The word “Checkmate” in Chess comes from the Persian phrase “Shah Mat,” which means “the King is dead.”

The number of possible unique chess games is much greater than the number of electrons in the universe.

The longest chess game theoretically possible is 5,949 moves.

The Police raided a Chess Tournament in Cleveland in 1973, arrested the Tournament director and confiscated the Chess sets on charges of allowing gambling (cash prizes to winners) and possession of gambling devices (the Chess sets).

From the starting position, there are eight different ways to Mate in two moves and 355 different ways to Mate in three moves.

The first Chessboard with alternating light and dark squares appears in Europe in 1090.

Rookies or, players in their first year, are named after the Rook in Chess. Rooks generally are the last pieces to be moved into action, and the same goes for Rookies.

The second book ever printed in the English language was about chess!

The oldest recorded chess game in history is from the 900s, between a historian from Baghdad and his student.

The oldest surviving complete chess sets were found on the Isle of Lewis, in northern Scotland, and dates to the 12^th century. They were probably made in Iceland or Norway, and their appearance was used in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the wizard chess pieces.

Initially, the Queen could only move one square at a time, diagonally. Later, she could move two squares at a time, diagonally. It wasn’t until Reconquista Spain, with its powerful queen Isabella, that the Queen became the strongest piece on the board.

The first Chess game between space and earth was played on June 9, 1970 by the Soyez-9 crew. The game ended in a draw.

The number of possible ways of playing the first four moves per side in a game of Chess is 318,979,564,000

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