His dedication & valuable contributions inspired the world to come forward and experience the magic of chess! The Modern Era
He introduced a more positional style of chess, focusing on pawn structure, active bishop pair & the knight outposts plus more… Wilhelm Steinitz is also known as “The Father Of Modern Chess” In 1886, the first official world championship was hosted, where Wilhelm Steinitz became the first official world chess champion by defeating Johannes Zukertort. Pawn got superpowers: First move to 2 squares, En Passant & Pawn PromotionĬhess Clocks was introduced to the world in 1883.Castling was introduced to keep the kings’ safe.Queen became the most powerful piece (The Mad Queen).The biggest changes in chess were introduced in the middle of the 14th and 15th century – NOW, it’s time to learn about the evolution of chess – Evolution to The Romantic Eraĭuring the late 15th century, a new style of playing chess – Romantic Chess became popular, the period is known as “the romantic era of chess” up to the 1880s.Ĭhess Games played in this era, were focused more on quick, tactical maneuvers & sacrifices rather than long-term strategic planning! In the 9th century, chess made its way to Europe as a result of the Arab expansion where chess experienced its initial growth! In Persia, the king was called as ‘shāh’ that’s why players started to say ‘shāh’ when they attacked their opponent’s king and ‘Shāh māt’ when the opponent’s king couldn’t escape from the check! Today, these terms are evolved to check & checkmate respectively! When Arabs, conquered Persia during the 7th century, the Muslims popularized chess by the name of ‘shatranj’ (which some people still call & remember chess by)įun Fact: Chatrang was renamed as Shatranj in Arab Muslims due to their lack of “ch” and ”ng” native voice. The four divisions being infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry, represented by the chess pieces – pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively.Īfter India, chess quickly spread to Persia where it was known as Chatrang. The name ‘chaturaṅga’ is inspired by the four branches of the army: The history of chess is as interesting as the game itself!Ĭhess had its roots way back in the 6th century AD (1500 years ago) It was originated in northern India during The Gupta Empire where it was known as ‘chaturaṅga’ chess champion and nationally syndicated chess writer.Wilhelm Steinitz is also known as “The Father Of Modern Chess” He was the first undisputed World Chess Champion from 1886 to 1894. His book can be relished even by someone who never pushed a pawn. "I have also tried to reveal the psychological tricks of the grandmaster's trade and how such men set up their defenses in advance against the low mental blows of their enemies." "I have attempted to describe much more than just the moves that the greatest chessplayers make on the hoard," writes Lawson. The book, told unabashedly from inside the Short camp, chronicles both his despair and elation: his pain when British players whom he regarded as friends viciously attacked him publicly for joining Kasparov in founding the PCA his sense of betrayal upon hearing the tape recording of a secret meeting between Kasparov and Campomanes his agony after game three in discarding his mentor Lubomir Kavalek, an act Short described as "parricide." The story of this revolution is told by an astute eyewitness who wonders if Kasparov "can convince his fellow grandmasters that he is a more desirable despot than Campomanes."Yet for two months in London, Kasparov and Short were like "two prisoners locked in the same cell."They began as antagonists who ended up respecting each other.
The PCA initiated a series of reforms designed to transform professional chess into a big money sport. Kasparov won the $2.5 million title match against Short in London, sponsored by The Times. Campomanes promptly purged the two rebels from the FIDE rating list. The opportunity to break away from FIDE came in 1993 when he and his British challenger audaciously formed the Professional Chess Association (PCA) to administer the world championship, thereby cutting off FIDE's main source of income.