Questions tagged [history]
Use this tag for questions relating to the history of chess and chess organizations, whose origins trace to the ancient Indian game of Chaturanga.
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When (if ever) was it a rule that pawn promotion was optional?
I'm reading a very old chess book ("The Chess Pocket Manual" by G.H.D. Gossip, copyright 1894), and I find this passage in it's section on "The Laws of Chess":
When a Pawn has reached the eighth ...
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10answers
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Why is stalemate a draw?
It is so difficult to force stalemate and sometimes unintentional too, so why is stalemate a draw?
As the opponent doesn't have a further move, why is it not considered a win?
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2answers
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Why is there a 50-move rule and a 75-move rule?
By number theory, if the 75-move rule has been reached, the 50-move rule will also be reached. This has no meaning. It is like saying "I would buy this book if it cost under $60 and it costs under $40"...
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3answers
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When and why was en passant invented?
Other than castling, the only "strange" move that chess pieces can ever make is en passant. It seems a little odd to me that someone thought that such a "different" move was so important to include ...
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7answers
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Are contemporary chess players now stronger than players in the 90's or 80's?
For example, take a Class A today and Class A from the 90's. Would the contemporary Class A be stronger because of the updates of opening theory or contemporary changes in chess play?
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Why wasn’t Rashid Nezhmetdinov a grandmaster?
He won the Russian championship 5 times, so why wasn’t he a grandmaster?
28
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6answers
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Why are there separate tournaments for men and women?
Why are there separate tournaments for men and women?
It is obvious that in physical sports men have a huge advantage, but what is the reason why in chess we differentiate by gender?
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7answers
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Has there been much research on rating inflation?
Magnus Carlsen's draw in yesterday's round of the 2012 London Chess Classic assured that his rating in the next published FIDE rating list will surpass Kasparov's previous record of 2851. I've seen/...
27
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2answers
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Was there ever a time when the goal in chess was to capture the king?
The modern rules of chess, except for the stalemating being a draw, are basically equivalent to a game in which the goal is just to capture the king, not checkmate him. It's plausible that in the ...
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4answers
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What does this chess proverb mean?
"Chess is a sea where a gnat may drink from and an elephant may bathe in." ~ Anonymous
The above proverb is scattered everywhere throughout chess literature, folklore and even software.
I have never ...
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4answers
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Deep Blue vs Kasparov - Aftermath
Evaluating 200M positions per second and having a search tree of 20+ moves might not be enough to beat a World Champion if a computer searches in the wrong direction or if it's evaluating positions a ...
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Chess games that advanced endgame theory
Single games of chess can routinely have a significant impact on opening theory, of course, but it should be quite uncommon for a single game to significantly advance endgame theory, since that's a ...
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1answer
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When was it possible for a player's king to be attacked by 3 of the opponent's pieces?
According to the current FIDE Laws of Chess:
3.9.1 The king is said to be 'in check' if it is attacked by one or more of the opponent's pieces, even if such pieces are constrained
from moving to ...
25
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1answer
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What openings typify 21st century chess?
What openings are particularly typical of 21st century chess so far? To be more clear, which openings are particularly popular in the 21st century relative to the 20th century? For example, certain ...
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8answers
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Is there a “perfect” game?
Is there a historic example of a chess game that has, to date, resisted all computerized attempts to find a better sequence of moves? In other words, a "perfect" game?
CLARIFICATION
I should have ...
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7answers
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Which notable players in chess history successfully used dubious openings?
I am reminded of a famous game between Karpov and Tony Miles where Miles played 1...a6 against Karpov's 1. e4 and still won the game.
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq -...
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2answers
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What are some chess games that feature Zugzwang despite many pieces remaining on the board?
The game Saemisch - Nimzowitsch (Copenhagen 1923) has come to be known as the Immortal Zugzwang Game, as a play on Anderssen's swashbuckling Immortal Game. I am interested in finding other examples of ...
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3answers
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How did castling originate?
Castling to me has always seemed like such a huge leap in terms of game play that I've always wondered how it came to be.
Does anyone know the history behind how and why castling came to be?
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1answer
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Why is it illegal to move into check?
In chess, it is against the rules to move into check, or to not move out of check. But why? Obviously, if you went against this rule, you'd immediately lose. But it seems strange to make it illegal to ...
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9answers
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How can someone find their Morphy number?
The Morphy number is a measure of how closely a chess player is connected to Paul Morphy (1837–1884) by way of playing chess games. It's analogous to the Erdős Number for mathematicians.
People who ...
19
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1answer
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Why was 50 chosen for the 50-move rule?
The reason for the 50-move rule, along with the triple-repetition rule is to make chess definitely finite. How did one arrive at the number 50? What would change if it was 40 or 60? Is the number 50 ...
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5answers
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Why do players in the past play much longer tournaments than today's top players?
Looking through the history of chess we find tournaments that are significantly longer than today's, e.g.
London 1899 - 15 players, double round robin
New York 1924 - 11 players, double round robin
...
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2answers
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What is the origin/history of the traditional piece values?
Almost everyone knows the standard rules of thumb: a minor piece is worth three pawns, a rook is worth five pawns, and a queen is worth nine. (I’m aware that this is debated; in particular many ...
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3answers
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What is the origin, or a early appearance, of this famous chess tale?
There is a story I have found across the Internet of an endgame between two players, usually named as Capablanca versus an extraterrestrial of some sort. According to the Spanish chess Wikipedia, the ...
18
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2answers
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What is the origin of this breakthrough combination?
If you've spent enough time in the world of chess, it's not unlikely that you've come across the following position, with white to move and win, or an essentially identical one. You'll see plenty of ...
