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@ soma
2025-04-02 21:08:28
## **Chess Board Setup**
1. **The Basics**
8x8 grid, alternating light/dark squares.
>Key rule: *Always place the board so a light square is on each player’s bottom-right.
2. **Coordinates**
Files (columns): Labeled *a* to *h* (left to right).
Ranks (rows): Numbered *1* to *8* (White’s side = 1, Black’s = 8).
> Notation: Squares are file + rank (e.g., e4, a7).
3. **Piece Placement**
**Black (Top):** a8: Rook b8: Knight c8: Bishop d8: Queen
e8: King f8: Bishop g8: Knight h8: Rook
Rank 7: All pawns (a7-h7)
**White (Bottom):** a1: Rook b1: Knight c1: Bishop d1: Queen
e1: King f1: Bishop g1: Knight h1: Rook
Rank 2: All pawns (a2-h2)
> Quick Tip: Queens start on their color (Whiteon d1, Black on d8).
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## **Checkmate, stalemate & draws**
Chess is a two-player strategy game where the ultimate goal is to **checkmate** your opponent’s king. However, games can also end in a **stalemate** or **draw** under specific conditions.
1. **Checkmate (Winning the Game)**
- Definition: The enemy king is in check (under attack) and has no legal moves to escape.
- Result: The game ends immediately—the player delivering checkmate wins.
1. **Stalemate (Draw)**
- Definition: The player whose turn it is has no legal moves, but their king is not in check.
- Result: The game is a draw (no winner).
> Common Causes:
>- *A lone king with no moves left.*
>- *Poor pawn structure blocking all options.*
3. **Other Draws**
Games can also end in a draw due to:
- **Insufficient Material**
- Only kings remain.
- King + bishop vs. king (no possible checkmate).
- **Threefold Repetition**
- The same position occurs 3 times (with the same player to move).
- **50-Move Rule**
- No pawn moves or captures in 50 consecutive moves (by both players).
- **Agreement**
- Players mutually agree to a draw.
Key differences:
| Term | King in Check? | Legal Moves? | Result |
| --------- | -------------- | ------------ | -------- |
| Checkmate | Yes | No | Win/Loss |
| Stalemate | No | No | Draw |
| Draw | N/A | N/A | Tie |
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## **Chess history**
1. **Ancient Origins (6th Century)**
- Birthplace: Northern India (as Chaturanga), meaning "four divisions" (infantry, cavalry, elephants, chariots—early versions of pawns, knights, bishops, rooks).
- Spread: Reached Persia as Shatranj by 600 AD, where key rules (like "check" and "checkmate") emerged.
> Fun fact: "Checkmate" comes from Persian "Shah Mat" ("the king is helpless").
2. **Medieval Europe (9th–15th Century)**
- Rebranding: Arabs brought chess to Spain by 1000 AD; Europeans adapted pieces to feudal society:
Elephants → Bishops
Viziers → Queens (weak at first—could only move one square!)
- Major Change: By 1475, the queen became the most powerful piece ("Mad Queen Chess"), speeding up the game.
3. **Modern Chess (1850–Present)**
- Standardization: First official world championship (1886, Wilhelm Steinitz vs. Johannes Zukertort).
- Computers: IBM’s Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997, revolutionizing AI.
- Today: Online platforms (Chess.com, Lichess) and pop culture (The Queen’s Gambit) fuel a global boom.
>Did You Know?
>
> - The longest possible chess game is 5,949 moves (theoretical limit).
>
> - The longest recorded game was 269 moves, 1989 Nikolić vs. Arsović.
>
> - The oldest recorded chess opening (1.e4) appears in a 1490 Spanish manuscript.
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