912 |
||
| location=Godalming |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Pritchard, David |
| author=Pritchard, David |
||
| title=Popular Chess Variants |
| title=Popular Chess Variants |
||
| publisher=Batsford Chess Books |
| publisher=Batsford Chess Books |
||
Line 993: | Line 1,044: | ||
| isbn=0-7134-8578-7 |
| isbn=0-7134-8578-7 |
||
| oclc=44275285 |
| oclc=44275285 |
||
| location=London |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite journal |
* {{Cite journal |
||
Line 998: | Line 1,050: | ||
| first=T.W. |
| first=T.W. |
||
| year=1996 |
| year=1996 |
||
| title=Working |
| title=Working Memory in Chess |
||
| journal=Memory & Cognition |
| journal=Memory & Cognition |
||
| pages=83–93 |
| pages=83–93 |
||
Line 1,005: | Line 1,057: | ||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Saariluoma, Pertti |
| author=Saariluoma, Pertti |
||
| title=Chess |
| title=Chess Players' Thinking: A Cognitive Psychological Approach |
||
| publisher=Routledge |
| publisher=Routledge |
||
| year=1995 |
| year=1995 |
||
| isbn= |
| isbn=9780415120791 |
||
| location=New York |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
Line 1,016: | Line 1,069: | ||
| year=1998 |
| year=1998 |
||
| isbn= 978-1-890085-01-8 |
| isbn= 978-1-890085-01-8 |
||
| location=Los Angeles |
|||
| postscript = <!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
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}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Shibut, Macon |
| author=Shibut, Macon |
||
Line 1,024: | Line 1,078: | ||
| isbn=0-486-43574-1 |
| isbn=0-486-43574-1 |
||
| oclc=55639730 |
| oclc=55639730 |
||
| location=New York |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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| isbn=0-7864-1193-7 |
| isbn=0-7864-1193-7 |
||
| oclc=48550929 |
| oclc=48550929 |
||
| location=Jeferson, N.C. |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite journal |
* {{Cite journal |
||
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}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author= |
| author=Tarrasch, Siegbert|authorlink=Siegbert Tarrasch |
||
| title=The Game of Chess |
| title=The Game of Chess |
||
| publisher=Courier Dover Publications |
| publisher=Courier Dover Publications |
||
Line 1,056: | Line 1,112: | ||
| isbn=0-486-25447-X |
| isbn=0-486-25447-X |
||
| oclc=15631832 |
| oclc=15631832 |
||
| location=New York |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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| isbn=0-19-926993-9 |
| isbn=0-19-926993-9 |
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| oclc=47049906 |
| oclc=47049906 |
||
| location=Oxford |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
|last=Verwer|first=Renzo |
| last=Verwer|first=Renzo |
||
|title=Bobby Fischer for Beginners |
| title=Bobby Fischer for Beginners |
||
|year=2010 |
| year=2010 |
||
|publisher=[[New in Chess]] |
| publisher=[[New in Chess]] |
||
|isbn= 978-90-5691-315-1 |
| isbn= 978-90-5691-315-1 |
||
| location=Alkmaar |
|||
|postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
|last=Watson|first=John|authorlink=John L. Watson |
| last=Watson|first=John|authorlink=John L. Watson |
||
|title=Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy |
| title=Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy |
||
|year=1998 |
| year=1998 |
||
|publisher=[[Gambit Publications]] |
| publisher=[[Gambit Publications]] |
||
|isbn= 978-1-901983-07-4 |
| isbn= 978-1-901983-07-4 |
||
| location=London |
|||
|postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{ cite book |
* {{ cite book |
||
| author=Weenink, H.G.M. |
| author=Weenink, H.G.M. |
||
| editor=Hume, G., and White, A.C. |
| editor=Hume, G., and White, A.C. |
||
| title=The Chess Problem |
| title=The Chess Problem |
||
| publisher=Office of ''The Chess Amateur'' |
|||
| year=1926 }} |
|||
| location=Stroud |
|||
| year=1926 |
|||
| oclc=3617028 |
|||
}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| author=Weissberger, Barbara F. |
| author=Weissberger, Barbara F. |
||
| title=Isabel Rules: |
| title=Isabel Rules: Qonstructing Queenship, Wielding Power |
||
| publisher=University of Minnesota Press |
| publisher=University of Minnesota Press |
||
| year=2004 |
| year=2004 |
||
| isbn=0-8166-4164-1 |
| isbn=0-8166-4164-1 |
||
| oclc=217447754 |
| oclc=217447754 |
||
| location=Minneapolis |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
* {{Cite journal |
* {{Cite journal |
||
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| issue=9 |
| issue=9 |
||
| url=http://jstor.org/stable/3257111 |
| url=http://jstor.org/stable/3257111 |
||
}} |
|||
| postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->}} |
|||
* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
||
| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/books/review/23SCHILLI.html?pagewanted=print |
| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/books/review/23SCHILLI.html?pagewanted=print |
||
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| year=2004 |
| year=2004 |
||
| publisher=Harper Collins Publishers |
| publisher=Harper Collins Publishers |
||
| location= |
| location=New York |
||
}} |
}} |
||
{{Refend}} |
{{Refend}} |
||
Line 1,162: | Line 1,227: | ||
;International organizations |
;International organizations |
||
* [http://www.fide.com/ FIDE] |
* [http://www.fide.com/ FIDE] – [[FIDE|World Chess Federation]] |
||
<!-- :*[http://www.fide.com/official/handbook.asp?level=EE101 Official rules - FIDE Laws of Chess] old URL --> |
<!-- :*[http://www.fide.com/official/handbook.asp?level=EE101 Official rules - FIDE Laws of Chess] old URL --> |
||
:*[http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=124&view=article Official rules |
:*[http://www.fide.com/component/handbook/?id=124&view=article Official rules – FIDE Laws of Chess] |
||
:*[http://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml?list=men FIDE list of top rated players] |
:*[http://ratings.fide.com/top.phtml?list=men FIDE list of top rated players] |
||
* [http://www.iccf.com/ ICCF] |
* [http://www.iccf.com/ ICCF] – [[International Correspondence Chess Federation]] |
||
* [http://www.chess-players.org/eng/index.html ACP] |
* [http://www.chess-players.org/eng/index.html ACP] – [[Association of Chess Professionals]] |
||
;News |
;News |
||
Line 1,174: | Line 1,239: | ||
;Other |
;Other |
||
* [http://www.chessgames.com/ ChessGames.com] |
* [http://www.chessgames.com/ ChessGames.com] – online chess database and community |
||
* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~timkr/records/records.htm Chess records] -details of longest game, most passed pawns, fewest captures etc. |
* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~timkr/records/records.htm Chess records] -details of longest game, most passed pawns, fewest captures etc. |
||
* [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chess/Sample_chess_game A sample chess game] |
* [http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chess/Sample_chess_game A sample chess game] |
Revision as of 22:56, 12 December 2010
Players | 2 |
---|---|
Setup time | About 1 minute |
Playing time | Casual games usually last 10 to 60 minutes; tournament games last anywhere from about ten minutes (blitz chess) to six hours or longer. |
Chance | None |
Skills | Tactics, strategy |
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. Each player begins the game with sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "check") and there is no way to remove or defend it from attack on the next move. The game's present form emerged in Europe during the second half of the 15th century, an evolution of an older Indian game, Shatranj. Theoreticians have developed extensive chess strategies and tactics since the game's inception. Computers have been used for many years to create chess-playing programs, and their abilities and insights have contributed significantly to modern chess theory. One, Deep Blue, was the first machine to beat a reigning World Chess Champion when it defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997.
