Did You Know?

The first chess book in English was also the first printed book of any type in English. William Caxton's Game and Playe of the Chesse was published in 1474, but it really wasn't about the game of chess; rather, it used chess as a metophor for how to live a good life.

The pawn is the lowest member of the army, but, if it can climb all the way to the far edge of the board, it may be promoted to any higher rank except the king. Anyone can work hard and get the highest rank, which is what we can learn from a pawn. French composer and chess player Philidor, in his book, 'Analyse du Jeu des Echecs (Analysis of Chess)', says: "Pawns are the soul of chess" and has an opening named after him called Philidor's Defence. In his humorous chess dictionary, American master Eliiot Hearst defined the term pawn-grabber: defensive genius.

Chess wasn't a standardised competition sport until the arrival of Howard Staunton. Howard, born in 1810, learned how to play chess at the late age of 26. He was a person of average intelligence and if he could learn the game that well, there is no reason why you can't. In Castiglione's 'Book of the Courtier', published in 1527, the game was described as addictively time-consuming. One of its passages says: "...anyone who wishes to become an outstanding player must give to it as much time and study as he would to learning some noble science or performing well something of importance.


Etymology or the study of word origins often helps to clarify certain misconceptions. For example,it is thought that chess or shatranj as a game originated in Persia. But on tracing the roots of the word shatranj it emerged that the game was born in India during Lord Budhha's time. At that time, it was played as chaturang, that is the four divisions of the army — infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants. When chess reached Iran, it came to be called chatrang and, later on, shatrang. On reaching Arabia, the word became shatranj.

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