30 Chess Facts You Did Not Know About Chess

The topic we have chosen today is quite different than the common issues related to chess these days. We would not be discussing the chess tactics, strategies, middle games, end games, the psychology of the players or any other chess related stuff instead we would explore the exciting parts of the chess which we could bet you did not know before.

We are going to enlighten you with some mind-blowing facts related to chess, which many of you might be unaware of. Based on this essential and vital information, not only would you be able to equip yourself with this fantastic information, but you will get much better at understanding the theory and core concepts of the Chess game.

So here we go, the most remarkable and amazing facts of chess that will blow your mind:

1. Did you know about the longest possible chess game? Well, now you know, it is 5949 moves.

2. Chess is, indeed the unique game in the world. Don’t believe us? Here is a fact for you: The estimated number of electrons in this universe is 10^79, whereas the number of unique games of chess is 10^120.

3. Castling used to be two moves till 1561, and you had to move R-KB1 on a single move followed by K-KN1 as the next.

4. The match between Bobotsor versus Ikrov in 1966 is recorded to be the longest time for a castling move that took place during their game.

5. The longest Chess problem, mate in 290 moves, is a credit to Blathy, Otto (1886-1939)

6. Did you know that the word “Checkmate” which is quite frequently used in chess takes its origin from a Persian phrase “Shah Mat” that means “the king is dead.”

7. Truly, the knight is very unpredictable since the number of possibilities of a Knight’s tour is over 122 million.

8. In 1973 a chess tournament win Cleveland was raided by the police. They arrested the director of the tournament as well as confiscated the chess sets based on the charges of permitting gambling and on the possession of gambling devices.

9. There are a total of eight different ways from the starting position to Mate in just two moves, whereas there are a total of 355 different paths to mate using three moves.

10. 269 moves are the longest Official Chess game that ended up a draw, and it was played between Nikolic and Arsovic in 1989.

11. The longest title holder of the World chess championship is Doctor Emanuel Lasker who belongs to Germany. He held this title longer than any other player in the history for 26 years and 337 days.

12. It was in 1280 in Spain that the new pawn move of advancing two squares on the first move in its place of one was introduced

.13. 1090, Europe, the first ever Chessboards with dark squares and alternating lights appeared for the first time.

14. The youngest World chess champion ever was the Soviet player named as Garry Kasparov who was of 22 years and 210 days at that time in 1985.

15. It was in 1972 during the match of Fischer-Spassky in Reykjavik that the Russians joined Spassky’s play with the chair of Fischer. Then the organization of Iceland put a twenty-four hours Police Guard around that chair whereas chemical and x-ray tests were also performed on the chair. However, there was nothing unusual that could be found.

16. Thomas Wilson is the name to remember! As he was the inventor of the first mechanical Chess Clock in 1883. Sandglasses were the alternative before this discovery till 1862.

17. Ever thought about the worst performance by a pro chess player? Macleod of Canada was considered as the worst performance player after he lost 31 games in 1889 in the New York double round robin.

18. You would be quite astonished to know that the first chess board which could be folded was invented originally be a chess-loving priest. As the Church does not allow priests to play this game, so the smart priest hid the Chessboard by developing one which appeared quite similar to 2 books lying next to each other.

19. Sixty-eight hours and 500 games of 10-minute chess! Ladies and gentleman, please put your hands together for Eric Koppert, 1985.

20. The 1st American to overthrow a Soviet player in an international tournament was Frank Marshall (1877-1944) in 1924, New York. He was the 1st master who played more than one hundred games and that too simultaneously. Moreover, he was the U.S champion for about thirty years. However, he only defended his title once after beating Ed Lasker (5-2) in 1923.

21. In the Mason-Mackenzie game played at London in 1882, there were a total of 72 consecutive Queen Moves.

22. Did you know that Chess players also have some super genius friends? You guessed it right! Emanuel Lasker, who was the World Chess Champion, was a good friend of Albert Einstein. The New York Times interviewed Albert Einstein in 1936, and Albert Einstein told them that he does not play any games. There is no time for it. When he gets through work, he does not want anything that requires the working of the mind. However, he took up chess in his life afterwards.

23. It was in November 1988, Long Beach, California that for the first time a computer program that was named as DEEP THOUGHT defeated an international grandmaster.

24. Players in their first year, more famously known as the rookies are named after the chess piece ROOK in the chess. Since rooks are generally considered to be the last pieces that one moves in the chess, that is why the same analogy is made for the rookies.

25. One hundred Moves are the record of the moves without capture in a chess match between M. Walker and Thorton.

26. One can learn a lot of openings since there are more than one thousand different openings, which also include variations coupling openings or defences that one can master.

27. As witnessed in different Chinese movies, blindfold martial arts is an art that masters possess, similar to that is the blindfold chess, a crucial skill that the strongest of chess players equip themselves with. Without any doubt, it requires that keen ability to witness the board vividly, and it can get quite difficult after several moves. It was in 1960, Budapest, that the record was set by Janos French, who had the potential to play 52 different opponents simultaneously and that too blindfolded.

What is even more interesting is that he won 31 of the games he played.

28. Do you happen to forget a lot of things and are you always complaining about your memory? Well, we have got just the right thing for you here. Chess is that game which is even often cited by psychologists as a very effective way to bolster or advance their memory function. It also allows the mind of the player to solve several complex problems while working through the ideas. No wonder, it is also recommended to fight off Alzheimer’s disease. Some people contend that chess is also capable of increasing one’s intelligence, which is quite complex a topic. Notwithstanding, the positive effects of chess on the young generation had led bring the chess in school districts as well as many other countries. Plus, it has proved itself to vastly improve children’s grades and other mental and cognitive aspects.

29. Fédération Internationale des Échecs is the full form of FIDE which means the World Chess Federation.

30. You would be surprised to know that the second best book printed in the English Language was about none other than CHESS!