Organized competitive chess began during the 16th century. The first official World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title in 1886; the current World Champion is Viswanathan Anand from India. In addition to the World Championship, there is the Women's World Championship, the Junior World Championship, the World Senior Championship, the Correspondence Chess World Championship, the World Computer Chess Championship, and Blitz and Rapid World Championships (see fast chess). The Chess Olympiad is a popular competition among teams from different nations. Online chess has opened amateur and professional competition to a wide and varied group of players. Chess is a recognized sport of the International Olympic Committee, and international chess competition is sanctioned by the FIDE. Chess is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments. Some other popular forms of chess are fast chess and computer chess. There are many chess variants that have different rules, different pieces, and different boards. These variants include blindfold chess and Fischer Random Chess/Chess960.
Rules
The official rules of chess are maintained by the World Chess Federation. Along with information on official chess tournaments, the rules are described in the FIDE Handbook, Laws of Chess section.[1]
Setup
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Chess is played on a square board of eight rows (called ranks and denoted with numbers 1 to 8) and eight columns (called files and denoted with letters a to h) of squares. The colors of the sixty-four squares alternate and are referred to as "light squares" and "dark squares". The chessboard is placed with a light square at the right-hand end of the rank nearest to each player, and the pieces are set out as shown in the diagram, with each queen on its own color.
The pieces are divided, by convention, into white and black sets. The players are referred to as "White" and "Black," and each begins the game with sixteen pieces of the specified color. These consist of one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns.
Movement
White always moves first. After the initial move, the players alternately move one piece at a time (with the exception of castling, when two pieces are moved). Pieces are moved to either an unoccupied square or one occupied by an opponent's piece, which is captured and removed from play. With the sole exception of en passant, all pieces capture opponent's pieces by moving to the square that the opponent's piece occupies. A player may not make any move that would put or leave his king under attack. If the player to move has no legal moves, the game is over; it is either a checkmate—if the king is under attack—or a stalemate—if the king is not.
Each chess piece has its own style of moving. In the diagrams, the dots mark the squares where the piece can move if no other pieces (including one's own piece) are on the squares between the piece's initial position and its destination.
- The king moves one square in any direction. The king has also a special move which is called castling and involves also moving a rook.
- The rook can move any number of squares along any rank or file, but may not leap over other pieces. Along with the king, the rook is involved during the king's castling move.
- The bishop can move any number of squares diagonally, but may not leap over other pieces.
- The queen combines the power of the rook and bishop and can move any number of squares along rank, file, or diagonal, but it may not leap over other pieces.
- The knight moves to any of the closest squares that are not on the same rank, file, or diagonal, thus the move forms an "L"-shape two squares long and one square wide. The knight is the only piece that can leap over other pieces.
- The pawn may move forward to the unoccupied square immediately in front of it on the same file; or on its first move it may advance two squares along the same file provided both squares are unoccupied; or it may move to a square occupied by an opponent's piece which is diagonally in front of it on an adjacent file, capturing that piece. The pawn has two special moves: the en passant capture and pawn promotion.
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* Pawns can optionally move two squares forward instead of one on their first move only. They capture diagonally (black x's); they cannot capture with their normal move (black circles). Pawns are also involved in the special move called en passant.
Castling
Once in every game, each king is allowed to make a special move, known as castling. Castling consists of moving the king two squares along the first rank toward a rook (which is on the player's first rank[note 1]) and then placing the rook on the last square the king has just crossed. Castling is permissible only if all of the following conditions hold:[2]
- Neither of the pieces involved in castling may have been previously moved during the game.
- There must be no pieces between the king and the rook.
- The king may not currently be in check, nor may the king pass through squares that are under attack by enemy pieces, nor move to a square where it is in check.
En passant
When a pawn advances two squares and there is an opponent's pawn on an adjacent file next to its destination square, then the opponent's pawn can capture it en passant (in passing), and move to the square the pawn passed over. However, this can only be done on the very next move, or the right to do so is lost. For example, if the black pawn has just advanced two squares from g7 to g5, then the white pawn on f5 can take it via en passant on g6 (but only on white's next move).
Promotion
When a pawn advances to the eighth rank, as a part of the move it is promoted and must be exchanged for the player's choice of queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. Usually, the pawn is chosen to be promoted to a queen, but in some cases another piece is chosen; this is called underpromotion. In the diagram on the right, the pawn on c7 can be advanced to the eighth rank and be promoted to an allowed piece. There is no restriction placed on the piece that is chosen on promotion, so it is possible to have more pieces of the same type than at the start of the game (for example, two queens).
Check
When a king is under immediate attack by one or two of the opponent's pieces, it is said to be in check. A response to a check is a legal move if it results in a position where the king is no longer under direct attack (that is, not in check). This can involve capturing the checking piece; interposing a piece between the checking piece and the king (which is possible only if the attacking piece is a queen, rook, or bishop and there is a square between it and the king); or moving the king to a square where it is not under attack. Castling is not a permissible response to a check. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent; this occurs when the opponent's king is in check, and there is no legal way to remove it from attack. It is illegal for a player to make a move that would put or leave his own king in check.
End of the game
Although the objective of the game is to checkmate the opponent, chess games do not have to end in checkmate—either player may resign if the situation looks hopeless. It is considered bad etiquette to continue playing when in a truly hopeless position.[3] If it is a timed game, a player may run out of time and lose, even with a much superior position. Games also may end in a draw (tie). A draw can occur in several situations, including draw by agreement, stalemate, threefold repetition of a position, the fifty-move rule, or a draw by impossibility of checkmate (usually because of insufficient material to checkmate). As checkmate from some positions cannot be forced in fewer than 50 moves (such as in the pawnless chess endgame and two knights endgame), the fifty-move rule is not applied everywhere,[note 2] particularly in correspondence chess.
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Time control
Besides casual games without any time restriction, chess is also played with a time control, mostly by club and professional players. If a player's time runs out before the game is completed, the game is automatically lost (provided his opponent has enough pieces left to deliver checkmate). The duration of a game ranges from long games played up to seven hours to shorter rapid chess games, usually lasting 30 minutes or one hour per game. Even shorter is blitz chess, with a time control of three to fifteen minutes for each player, and bullet chess (under three minutes). In tournament play, time is controlled using a game clock that has two displays, one for each player's remaining time.
Notation for recording moves
Chess games and positions are recorded using a special notation, most often algebraic chess notation.[5] Abbreviated (or short) algebraic notation generally records moves in the format abbreviation of the piece moved – file where it moved – rank where it moved. For example, Qg5 means "queen moves to the g-file and 5th rank (that is, to the square g5). If there are two pieces of the same type that can move to the same square, one more letter or number is added to indicate the file or rank from which the piece moved, e.g. Ngf3 means "knight from the g-file moves to the square f3". The letter P indicating a pawn is not used, so that e4 means "pawn moves to the square e4".
If the piece makes a capture, "x" is inserted before the destination square. Thus Bxf3 means "bishop captures on f3". When a pawn makes a capture, the file from which the pawn departed is used in place of a piece initial, and ranks may be omitted if unambiguous. For example, exd5 (pawn on the e-file captures the piece on d5) or exd (pawn on e-file captures something on the d-file).
If a pawn moves to its last rank, achieving promotion, the piece chosen is indicated after the move, for example e1Q or e1=Q. Castling is indicated by the special notations 0–0 for kingside castling and 0–0–0 for queenside castling. A move that places the opponent's king in check usually has the notation "+" added. Checkmate can be indicated by "#" (occasionally "++", although this is sometimes used for a double check instead). At the end of the game, "1–0" means "White won," "0–1" means "Black won," and "½–½" indicates a draw.[6]
Chess moves can be annotated with punctuation marks and other symbols. For example "!" indicates a good move, "!!" an excellent move, "?" a mistake, "??" a blunder, "!?" an interesting move that may not be best, or "?!" a dubious move, but not easily refuted.[7]
For example, one variant of a simple trap known as the Scholar's mate, animated in the picture to the right, can be recorded:
- e4 e5
- Qh5?! Nc6
- Bc4 Nf6??
