History of chess
On December 16, 1776, at Trinstone, there was a major battle in the war of the North American colonies of England for their independence. This battle in many ways helped the further success of the rebels. And a large share of the blame for the defeat of the British lay on their commander-in-chief - General Role. When an urgent report was sent to him that the insurgents led by George Washington had crossed the river, Rol, carried away by another matter, shoved the report into his pocket and. .. forgot about it. As a result, the factor of surprise was on the side of Washington. He decided the outcome of the battle."If it were not for this regrettable incident," an English historian was upset, "the very historical idea of the emergence of the United States might have disappeared without a trace, like the flickering lights of a dying flame."Of course, the scientist exaggerated the meaning of the "deplorable case" - the rebels would ultimately surely defend their independence. But what was this thing that made the British general forget about everything? It turns out that the general was carried away by playing chess! Have you ever thought about why this game has long attracted the attention of people all over the world? What is so special about it? Let us give the floor to representatives of different eras.
"An ancient game called" chess "deserves the most flattering words. When in each student room it will be possible to find a chessboard and figures, there will be a hope that with time the constant scarcity of true state minds will disappear "(T. Cohen, philosopher and teacher, XVII century).
"The chessboard is the world, the figures are the phenomena of the universe, and the rules of the game are what we call the laws of nature!"( T. Huxley, scientist, natural scientist, XIX century).
"This is a heart-to-heart conversation without words, feverish activity during the party, triumph and tragedy, hope and despair, life and death, poetry and science, the Ancient East and modern Europe, merged into 64 cells"( D. Rose, historian, XXcentury).
Many scholars have argued about how how many years of chess .It is most likely that chess exists for about 15 centuries, and their homeland is India. The first written mention of this game refers to around 570.There are many beautiful legends about how chess was invented. But these are only legends, the name of the inventor of the ancient game is not known. But different peoples have preserved dozens of stories that confirm the ancient origin of chess.
In the chronicles of Chinese historians there is such an episode. Emperor Wang Ti, who ruled at the end of the 6th century, went unrecognized to a tavern where overseas merchants played chess. Suddenly he heard that one of the players called the figure of the king a bogdhin - the title of the Chinese emperors. The monarch was enraged and immediately ordered the execution of all those present, including the innkeeper.
And that's what the Arab chronicles are about. During the reign of the Caliph Osman( 644-656), a certain Ahmed ibn Majid was imprisoned for malicious hints of moves during a game of chess. Caliph Walid I( VIII century) played with one orthodox, who, in order to serve the master, purposely made weak moves. At one time the Caliph could not stand it: he grabbed the queen from the board, hit his partner on the head and angrily exclaimed: "How dare you, despicable, so disgusting to play with the master?"
In Russia, chess has been known for over a thousand years. This is evidenced by excavations of archaeologists. In many proverbs and sayings it is said about chess: "Chess is to play - to save your own", "Shahnut and give up - an and the whole game", "Shahan is a lot, but one mate".
The successes of Russians in the chess game are unquestionable. In 1634, the book of an unknown author, Journey to Persia, was published in London, where, in particular, it was mentioned: "In Isfahstan, people often play chess in tea. In this game, the Persians are inferior only to the Muscovites, who are considered the best chess players in the whole of Europe. "
Russian chess( rooks).
During their long life, chess has come a long way. At first, the game depicted the composition and structure of the Indian army, which included infantrymen, riders, elephants and battle chariots. When chess began its journey across all continents, many nations contributed something in them. Tibetan monks are a monkey figure;in medieval Iceland, there was a rule according to which the king had the right once a year to go as a horse. In one of the then manuals this was explained by the fact that "the king must sit at least a little in the saddle in order to fully experience the hidden potential of the horse."In the days of the French Republic, some members of the Convention, speaking in newspapers, demanded the abolition of the "monarchical element" of chess. The king was offered to replace the "banner"( the "banner was taken" should mean "mate to the king"), and also the rook - "gun".According to this project, castling was designated by the term "battery to the banner".
A game of chess. French miniature of the end of the XV century.
Modern international chess rules were introduced in the last century;The first international tournament was held in London in 1851.
Since that time, the international sports rivalry of chess players from different countries has begun. The title of world champion was officially established in 1886.The first owner of the chess crown was the native of Prague V. Steinitz.
A game of chess. Silhouetted drawing. XVIII century.
So, people play chess for more than 1,500 years. Really in this game all possibilities are not studied, all parties and moves are not analyzed? It turns out, no. An interesting calculation was made. In the initial position, White has 20 different moves, while Black has 20 answers. But after the first most common move of e2-e4, White has 28 different moves, and the same for Blacks. So it will continue. The number of moves will increase( sometimes decrease), but it can always be determined.32 chess pieces can be put on 64 squares of the board in the number of combinations, which is expressed in a truly astronomical figure: 7534686312361225327 · 1033.For the inexhaustible possibilities, for an unlimited space for creativity, this game is loved by millions of people.
Who only was not fond of chess - scientists, writers, musicians, kings. .. LN Tolstoy almost every day found time to play chess. His partners were the artist I. Repin, the musicians S. I. Taneyev and A. B. Goldenweiser. But among all writers IS Turgenev was considered the best chess player. He often took part in tournaments in Paris, where he lived for a long time, and usually occupied high places. When a chess congress was held in Baden-Baden in 1870, IS Turgenev was elected vice-president of this International Congress of Chess Players.
Chess attracted many outstanding scientists. DI Mendeleyev, going on the road, always took the game with him, and even glued the road folding board with squares where cardboard figures were inserted.
The number of chess fans is growing year by year. The famous chess player MI Chigorin was forced to publish a chess magazine at his own expense: across Russia in 1881 this magazine found only 120 subscribers. In 1893, the Moscow Chess Club consisted of 43 members. When in 1914 the All-Russian Chess Union was created, he united just over 5,000 fans of this game. Now in our country about 3 million chess fans have sports categories and participate in competitions.
In medieval France, the highest appellate court was called the Chess Chamber. The floor in the courtroom was laid out with 64 stone slabs of black and white flowers and was like a grandiose chessboard. The table for the members of the presidium was covered with a checkered tablecloth. Historians associate the name of the chamber with the high prestige of the game, which already at that time was considered a symbol of wisdom and justice. These are the chess, and in our day - wise and fair. These "wooden troops dispel the dream of ignorance," says the ancient Mongol legend.
Take note of
A few tips for a beginner chess player how to make a better debut:
Try to take pawns in the center position - this will give an opportunity for more convenient and successful development of the figures.
Enter the game in the beginning light pieces and only then the queen and the rooks.
Do not produce without a good reason the moves of one figure, because others will be inactive.
Do not make moves "just in case."They are most often mistaken.
Do not get carried away with material conquests - this leads to a significant backlog in development.