Happy National Chess Day! Checkmate! The second Saturday in October recognizes the game of which challenges players mentally while also breaking down barriers through the centuries.
Chess developed in India during the fifth century. As the strategic game spread across continents, the pieces and rules evolved. It also shifted between classes.
Once, only the upper class could afford to linger over a long, challenging game. However, the merchant class would later introduce the game to the rest of the population as they traveled around the world trading their wares.
In the game of chess, two opponents go head to head with sixteen playing pieces each.
These pieces include eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, one queen and one king in each color. Their objective is to capture the opponent’s king through a series of strategic moves.
The day celebrates the long history of chess and recognizes the role chess plays in connecting people across societies.
The game has broken many barriers – class, language, and cultural – simply by two people sitting down to play one of the most mentally challenging games in the world.
Chess is such an old game that it is hard to determine the exact origins of the game. Some believe chess was invented around 200 B.C. in China.
The inventor, a commander named Han Xin, supposedly came up with the game to represent a particular battle. Unfortunately, the game was forgotten until the 7th century when it resurfaced with new rules.
Chess eventually made its way from China to India and Persia. Others believe the game of Chess began in North India during the 6th century and then spread throughout Asia.
Chess Facts
• It’s a mental game. However, the game can end as quickly as two moves.
• The longest possible chess game in terms of the number of moves is 5,949!
• Checkmate derives from the Persian phrase Shah Mat. The phrase means “the King is dead.”
• In 1989, a chess match between Ivan Nikolic and Goran Arsovic in Belgrade ended in a draw. It was recorded as the longest official check game and lasted two hundred and sixty-nine moves!
• The playing board used today with the alternating light and dark squares first appeared in Europe in 1090.
FUN FACTS
Shortest Game
The shortest game in a world championship was the 21st match game in the World Chess Championship 1963 between Mikhail Botvinnik and Tigran Petrosian. The players agreed to a draw after the tenth move by White (Petrosian).
Longest Game
The longest tournament chess game (in terms of moves) ever to be played was Nikolić–Arsović, Belgrade 1989, which lasted for two hundred and sixty-nine moves and took twenty hours and fifteen minutes to complete a drawn game.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Play a game of chess. Find a tournament near you and join it. Create an event to teach others to play chess. Use #NationalChessDay to post on social media.
National Day Calendar® also revealed 7 Stories Behind Our Favorite Games. Come check it out!
HISTORY
38th U.S. President Gerald Ford declared National Chess Day on October 9th, 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial celebration.
More information can be found on this day due to the work of David Heiser. You can find his investigative work here.
"For both professionals and amateurs, chess is a game that sharpens the mind, tests human faculties and encourages healthy competition.
It has captivated the attention of players and spectators world-wide and will continue to do so as long as competition and excellence challenge mankind." ~ President Gerald Ford ~ October 1976
Our founding fathers played chess, including George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. Franklin was exceptionally skilled and wrote one of the earliest books on chess.
DATES
October 09, 2021
October 08, 2022
October 14, 2023
October 12, 2024
October 11, 2025
October 10, 2026
October 09, 2027
October 14, 2028
October 13, 2029
#NationalChessDay
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