- Qxf7# 1–0
Strategy and tactics
Chess strategy consists of setting and achieving long-term goals during the game – for example, where to place different pieces – while tactics concentrate on immediate maneuver. These two parts of the chess-playing process cannot be completely separated, because strategic goals are mostly achieved by the means of tactics, while the tactical opportunities are based on the previous strategy of play.
A game of chess is normally divided into three phases: opening, typically the first 10 to 25 moves, when players move their pieces into useful positions for the coming battle; middlegame, usually the fiercest part of the game; and endgame, when most of the pieces are gone, kings typically take a more active part in the struggle, and pawn promotion is often decisive.
Fundamentals of tactics
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In chess, tactics in general concentrate on short-term actions – so short-term that they can be calculated in advance by a human player or by a computer. The possible depth of calculation depends on the player's ability. In quiet positions with many possibilities on both sides, a deep calculation is more difficult and may not be practical, while in "tactical" positions with a limited number of forced variations where much less than the best move would lose quickly, strong players can calculate long sequences of moves.
Simple one-move or two-move tactical actions – threats, exchanges of material, and double attacks – can be combined into more complicated combinations, sequences of tactical maneuvers that are often forced from the point of view of one or both players.[9] Theoreticians described many elementary tactical methods and typical maneuvers; for example, pins, forks, skewers, batteries, discovered attacks (especially discovered checks), zwischenzugs, deflections, decoys, sacrifices, underminings, overloadings, and interferences.[10]
A forced variation that involves a sacrifice and usually results in a tangible gain is called a combination.[9] Brilliant combinations – such as those in the Immortal Game – are considered beautiful and are admired by chess lovers. A common type of chess exercise, aimed at developing players' skills, is showing players a position where a decisive combination is available and challenging them to find it.[11]
Fundamentals of strategy
Chess strategy is concerned with evaluation of chess positions and with setting up goals and long-term plans for the future play. During the evaluation, players must take into account numerous factors such as the value of the pieces on the board, control of the center and centralization, the pawn structure, king safety, and the control of key squares or groups of squares (for example, diagonals, open files, and dark or light squares).
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The most basic step in evaluating a position is to count the total value of pieces of both sides.[13] The point values used for this purpose are based on experience; usually pawns are considered worth one point, knights and bishops about three points each, rooks about five points (the value difference between a rook and a bishop or knight being known as the exchange), and queens about nine points. The king is more valuable than all of the other pieces combined, since its checkmate loses the game. But in practical terms, in the endgame the king as a fighting piece is generally more powerful than a bishop or knight but less powerful than a rook.[14] These basic values are then modified by other factors like position of the piece (for example, advanced pawns are usually more valuable than those on their initial squares), coordination between pieces (for example, a pair of bishops usually coordinate better than a bishop and a knight), or the type of position (knights are generally better in closed positions with many pawns while bishops are more powerful in open positions).[15]
Another important factor in the evaluation of chess positions is the pawn structure (sometimes known as the pawn skeleton), or the configuration of pawns on the chessboard.[16] Since pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and largely determines the strategic nature of the position. Weaknesses in the pawn structure, such as isolated, doubled, or backward pawns and holes, once created, are often permanent. Care must therefore be taken to avoid these weaknesses unless they are compensated by another valuable asset (for example, by the possibility of developing an attack).[17]
Opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a game (the "opening moves"). Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings and have been given names such as the Ruy Lopez or Sicilian Defence. They are catalogued in reference works such as the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings. There are dozens of different openings, varying widely in character from quiet positional play (for example, the Réti Opening) to very aggressive (the Latvian Gambit). In some opening lines, the exact sequence considered best for both sides has been worked out to more than 30 moves.[18] Professional players spend years studying openings and continue doing so throughout their careers, as opening theory continues to evolve.
The fundamental strategic aims of most openings are similar:[19]
- Development: This is the technique of placing the pieces (particularly bishops and knights) on useful squares where they will have an optimal impact on the game.
- Control of the center: Control of the central squares allows pieces to be moved to any part of the board relatively easily, and can also have a cramping effect on the opponent.
- King safety: It is critical to keep the king safe from dangerous possibilities. A correctly timed castling can often enhance this.
- Pawn structure: Players strive to avoid the creation of pawn weaknesses such as isolated, doubled, or backward pawns, and pawn islands – and to force such weaknesses in the opponent's position.
Most players and theoreticians consider that White, by virtue of the first move, begins the game with a small advantage. This initially gives White the initiative.[20] Black usually strives to neutralize White's advantage and achieve equality, or to develop dynamic counterplay in an unbalanced position.
Middlegame
The middlegame is the part of the game which starts after the opening. There is no clear line between the opening and the middlegame, but typically the middlegame will start when most pieces have been developed. (Similarly, there is no clear transition from the middlegame to the endgame; see start of the endgame.) Because the opening theory has ended, players have to form plans based on the features of the position, and at the same time take into account the tactical possibilities of the position.[21] The middlegame is the phase in which most combinations occur. Combinations are a series of tactical moves executed to achieve some gain. Middlegame combinations are often connected with an attack against the opponent's king; some typical patterns have their own names; for example, the Boden's Mate or the Lasker–Bauer combination.[22]
Specific plans or strategic themes will often arise from particular groups of openings which result in a specific type of pawn structure. An example is the minority attack, which is the attack of queenside pawns against an opponent who has more pawns on the queenside. The study of openings is therefore connected to the preparation of plans that are typical of the resulting middlegames.[23]
Another important strategic question in the middlegame is whether and how to reduce material and transition into an endgame (i.e. simplify). Minor material advantages can generally be transformed into victory only in an endgame, and therefore the stronger side must choose an appropriate way to achieve an ending. Not every reduction of material is good for this purpose; for example, if one side keeps a light-squared bishop and the opponent has a dark-squared one, the transformation into a bishops and pawns ending is usually advantageous for the weaker side only, because an endgame with bishops on opposite colors is likely to be a draw, even with an advantage of a pawn, or sometimes even with a two-pawn advantage.[24]
Endgame
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The endgame (or end game or ending) is the stage of the game when there are few pieces left on the board. There are three main strategic differences between earlier stages of the game and endgame:[25]
- During the endgame, pawns become more important; endgames often revolve around attempting to promote a pawn by advancing it to the eighth rank.
- The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame. It is often brought to the center of the board where it can protect its own pawns, attack the pawns of opposite color, and hinder movement of the opponent's king.
- Zugzwang, a disadvantage because the player has to make a move, is often a factor in endgames but rarely in other stages of the game. For example, the diagram on the right is zugzwang for both sides, as with Black to move he must play 1...Kb7 and let White promote a pawn after 2.Kd7; and with White to move he must allow a draw by 1.Kc6 stalemate or lose his last pawn by any other legal move.
Endgames can be classified according to the type of pieces that remain on board. Basic checkmates are positions in which one side has only a king and the other side has one or two pieces and can checkmate the opposing king, with the pieces working together with their king. For example, king and pawn endgames involve only kings and pawns on one or both sides and the task of the stronger side is to promote one of the pawns. Other more complicated endings are classified according to the pieces on board other than kings, such as the "rook and pawn versus rook endgame".
