The Fascinating Game of Chess
Chess is an intriguing game, which has a history full of mystery. Even though no one knows when and where chess exactly originated from, the game has had a long and interesting development to get to us today. Today chess is a game that requires skill, intelligence, the ability to plan ahead and also requires an understanding of strategy. Chess is also a game that can give us an insight into medieval life and the hierarchy of society at the time. There have been interesting stories to come out from the world of chess over the years. Chess is a very interesting game and has a host of diehard fans out there.
No one actually knows the true origins of the game of chess. Some say it originated from Persia, some say from India but it is not absolutely clear. The game seems to have been played centuries ago in China, India and Persia before it was introduced to Europe by Moorish invaders. Over the years the pieces were given easy to understand names by the Europeans and each piece has a very interesting purpose that linked it to everyday life in medieval times. The pawns related to the lowly peasants of the time that were routinely sacrificed to maintain the safety of the ruling class. The castles or rooks were meant to represent the home which referred to the castles of the rulers or the entire kingdom. The knight pieces referred to the soldiers or the armies that would protect the entire city or kingdom. The bishops were meant to represent the church at the time. The queen piece was meant to represent the ruling queen who was usually a very strong woman who greatly influenced the king but could be sacrificed as well to protect the king. The king is the most important piece on the board but not the most powerful and by defeating him the game is won just like defeating a real king meant defeat for the entire kingdom.
Chess has come a long way from the pieces representing society where today being very good at chess takes years of practice and training. Today’s grandmasters of the game come from all over the world and are very impressive. The current world number 1 is a 19 year old Norwegian named Magnus Carlsen. He recently competed in the London Classic which was a very interesting affair to try and raise the profile of the game in the UK and make it more popular. Chess is not a spectator sport because one move can last for half an hour. There is no other sport in the world where one move lasts half an hour and nothing happens. Yet despite this, chess is loved by millions around the world and the rooms where the London Classic games were being played sometimes had standing room only.
One of the most epic battles in chess took place in 1984-1985 between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. Kasparov was only 21 years old during the epic match that he eventually won and thus began his dominance over the game of chess. The match was also said to be a forerunner to the end of communism and was one of the best matches ever played in the world. The two played a reunion match last year as a 25 year anniversary showdown to rekindle the spirit of the game. Kasparov won this encounter again getting the better of his opponent’s age. Now that both of them are well past their prime, this was an exhibition match like no other. It attracted 10 million viewers online to watch the epic encounter. Their previous encounter was such a difficult and tense affair that over the course of the match Karpov reportedly lost 8 kgs. That match was called off because of a fear that a loss would hurt the reputation of Karpov. This time however no one lost any weight and they were each paid €100,000 to take part. Even though only one of them won the contest they both went home a lot richer.
Even though chess is not a game that is the most exciting to watch, it is one that has a lot of intriguing moments and a host of fans all over the world. The game has evolved over the years to make it more spectator-friendly and speed chess was introduced but we can all still appreciate the subtleties of a game that has ancient origins and was even used as a way to devise war strategies and requires high levels of intelligence to play.
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