Chess: The Story Behind This Fine Art | EstheraSTEM

Chess is an ancient board game that goes back centuries. It is a board game which involves two players. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games such as xiangqi (Chinese chess) and shogi (Japanese chess).

Chess is an abstract strategy game that is played on a chessboard with 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The players, referred to as "White" and "Black", each control 16 pieces

1 King 

1 Queen 

2 Rooks

2 Knights

2 Bishops

8 Pawns

How is Chess Played?

White moves first, followed by Black. The game is won by checkmating the opponent's king, In other words, threatening it with inescapable capture. There are several ways a game can end in a draw or stalemate.

Each Chess piece moves a certain way:

•The Queen moves diagonally, horizontally & vertically in all directions.

•The King can move one square at a time .The only time it's movement is compromised is when it is under "check", meaning its being attacked by another piece.

•The Bishop moves diagonally in all directions.

•The Rook moves horizontally and vertically in all directions.

•The paw moves one square vertically at a time. At the initial position of the pawn, it can move to squares vertically. It takes another piece if it is one square in front of it diagonally. Once it takes the piece, It replaces that piece on the same square the latter was on. Once it reaches the farthest side on the board opposite to its side, it may turn into a Queen, Rook, Bishop or Knight.

•The Knight moves in an L shape forward & backward.

Brief History

The game of chess has a rich history that spans over 1,500 years. It originated in India as a game called Chaturanga. From there, it spread to Persia (modern-day Iran), where the game was changed and developed into Shatranj. After the Arab conquest of Persia, Chess spread to the Muslim world and eventually made its way to Europe through Spain and Italy. By around 1500 CE, the game had evolved into the version we know and love today.

The Playing Styles of Chess

From the late 1700s - 1880s, Chess players focused on quick, clever moves rather than long-term plans. This was known as the Romantic Era of Chess. Later, players started to think more strategically, and the game evolved through different styles, including Scientific, Hypermodern & New Dynamism.

In the late 1800s, Official Chess tournaments began, and the First World Chess Championship was held in 1886. In the 1900s, Chess theory improved dramatically, and the World Chess Federation was formed.

A Big Change came in 1997 when a Supercomputer named Deep Blue beat the World Champion, Garry Kasparov. This marked the beginning of computers dominating chess. Since then, computers have helped develop new chess strategies and are now an essential tool for professional players.

In the 2000s, online chess became popular and powerful computer analysis tools became available to everyone. Today, Computers are much stronger than human players, and Online Chess continues to grow in Popularity.

In the Olden days, Chess...

• simulates a war between 2 Kingdoms and is played both recreationally and competitively.
• serve as a tool for political posturing, propaganda, and cultural exchange between different nations.

Prominent Figures in Chess

1. Wilhelm Steinitz

2. Akiba Rubinstein

3. Aron Nimzowitsch

4. Jose Raul Capablanca

5. Alexander Alekhine

STEM Skills we can learn from Chess

Chess can contribute to one gaining critical thinking, strategic thinking, intelligence and being rational. The complicated strategies that chess requires, it provide one with critical thinking skills, and makes one rational when it comes to decision making .This is shown through real examples. A fifteen year old girl that didn't play chess was known as an over achiever. But over the  she found herself losing focus, rationality, critical thinking skills and strategy planning skills. A few months after she started playing chess, she would find herself focusing on tasks for long periods of time since she would play chess for hours on end. Moreover, she would be rational when it comes to decision making, since any mistake she made while playing chess would cost her the whole game. She also gained strategy skills sine she would have to plot to checkmate the other player, while learning critical thinking skills. These set of skills are very beneficial in the stem field. In short, learning chess and playing this strategic game provides one with a set of crucial skills that can also be STEM skills at the same time.