History
Predecessors
Chess is commonly believed to have originated in northwest India during the Gupta empire,[26][27][28][29] where its early form in the 6th century was known as caturaṅga ([four divisions [of the military] – infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry, represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)). The earliest evidence of chess is found in the neighboring Sassanid Persia around 600, where the game came to be known under the name chatrang. Chatrang is evoked inside three epic romances written in Pahlavi (Middle Persian). Chatrang was taken up by the Muslim world after the Islamic conquest of Persia (633–644), where it was then named shatranj, with the pieces largely retaining their Persian names. In Spanish "shatranj" was rendered as ajedrez, in Portuguese as xadrez, and in Greek as zatrikion (which comes directly from the Persian chatrang), but in the rest of Europe it was replaced by versions of the Persian shāh ("king"), which was familiar as an exclamation and became the English words "check" and "chess".[note 3] Murray theorized that Muslim traders came to European seaports with ornamental chess kings as curios before they brought the game of chess.[28]
The game reached Western Europe and Russia by at least three routes, the earliest being in the 9th century. By the year 1000 it had spread throughout Europe.[30] Introduced into the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors in the 10th century, it was described in a famous 13th-century manuscript covering shatranj, backgammon, and dice named the Libro de los juegos. Another theory contends that chess arose from the game xiangqi (Chinese Chess) or one of its predecessors,[31] although this has been contested.[32]
Origins of the modern game (1000–1850)
Around 1200, the rules of shatranj started to be modified in southern Europe, and around 1475, several major changes made the game essentially as it is known today.[30] These modern rules for the basic moves had been adopted in Italy and Spain.[33][34] Pawns gained the option of advancing two squares on their first move, while bishops and queens acquired their modern abilities. The queen replaced the earlier vizier chess piece towards the end of the 10th century and by the 15th century had become the most powerful piece;[35] consequently modern chess was referred to as "Queen's Chess" or "Mad Queen Chess".[36] These new rules quickly spread throughout western Europe. The rules about stalemate were finalized in the early 19th century. To distinguish it from its predecessors, this version of the rules is sometimes referred to as western chess[37] or international chess.[38]
Writings about the theory of how to play chess began to appear in the 15th century. The Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez (Repetition of Love and the Art of Playing Chess) by Spanish churchman Luis Ramirez de Lucena was published in Salamanca in 1497.[34] Lucena and later masters like Portuguese Pedro Damiano, Italians Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona, Giulio Cesare Polerio and Gioachino Greco, and Spanish bishop Ruy López de Segura developed elements of openings and started to analyze simple endgames.
In the 18th century, the center of European chess life moved from the Southern European countries to France. The two most important French masters were François-André Danican Philidor, a musician by profession, who discovered the importance of pawns for chess strategy, and later Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, who won a famous series of matches with the Irish master Alexander McDonnell in 1834.[39] Centers of chess activity in this period were coffee houses in big European cities like Café de la Régence in Paris and Simpson's Divan in London.[40][41]
As the 19th century progressed, chess organization developed quickly. Many chess clubs, chess books, and chess journals appeared. There were correspondence matches between cities; for example, the London Chess Club played against the Edinburgh Chess Club in 1824.[42] Chess problems became a regular part of 19th-century newspapers; Bernhard Horwitz, Josef Kling, and Samuel Loyd composed some of the most influential problems. In 1843, von der Lasa published his and Bilguer's Handbuch des Schachspiels (Handbook of Chess), the first comprehensive manual of chess theory.
Birth of a sport (1850–1945)
The first modern chess tournament was held in London in 1851 and was won by German Adolf Anderssen, relatively unknown at the time. Anderssen was hailed as the leading chess master and his brilliant, energetic attacking style became typical for the time, although it was later regarded as strategically shallow.[43][44] Sparkling games like Anderssen's Immortal game and Evergreen game or Morphy's Opera game were regarded as the highest possible summit of the chess art.[45]
Deeper insight into the nature of chess came with two younger players. American Paul Morphy, an extraordinary chess prodigy, won against all important competitors (except Howard Staunton, who refused to play), including Anderssen, during his short chess career between 1857 and 1863. Morphy's success stemmed from a combination of brilliant attacks and sound strategy; he intuitively knew how to prepare attacks.[46] Prague-born Wilhelm Steinitz later described how to avoid weaknesses in one's own position and how to create and exploit such weaknesses in the opponent's position.[47] The scientific approach and positional understanding of Steinitz revolutionized the game. Steinitz was the first to break a position down into its components.[48] Before Steinitz, players brought their queen out early, did not completely develop their other pieces, and mounted a quick attack on the opposing king, which either succeeded or failed. The level of defense was poor and players did not form any deep plan.[49] In addition to his theoretical achievements, Steinitz founded an important tradition: his triumph over the leading German master Johannes Zukertort in 1886 is regarded as the first official World Chess Championship. Steinitz lost his crown in 1894 to a much younger player, the German mathematician Emanuel Lasker, who maintained this title for 27 years, the longest tenure of all World Champions.[50]
It took a prodigy from Cuba, José Raúl Capablanca (World Champion 1921–27), who loved simple positions and endgames, to end the German-speaking dominance in chess; he was undefeated in tournament play for eight years, until 1924. His successor was Russian-French Alexander Alekhine, a strong attacking player who died as the World champion in 1946. He briefly lost the title to Dutch player Max Euwe in 1935 and regained it two years later.[51]
Between the world wars, chess was revolutionized by the new theoretical school of so-called hypermodernists like Aron Nimzowitsch and Richard Réti. They advocated controlling the center of the board with distant pieces rather than with pawns, which invited opponents to occupy the center with pawns, which become objects of attack.[52]
After the end of the 19th century, the number of master tournaments and matches held annually quickly grew. Some sources state that in 1914 the title of chess grandmaster was first formally conferred by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia to Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch, and Marshall, but this is a disputed claim.[note 4] The tradition of awarding such titles was continued by the World Chess Federation (FIDE), founded in 1924 in Paris. In 1927, the Women's World Chess Championship was established; the first to hold the title was Czech-English master Vera Menchik.[53]
Post-war era (1945 and later)
After the death of Alekhine, a new World Champion was sought. FIDE, who have controlled the title since then (except for one interruption), ran a tournament of elite players. The winner of the 1948 tournament, Russian Mikhail Botvinnik, started an era of Soviet dominance in the chess world. Until the end of the Soviet Union, there was only one non-Soviet champion, American Bobby Fischer (champion 1972–1975).[54] Botvinnik revolutionized opening theory. Previously Black strove for equality, to neutralize White's first-move advantage. As Black, Botvinnik strove for the initiative from the beginning.[55] In the previous informal system of World Championships, the current champion decided which challenger he would play for the title and the challenger was forced to seek sponsors for the match. FIDE set up a new system of qualifying tournaments and matches. The world's strongest players were seeded into Interzonal tournaments, where they were joined by players who had qualified from Zonal tournaments. The leading finishers in these Interzonals would go on the "Candidates" stage, which was initially a tournament, and later a series of knock-out matches. The winner of the Candidates would then play the reigning champion for the title. A champion defeated in a match had a right to play a rematch a year later. This system operated on a three-year cycle. Botvinnik participated in championship matches over a period of fifteen years. He won the world championship tournament in 1948 and retained the title in tied matches in 1951 and 1954. In 1957, he lost to Vasily Smyslov, but regained the title in a rematch in 1958. In 1960, he lost the title to the 23-year-old Latvian prodigy Mikhail Tal, an accomplished tactician and attacking player. Botvinnik again regained the title in a rematch in 1961.