17
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9answers
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Why is the king powerless and the queen powerful?
Historically, real kings were powerful (Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte etc.) and women were powerless. The game of chess began in Asia, some say, and the women were definitely powerless there....
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5answers
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When and why was the notation changed from descriptive to algebraic?
When I was young I used to play chess with the the old form of notation KB (King Bishop square number), even books used to have the same notation, then later found that everyone was using algebraic, ...
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2answers
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Is there an origin or story of where the pieces that make a chess game got their name from?
I understand why there would be a king and queen but I would love to know where the idea to call pieces what they are - such as the Rook, Knight, Bishop and Pawn - came from. Is there any background ...
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2answers
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What influenced the development of the King's Indian Defense?
The King's Indian Defense is characterized by the moves 1. d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6. (As opposed to 2. . .e6, with the intention of developing the Bishop to the Queen-side.) Black aims for a strong King-side ...
15
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4answers
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Is the chess problem a dead form?
Or, to ask the question a bit less opinionatedly, "what new ideas have been introduced in chess problems over the last 20 years?" I imagine many problems have been composed in that time, but it seems ...
15
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2answers
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How come chess prodigies seem to start at a young age?
I started looking into the history of a few grandmasters such as Fischer and Carlsen, so I wondered: why does it seem that chess "kings" and queens" start playing the game from a young age? Can anyone ...
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Is Chaturanga/Shatranj an early form of chess or is this altogether different?
I had heard from someone that Chess evolved from Chaturanga then Shatranj. Are there any pointers towards this?
I would like to know counter arguments as well, if any.
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What sense does promotion to queen make?
When a pawn finally reaches the eighth rank, then it can be promoted to rook, knight, bishop or queen. It is not hard to imagine that a soldier who has achieved a lot could be promoted to an officer. ...
15
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4answers
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What are openings which were once thought good, but are now shown to be inferior?
Are there any openings that were once often played, but are now known to be very bad moves?
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1answer
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What are the origins of the words 'zwischenzug' and 'zugzwang'?
I've heard chess analysts use the words Zugzwang (being forced to make a bad move) and Zwischenzug (making an intermediate move which improves the outcome of the next move) in commentary.
Does anyone ...
15
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3answers
627 views
Why is algebraic notation called algebraic?
How does algebra relate to this chess notation?
Why do they call this chess notation algebraic?
14
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3answers
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Was playing with both hands ever allowed in chess?
I was watching this video on Youtube of an Armageddon game between Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov which happened in 1995. It can be seen that Kasparov is using both of his hands for some moves. (...
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10answers
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Is chess a sport? If yes, then why?
Sometimes (e.g. at some schools) chess is considered to be a sport. Is chess a sport? I view sport as a physical activity.
For instance, if a doctor asks you "Are you doing any sports?" would your ...
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2answers
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How to Verbally Describe Chess Moves?
This may sound incredibly naive, but all the time on T.V, movies, books, etc. People can be heard saying things like "Queen to Rook 5" or like "Knight to King 3" and things like this.
What is this? I ...
14
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2answers
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Earliest text which mentions the pawn promotion rule
My question is about the history of the pawn promotion rule (promotion to a queen).
What is the earliest existing text (authentic written document in any language) which mentions the pawn ...
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5answers
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Why have engines not increased top rated chess players' Elo?
The arrival of strong chess engines as Stockfish, Houdini or Rybka allow top players to deeply prepare lines in openings or to study better endgames.
I would expect a rating increase of top players. ...
13
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3answers
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Why did Viktor Korchnoi leave the USSR?
Why did Viktor Korchnoi/Kortchnoi leave the USSR?
Maybe the answer could include a little more trivia since he is such an interesting character.
13
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2answers
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Is the first game of World Chess Championship 2013 the shortest game in WCC history?
The first game of the 2013 World Chess Championship, Carlsen vs. Anand, ended in a draw after just 16 moves.
Is this shortest game in the history of the World Chess Championship?
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1answer
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Why did Magnus Carlsen drop out of World Championship in 2011?
I heard from a friend of mine that Magnus Carlsen did not play the Candidate Matches in 2011. Why did he do that?
13
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5answers
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Joke Annotations
I have run into two examples of hilarious annotations of games over the years.
One is the "annotation" of the fake "Immortal Overprotection Game" Nimzowitsch-Systemsson, written by Hans Kmoch as a ...
13
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1answer
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Does Boris Gelfand share his surname with a chess piece?
Boris Gelfand was just narrowly edged out by Anand in their match's rapid tiebreaks, and I thought I'd ask an oddball question related to him.
The bishop chess piece is known by several different ...
13
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1answer
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What is the origin of Tal's expression “They can only take one at a time”?
The expression refers to aggressive attacking style where one side leaves multiple pieces attacked, but the opponent cannot take full advantage of it since "they can only take one at a time". Was this ...
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Why do some openings have Indian in their name?
Why are a few chess openings named King's Indian Defense, Queen's Indian Defense, Nimzo-Indian defense, and so on?
What is the significance of Indian in all these opening names? What's India's ...
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5answers
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Games that are famous because of their underlying story
I would like this question to be Community Wiki because I hope to collect several answers.
Can you name famous games where part of the fame comes from the circumstances surrounding the game? I hope ...
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2answers
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Did any authors ever try to adopt Hans Kmoch's pawn structure terminology?
In response to an earlier question, I mentioned the 1959 book Pawn Power in Chess by IM Hans Kmoch. One of the book's most well-known aspects it that it introduced a glut of less-than-useful ...
