Chess

Chess is a game of wits, which is governed by the moves of the players.It represents a mental warfare between two opposing players where the one with an agile mind and strength to succeed, wins this battle of minds. It is a board game played by two players, with one player having 16 black or dark color chess pieces and the other player having 16 white or light color chess pieces. The chess pieces have individual identities and can move only in a specified way.

The ultimate objective of the game is to capture the opponent's king and with this the game ends. By and large it is believed chess appeared in India around 600 A.D., was adopted in Persia around 700 A.D., and was absorbed by Arab culture around 800 A.D. The Arab influence was responsible for its later introduction into other cultures.. Several interesting legends abound this fascinating game. One of the legend states that the wife of King Ravana invented the game 4000-5000 years ago. The age when epic Mahabharata was written is dated around 800 BC to 1000 BC. Thus this game was known in India nearly 3000 years ago. H. J. R. Murry, in his work titled A History of Chess, has concluded that chess is a descendant of an Indian game played in the 7th century AD. The countries enthusiastically lapped up the game, however, variations occurred in the names of the chess pieces. The elephants became archers in Spain, Standard-Bearers in Italy, couriers in Germany, court jesters in France, and BSs in Portugal, England, Ireland and Iceland.