Following the 1961 event, FIDE abolished the automatic right of a deposed champion to a rematch, and the next champion, Armenian Tigran Petrosian, a genius of defense and a strong positional player, held the title for two cycles, 1963–1969. His successor, Boris Spassky from Russia (champion 1969–1972), was able to win in both positional and sharp tactical style.[56] The next championship, the so-called Match of the Century, saw the first non-Soviet challenger since World War II, American Bobby Fischer, who defeated his Candidates opponents by unheard-of margins and clearly won the world championship match. In 1975, however, Fischer refused to defend his title against Soviet Anatoly Karpov when FIDE refused to meet his demands, and Karpov obtained the title by default.[57] Fischer modernized many aspects of chess, especially by extensively preparing openings.[58]
Karpov defended his title twice against Viktor Korchnoi and dominated the 1970s and early 1980s with a string of tournament successes.[59] Karpov's reign finally ended in 1985 at the hands of another Soviet player from Baku, Azerbaijan, Garry Kasparov. Kasparov and Karpov contested five world title matches between 1984 and 1990; Karpov never won his title back.[60] In 1993, Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short broke with FIDE to organize their own match for the title and formed a competing Professional Chess Association (PCA). From then until 2006, there were two simultaneous World Champions and World Championships: the PCA or Classical champion extending the Steinitzian tradition in which the current champion plays a challenger in a series of many games, and the other following FIDE's new format of many players competing in a tournament to determine the champion. Kasparov lost his Classical title in 2000 to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia.[61] The World Chess Championship 2006 reunified the titles. Kramnik beat the FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov and became the undisputed World Chess Champion.[62] In September 2007, he lost the title to Viswanathan Anand of India, who won the championship tournament in Mexico City. Anand defended his title in the revenge match of 2008.[63] On January 1, 2010, 19-year-old Magnus Carlsen became the youngest chess player in history to be ranked world number one by FIDE's rating system.[64]
Place in culture
Pre-modern
In the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, chess was a part of noble culture; it was used to teach war strategy and was dubbed the "King's Game".[65] Gentlemen are "to be meanly seene in the play at Chestes", says the overview at the beginning of Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier (1528, English 1561 by Sir Thomas Hoby), but chess should not be a gentleman's main passion. Castiglione explains it further:
And what say you to the game at chestes? It is truely an honest kynde of enterteynmente and wittie, quoth Syr Friderick. But me think it hath a fault, whiche is, that a man may be to couning at it, for who ever will be excellent in the playe of chestes, I beleave he must beestowe much tyme about it, and applie it with so much study, that a man may assoone learne some noble scyence, or compase any other matter of importaunce, and yet in the ende in beestowing all that laboure, he knoweth no more but a game. Therfore in this I beleave there happeneth a very rare thing, namely, that the meane is more commendable, then the excellency.[66]
Many of the elaborate chess sets used by the aristocracy have been lost, but others partially survive, such as the Lewis chessmen.
Chess was often used as a basis of sermons on morality. An example is Liber de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium sive super ludo scacchorum ('Book of the customs of men and the duties of nobles or the Book of Chess'), written by an Italian Dominican monk Jacobus de Cessolis circa 1300. This book was one of the most popular of the Middle Ages.[67] The work was translated into many other languages (the first printed edition was published at Utrecht in 1473) and was the basis for William Caxton's The Game and Playe of the Chesse (1474), one of the first books printed in English.[68] Different chess pieces were used as metaphors for different classes of people, and human duties were derived from the rules of the game or from visual properties of the chess pieces:[69]
The knyght ought to be made alle armed upon an hors in suche wyse that he haue an helme on his heed and a spere in his ryght hande/ and coueryd wyth his sheld/ a swerde and a mace on his lyft syde/ Cladd wyth an hawberk and plates to fore his breste/ legge harnoys on his legges/ Spores on his heelis on his handes his gauntelettes/ his hors well broken and taught and apte to bataylle and couerid with his armes/ whan the knyghtes ben maad they ben bayned or bathed/ that is the signe that they shold lede a newe lyf and newe maners/ also they wake alle the nyght in prayers and orysons vnto god that he wylle gyue hem grace that they may gete that thynge that they may not gete by nature/ The kynge or prynce gyrdeth a boute them a swerde in signe/ that they shold abyde and kepe hym of whom they take theyr dispenses and dignyte.[70]
Known in the circles of clerics, students, and merchants, chess entered into the popular culture of Middle Ages. An example is the 209th song of Carmina Burana from the 13th century, which starts with the names of chess pieces, Roch, pedites, regina...[71]
Modern
During the Age of Enlightenment, chess was viewed as a means of self-improvement. Benjamin Franklin, in his article "The Morals of Chess" (1750), wrote:
"The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it. By playing at Chess then, we may learn:
I. Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action [...]
II. Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action: – the relation of the several Pieces, and their situations [...]
III. Caution, not to make our moves too hastily [...]"[72]
With these or similar hopes, chess is taught to children in schools around the world today. Many schools host chess clubs, and there are many scholastic tournaments specifically for children. Tournaments are held regularly in many countries, hosted by organizations such as the United States Chess Federation and the National Scholastic Chess Foundation.[73]
Chess is often depicted in the arts; significant works where chess plays a key role range from Thomas Middleton's A Game at Chess to Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll to The Royal Game by Stefan Zweig and Vladimir Nabokov's The Defense. The thriller film Knight Moves is about a chess grandmaster who is accused of being a serial killer. Chess is featured in films like Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal and Satyajit Ray's The Chess Players.
In the video game Killer 7, the protagonist and the antagonist frequently play chess together; in the survival horror game Deadly Premonition, chess is the theme of a puzzle.
Chess is also present in the contemporary popular culture. For example, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter plays "Wizard's Chess", while the characters of Star Trek prefer "Tri-Dimensional Chess". The hero of Searching for Bobby Fischer struggles against adopting the aggressive and misanthropic views of a real chess grandmaster.[74] Chess has been used as the core theme of a musical, Chess, by Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson.
Approximately 600 million people worldwide know how to play chess.[75]
Chess composition
Chess composition is the art of creating chess problems (the problems themselves are sometimes also called chess compositions). A person who creates such problems is known as a chess composer.[76] There are many types of chess problems. The two most important are:
- Directmates: white to move first and checkmate black within a specified number of moves against any defense. These are often referred to as "mate in n" – for example "mate in three" (a three-mover).[77]
- Studies: orthodox problems in which the stipulation is that white to play must win or draw. Almost all studies are endgame positions.[78]
Chess composition is a distinct branch of chess sport, and tournaments (or tourneys) exist for both the composition and solving of chess problems.[79]
Example
a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
8 | 8 | ||||||||
7 | 7 | ||||||||
6 | 6 | ||||||||
5 | 5 | ||||||||
4 | 4 | ||||||||
3 | 3 | ||||||||
2 | 2 | ||||||||
1 | 1 | ||||||||
a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h |
This is one of the most famous chess studies; it was published by Richard Réti in 1921. It seems impossible to catch the advanced black pawn, while the black king can easily stop the white pawn. The solution is adiagonal advance, which brings the king to both pawns at the same time: 1.Kg7! h4 2.Kf6! Kb6 (or 2...h3 3.Ke7 and the white king can support its pawn) 3. Ke5!! (now the white king comes just in time to support his pawn, or catch the black one) 3...h3 4. Kd6 draw.[80]
Competitive play
Organization of competitions
Contemporary chess is an organized sport with structured international and national leagues, tournaments, and congresses. Chess's international governing body is FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs). Most countries have a national chess organization as well (such as the US Chess Federation and English Chess Federation) which in turn is a member of FIDE. FIDE is a member of the International Olympic Committee,[81] but the game of chess has never been part of the Olympic Games; chess does have its own Olympiad, held every two years as a team event.
The current World Chess Champion is Viswanathan Anand of India.[82] The reigning Women's World Champion is Alexandra Kosteniuk from Russia. The world's highest rated female player, Judit Polgár, has never participated in the Women's World Chess Championship, instead preferring to compete with the leading men and maintaining a ranking among the top male players.[83]
Other competitions for individuals include the World Junior Chess Championship, the European Individual Chess Championship, and the National Chess Championships. Invitation-only tournaments regularly attract the world's strongest players. Examples include Spain's Linares event, Monte Carlo's Melody Amber tournament, the Dortmund Sparkassen meeting, Sofia's M-tel Masters, and Wijk aan Zee's Corus tournament.
Regular team chess events include the Chess Olympiad and the European Team Championship. The 38th Chess Olympiad was held 2008 in Dresden, Germany; Armenia won the gold in the unrestricted event for the second time in a row after Turin 2006, and Georgia took the top medal for the women. The World Chess Solving Championship and World Correspondence Chess Championships include both team and individual events.
Besides these prestigious competitions, there are thousands of other chess tournaments, matches, and festivals held around the world every year catering to players of all levels. Chess is promoted as a "mind sport" by the Mind Sports Organisation, alongside other mental-skill games such as Contract Bridge, Go, and Scrabble.
Titles and rankings
The best players can be awarded specific lifetime titles by the world chess organization FIDE:[84]
- Grandmaster (shortened as GM; sometimes International Grandmaster or IGM is used) is awarded to world-class chess masters. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Before FIDE will confer the title on a player, the player must have an Elo chess rating (see below) of at least 2500 at one time and three favorable results (called norms) in tournaments involving other Grandmasters, including some from countries other than the applicant's. There are other milestones a player can achieve to attain the title, such as winning the World Junior Championship.
- International Master (shortened as IM). The conditions are similar to GM, but less demanding. The minimum rating for the IM title is 2400.
- FIDE Master (shortened as FM). The usual way for a player to qualify for the FIDE Master title is by achieving a FIDE rating of 2300 or more.
- Candidate Master (shortened as CM). Similar to FM, but with a FIDE rating of at least 2200.
All the titles are open to men and women. Separate women-only titles, such as Woman Grandmaster (WGM), are available. Beginning with Nona Gaprindashvili in 1978, a number of women have earned the GM title, and most of the top ten women in 2006 hold the unrestricted GM title.[note 5]
International titles are awarded to composers and solvers of chess problems and to correspondence chess players (by the International Correspondence Chess Federation). National chess organizations may also award titles, usually to the advanced players still under the level needed for international titles; an example is the Chess expert title used in the United States.
In order to rank players, FIDE, ICCF, and national chess organizations use the Elo rating system developed by Arpad Elo. Elo is a statistical system based on the assumption that the chess performance of each player in their games is a random variable. Arpad Elo thought of a player's true skill as the average of that player's performance random variable, and showed how to estimate the average from results of player's games. The US Chess Federation implemented Elo's suggestions in 1960, and the system quickly gained recognition as being both fairer and more accurate than older systems; it was adopted by FIDE in 1970.[note 6] The highest ever FIDE rating was 2851, which Garry Kasparov had on the July 1999 and January 2000 lists.[85] In the most recent list (July 2010), the highest rated player is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, with a rating of 2826.[note 5]
Publications
Chess is covered extensively in books and journals. Thousands of books about chess have been written, and dozens of periodicals cover chess.
Mathematics and computers
The game structure and nature of chess is related to several branches of mathematics. Many combinatorical and topological problems connected to chess were known of for hundreds of years. In 1913, Ernst Zermelo used chess as a basis for his theory of game strategies, which is considered as one of the predecessors of game theory.[86]
The number of legal positions in chess is estimated to be between 1043 and 1047 (a provable upper bound[87]), with a game-tree complexity of approximately 10123. The game-tree complexity of chess was first calculated by Claude Shannon as 10120, a number known as the Shannon number.[88] Typically an average position has thirty to forty possible moves, but there may be as few as zero (in the case of checkmate or stalemate) or as many as 218.[89]
The most important mathematical challenge of chess is the development of algorithms that can play chess. The idea of creating a chess-playing machine dates to the 18th century; around 1769, the chess-playing automaton called The Turk became famous before being exposed as a hoax.[90] Serious trials based on automatons, such as El Ajedrecista, were too complex and limited to be useful.
Since the advent of the digital computer in the 1950s, chess enthusiasts and computer engineers have built, with increasing degrees of seriousness and success, chess-playing machines and computer programs. The groundbreaking paper on computer chess, "Programming a Computer for Playing Chess," was published in 1950 by Shannon.[note 7] He wrote:
The chess machine is an ideal one to start with, since: (1) the problem is sharply defined both in allowed operations (the moves) and in the ultimate goal (checkmate); (2) it is neither so simple as to be trivial nor too difficult for satisfactory solution; (3) chess is generally considered to require "thinking" for skillful play; a solution of this problem will force us either to admit the possibility of a mechanized thinking or to further restrict our concept of "thinking"; (4) the discrete structure of chess fits well into the digital nature of modern computers.[92]
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) held the first major chess tournament for computers, the North American Computer Chess Championship, in September 1970. CHESS 3.0, a chess program from Northwestern University, won the championship. Nowadays, chess programs compete in the World Computer Chess Championship, held annually since 1974. At first considered only a curiosity, the best chess playing programs, for example Rybka, have become extremely strong. In 1997, a computer won a chess match against a reigning World Champion for the first time: IBM's Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov 3½–2½ (it scored two wins, one loss, and three draws).[93][94] In 2009, a mobile phone won a category 6 tournament with a performance rating 2898: chess engine Hiarcs 13 running on the mobile phone HTC Touch HD won the Copa Mercosur tournament with nine wins and one draw.[95]
With huge databases of past games and high analytical ability, computers can help players to learn chess and prepare for matches. Internet Chess Servers allow people to find and play opponents all over the world. The presence of computers and modern communication tools have raised concerns regarding cheating during games, most notably the "bathroom controversy" during the 2006 World Championship.[96]
Psychology
There is an extensive scientific literature on chess psychology. [note 8] [note 9][98][99][100][101] Alfred Binet and others showed that knowledge and verbal, rather than visuospatial, ability lies at the core of expertise.[102][103] In his doctoral thesis, Adriaan de Groot showed that chess masters can rapidly perceive the key features of a position.[104] According to de Groot, this perception, made possible by years of practice and study, is more important than the sheer ability to anticipate moves. De Groot showed that chess masters can memorize positions shown for a few seconds almost perfectly. The ability to memorize does not alone account for chess-playing skill, since masters and novices, when faced with random arrangements of chess pieces, had equivalent recall (about half a dozen positions in each case). Rather, it is the ability to recognize patterns, which are then memorized, which distinguished the skilled players from the novices. When the positions of the pieces were taken from an actual game, the masters had almost total positional recall.[105]
More recent research has focused on chess as mental training; the respective roles of knowledge and look-ahead search; brain imaging studies of chess masters and novices; blindfold chess; the role of personality and intelligence in chess skill; gender differences; and computational models of chess expertise. The role of practice and talent in the development of chess and other domains of expertise has led to a lot of research recently. Ericsson and colleagues have argued that deliberate practice is sufficient for reaching high levels of expertise in chess.[106] Recent research indicates that factors other than practice are also important. For example, Gobet and colleagues have shown that stronger players start playing chess earlier, that they are more likely to be left-handed, and that they are more likely to be born in late winter and early spring.[107]
Variants
Chess variants are forms of chess where the game is played with a different board, special fairy pieces, or different rules. There are more than two thousand published chess variants, the most popular being xiangqi in China and shogi in Japan.[108][109] Chess variants include:
- Direct predecessors of chess (chaturanga and shatranj)
- Traditional national or regional chess variants like xiangqi, shogi, janggi, and makruk, which share common predecessors with Western chess
- Modern variants of chess, such as Chess960, where the initial position is one selected randomly from a possible 960 starting positions. This random positioning makes it more difficult to prepare the opening play in advance.[110]
See also
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ Without this additional restriction, which was added to the FIDE rules in 1972, it would be possible to promote a pawn on the e file to a rook and then castle vertically across the board (as long as the other conditions are met). This way of castling was "discovered" by Max Pam and used by Tim Krabbé in a chess puzzle before the rules were amended to disallow it. See Chess Curiosities by Krabbé. See also de:Pam-Krabbé-Rochade for the diagrams online.
- ^ The 50 moves rule is not applied at FICGS.[4]
- ^ At that time Spanish 'j' and 'x' were pronounced as English "sh", as the Portuguese 'x' still is today.
- ^ This is stated in The Encyclopaedia of Chess (1970, p.223) by Anne Sunnucks, but is disputed by Edward Winter (chess historian) in his Chess Notes 5144 and 5152.
- ^ a b Current FIDE lists of top players with their titles are online at "World Top Chess players". FIDE. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ For the official process see "02. FIDE Rating Regulations (Qualification Commission)". FIDE. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- ^ Alan Turing made an attempt in 1953.[91]
- ^ A survey is given in Mark Jeays, "A brief survey of psychological studies of chess".
- ^ Chess is even called the "drosophila" of cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence (AI) studies, because it represents the domain in which expert performance has been most intensively studied and measured.[97]
Citations
- ^ "Laws of Chess". FIDE. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ Bodlaender, Hans. "The rules of chess". Chess Variants. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
- ^ Burgess (2000), p. 481
- ^ "50 moves rules". FICGS. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
- ^ See paragraph "E. Algebraic notation" in "E.I.01B. Appendices". FIDE. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "FIDE Laws of Chess". FIDE. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
- ^ Hooper & Whyld (1992), p. 92
- ^ "Botvinnik vs. Yudovich, USSR Championship 1933". 1933.
- ^ a b Harding (2003), p. 70ff
- ^ Harding (2003), p. 8ff
- ^ Burgess, Nunn, & Emms (2004), pp. 14–15
- ^ "Siegbert Tarrasch vs Max Euwe, Bad Pistyan it, CZE 1922". ChessGames. (Java needed)
- ^ Harding (2003), pp. 1–7
- ^ Lasker (1934), p. 73
- ^ Watson (1998), p. 163ff
- ^ Harding (2003), pp. 138ff
- ^ Evans (1958), pp. 22–67
- ^ Tamburro (2010), p. 18
- ^ Tarrasch (1987)
- ^ Evans (1958), p. 175
- ^ Harding (2003), p. 32–151
- ^ Hooper & Whyld (1992), p. 86
- ^ Silman (1998), pp. 202–5
- ^ Hooper & Whyld (1992), p. 373
- ^ Harding (2003), p. 187ff
- ^ Leibs (2004), p. 92
- ^ Robinson & Estes (1996), p. 34
- ^ a b Murray (1913)
- ^ Bird (1893), p. 63
- ^ a b Hooper & Whyld (1992), pp. 173–75
- ^ Li (1998)
- ^ Banaschak, Peter. "A story well told is not necessarily true : a critical assessment of David H. Li's The Genealogy of Chess ".
- ^ Davidson (1949), p. 13–17
- ^ a b Calvo, Ricardo. "Valencia Spain: The Cradle of European Chess". GoddessChess. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
- ^ Yalom (2004)
- ^ Weissberger (2004), pp. 152ff
- ^ Dr René Gralla. "XiangQi – an alternate to Western Chess". ChessBase.com.
- ^ René Gralla. "Kramnik plays Makruk Thai". The Chess Variant Pages. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ "Louis Charles Mahe De La Bourdonnais". ChessGames. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ Metzner (1998)
- ^ Bird, Henry Edward. "Chess History and Reminiscences". Gutenberg. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "London Chess Club". ChessGames. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ Parr, Larry. "London, 1851". World Chess Network. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
{{cite web}}
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has generic name (help) - ^ Hartston (1985), p.36
- ^ Burgess, Nunn, & Emms (2004) p. 14
- ^ Shibut (2004)
- ^ Steinitz (2002)
- ^ Kasparov (2003a), p. 6
- ^ Kasparov (2003a), p. 11
- ^ Kasparov (1983a), p. 117
- ^ Kasparov (1983b), p. 9
- ^ Hooper & Whyld (1992), p. 178
- ^ "Vera Menchik". ChessGames. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ Kasparov (2003b), pp. 7–8
- ^ Kasparov (2003b), p. 7
- ^ Kasparov (2004a), pp, 5–6; Kasparov (2003b), p, 8
- ^ Kasparov (2004b), pp. 5–6
- ^ Kasparov (2003a), p. 8
- ^ Kasparov (2004b), pp. 5–6; Kasparov (2006), pp. 5–6
- ^ Keene (1993), p. 16
- ^ "Kramnik beats Kasparov, 2000". CNN. 2000-11-02. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
- ^ "Vladimir Kramnik". ChessGames. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "Viswanathan Anand regains world chess title". Reuters. 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
- ^ "It's official: Magnus Carlsen is number one!". ChessBase. 2009-12-31. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
- ^ Vale (2001), pp. 170–99
- ^ Count Bladessar Castilio; Translated by Sir Thomas Hoby as edited by Walter Raleigh. Online at University of Oregon. Retrieved by Internet Archive, 2008-05-19. The Second Book of the Courtier. London, 1900: David Nutt. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
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- ^ The Introduction of Printing into England and the Early Work of the Press: The First Book printed in English, from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Vol II. (1907) Online at bartleby.com. Retrieved 12 December 2006.
- ^ Adams (2006)
- ^ Caxton, William. "The Game and Playe of the Chesse". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ "Carmina potoria". Bibliotheca Augustana. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ Franklin (1779)
- ^ "National Scholastic Chess Foundation". Retrieved 2009-12-30.
- ^ O'Neill, Eamonn. "The Brain Issue" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-26. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "World Chess 2007". Retrieved 2010-08-03.
- ^ Howard (1961)
- ^ Hooper & Whyld (1992), p. 110
- ^ Hooper & Whyld (1992), pp. 400–401
- ^ Weenink (1926)
- ^ de la Villa (2008), pp.179–80
- ^ "World Chess Federation". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "India's Anand seizes chess title". USA Today. 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "Judit Polgar: 'I can work myself into the top ten again'". ChessBase. 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ "01. International Title Regulations (Qualification Commission)". FIDE. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ "Garry Kasparov". ChessGames. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- ^ Zermelo, Ernst (1913), Uber eine Anwendung der Mengenlehre auf die Theorie des Schachspiels, Proceedings of the Fifth International Congress of Mathematicians 2, 501–4. Cited from Eichhorn, Christoph: Der Beginn der Formalen Spieltheorie: Zermelo (1913), Uni-Muenchen.de. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
- ^ John Tromp (2010). "John's Chess Playground".
- ^ Chess. Mathworld.Wolfram.com. Retrieved 2006-12-05.
- ^ "The biggest Number of simultaneous possible legal Moves". ChessBox.de. Archived from the original on 2007-06-13.
- ^ Levitt (2000)
- ^ Alan Turing. "Digital computers applied to games". University of Southampton and King's College Cambridge.
- ^ Shannon, Claude E. XXII. Programming a Computer for Playing Chess. Philosophical Magazine, Ser.7, Vol. 41, No. 314 – March 1950. Available online at Template:PDFlink Retrieved 2006-12-06.
- ^ Hsu (2002), pp. 295–6
- ^ Deep Blue – Kasparov Match. research.ibm.com. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
- ^ "Hiarcs 13 wins Copa Mercosur". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
- ^ "Cheating Accusations in Mental Sports, Too". The New York Times. 2006-08-08. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ Grabner, Stern, & Neubauer (2007) pp. 398–420
- ^ De Groot & Gobet (1996)
- ^ Gobet, de Voogt, & Retschitzki (2004)
- ^ Holding (1985)
- ^ Saariluoma (1995)
- ^ Binet (1894)
- ^ Robbins (1996), pp. 83–93
- ^ de Groot (1946)
- ^ Richards J. Heuer, Jr. Psychology of Intelligence Analysis Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency 1999 (see Chapter 3).
- ^ Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. Th., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). Template:PDFlink Psychological Review, 100, 363–406. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ Gobet, F. & Chassy, P. (in press). Template:PDFlink Journal of Biosocial Science.
Gobet, F. & Campitelli, G. (2007). Template:PDFlink Developmental Psychology, 43, 159–172. Both retrieved 2007-07-15. - ^ Pritchard (2000)
- ^ Pritchard (1994)
- ^ Verwer (2010), p. 63
References
- Adams, Jenny (2006). Power Play: The Literature and Politics of Chess in the Late Middle Ages. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-3944-X. OCLC 238812746.
- Binet, A. (1894). Psychologie des grands calculateurs et joueurs d'échecs (in French). Paris: Hachette. OCLC 287413777.
- Bird, Henry Edward (2008) [First published 1893]. Chess History and Reminiscences. Forgotten Books. ISBN 978-1-60620-897-7.
- Graham Burgess (2000). The Mammoth Book of Chess. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0725-9.
- Burgess, Graham; Nunn, John; Emms, John (2004). The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games (2nd ed.). New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 978-0-7867-1411-7.* Davidson, Henry A. (1949). A Short History of Chess. New York: D. McKay Co. ISBN 0-679-14550-8. OCLC 17340178.
- de Groot, Adriaan D. (1946 (first Dutch ed.); 1965 (English ed.)). Thought and Choice in Chess. The Hague: Mouton Publishers. OCLC 4988227.
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(help) - de Groot, Adriaan D., Gobet, Fernand (1996). Perception and Memory in Chess: Heuristics of the Professional Eye. Assen, NL: Van Gorcum. ISBN 90-232-2949-5.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - de la Villa, Jesús (2008). 100 Endgames You Must Know. New in Chess. ISBN 978-90-5691-244-4.
- Estes, Rebecca (1996). World Cultures Through Art Activities. Englewood, CO: Teachers Ideas Press. ISBN 1563082713.
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suggested) (help) - Evans, Larry (1958). New Ideas in Chess. New York: Pitman (1984 Dover edition). ISBN 0-486-28305-4.
- Franklin, Benjamin (2003) [1779]. A Benjamin Franklin Reader. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780743257824. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- Gobet, Fernand; de Voogt, Alex; Retschitzki, Jean (2004). Moves in Mind: The Psychology of Board Games. Hove, UK: Psychology Press. ISBN 1-84169-336-7. OCLC 53962630.
- Grabner, RH; Stern, E; Neubauer, AC (2007). "Individual differences in chess expertise: A psychometric investigation". Acta Psychologica. 124 (3): 398–420. doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2006.07.008. PMID 16942740.
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ignored (help) - Harding, Tim (2003). Better Chess for Average Players. New York: Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-29029-8. OCLC 33166445.
- Hartston, William R. (1985). The Kings of Chess. New York: Pavilion Books. ISBN 0-06-015358-X.
- Holding, Dennis (1985). The Psychology of Chess Skill. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum. ISBN 978-0-89859-575-8. OCLC 11866227.
- Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (1992). The Oxford Companion to Chess, Second edition. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866164-9. OCLC 25508610.
- Howard, Kenneth S (1961). How to Solve Chess Problems. New York: Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-20748-X.
- Feng-Hsiung Hsu (2002). Behind Deep Blue: Building the Computer that Defeated the World Chess Champion. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09065-3. OCLC 50582855.
- Kasparov, Garry (2003a). My Great Predecessors, part I. London; Guilford, CT: Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-330-6. OCLC 223602528.
- Kasparov, Garry (2003b). My Great Predecessors, part II. London; Guilford, CT: Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-342-X. OCLC 223906486.
- Kasparov, Garry (2004a). My Great Predecessors, part III. London; Guilford, CT: Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-371-3. OCLC 52949851.
- Kasparov, Garry (2004b). My Great Predecessors, part IV. London; Guilford, CT: Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-395-0. OCLC 52949851.
- Kasparov, Garry (2006). My Great Predecessors, part V. London; Guilford, CT: Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-404-3. OCLC 52949851.
- Keene, Raymond (1993). Gary Kasparov's Best Games. London: B. T. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-7296-0. OCLC 29386838.
- Lasker, Emanuel (1934). Lasker's Chess Primer. London: Billings (1988 reprint). ISBN 0-7134-6241-8.
- Leibs, Andrew (2004). Sports and Games of the Renaissance. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0313327726.
- Levitt, Gerald M. (2000). The Turk, Chess Automaton. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-0778-6. OCLC 226148928.
- Li, David H. (1998). The Genealogy of Chess. Bethesda, Md.: Premier. ISBN 0-9637852-2-2. OCLC 39281682.
- Metzner, Paul (1998). Crescendo of the Virtuoso: Spectacle, Skill, and Self-Promotion in Paris during the Age of Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-20684-3. OCLC 185289629.
- Murray, H.J.R. (1913). A History of Chess. Northampton, Mass.: Benjamin Press (originally published by Oxford University Press). ISBN 0-936317-01-9. OCLC 13472872.
- Olmert, Michael (1996). Milton's Teeth and Ovid's Umbrella: Curiouser & Curiouser Adventures in History. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684801647.
- Pritchard, David (1994). The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants. Godalming: Games & Puzzles Publications. ISBN 0-9524142-0-1. OCLC 60113912.
- Pritchard, David (2000). Popular Chess Variants. London: Batsford Chess Books. ISBN 0-7134-8578-7. OCLC 44275285.
- Robbins, T.W. (1996). "Working Memory in Chess" (PDF). Memory & Cognition: 83–93.
- Saariluoma, Pertti (1995). Chess Players' Thinking: A Cognitive Psychological Approach. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415120791.
- Silman, Jeremy (1998). The Complete Book of Chess Strategy. Los Angeles: Silman-James Press. ISBN 978-1-890085-01-8.
- Shibut, Macon (2004). Paul Morphy and the Evolution of Chess Theory. New York: Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-43574-1. OCLC 55639730.
- Steinitz, William (2002). The Steinitz Papers: Letters and Documents of the First World Chess Champion. Jeferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-1193-7. OCLC 48550929.
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suggested) (help) - Tamburro, Pete (2010). "Challenging the Ruy Lopez". Chess Life: 18–21.
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ignored (help) - Tarrasch, Siegbert (1987). The Game of Chess. New York: Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-25447-X. OCLC 15631832.
- Vale, Malcolm (2001). The Princely Court: Medieval Courts and Culture in North-West Europe, 1270–1380. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-926993-9. OCLC 47049906.
- Verwer, Renzo (2010). Bobby Fischer for Beginners. Alkmaar: New in Chess. ISBN 978-90-5691-315-1.
- Watson, John (1998). Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy. London: Gambit Publications. ISBN 978-1-901983-07-4.
- Weenink, H.G.M. (1926). Hume, G., and White, A.C. (ed.). The Chess Problem. Stroud: Office of The Chess Amateur. OCLC 3617028.
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(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - Weissberger, Barbara F. (2004). Isabel Rules: Qonstructing Queenship, Wielding Power. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-4164-1. OCLC 217447754.
- Wilkinson, Charles K. (1943). "Chessmen and Chess". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. New Series, Vol. 1, No. 9 (9): 271–279. doi:10.2307/3257111.
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ignored (help) - Yalom, Marilyn (2004). Birth of the Chess Queen. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0060090642.
Further reading
- Fine, Reuben (1983). The World's Great Chess Games. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-24512-8. OCLC 9394460.
- Mason, James (1947). The Art of Chess. Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-20463-4. OCLC 45271009. (see the included supplement, "How Do You Play Chess")
- Dunnington, Angus (2003). Chess Psychology: Approaching the Psychological Battle Both on and Off the Board. Everyman Chess. ISBN 9781857443264.
- Rizzitano, James (2004). Understanding Your Chess. Gambit Publications. ISBN 1-904600-07-7. OCLC 55205602.
- Hale, Benjamin (2008). Philosophy Looks at Chess. Open Court Publishing Company. ISBN 9780812696332.
External links
- International organizations
- News
- Other
- ChessGames.com – online chess database and community
- Chess records -details of longest game, most passed pawns, fewest captures etc.
- A sample chess game
- The Chess Encyclopedia
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