History of Chess

On 01.19.10, In General Games, By

Chess is one unique game associated with the mankind since countless cultures and historic moments. In fact the first time the Poet named as Firdousi according to which the game arrived in the country mentioned it in a Persian poem. That was in 10th Century. Some of the historians claim that it was initiated in Persia 1350 years ago. However they say as that region was subjugated by Muslims in mid 7th century and they made this game so famous. It was called as Shatranj in Islamic Arabian Empire. The actual beginning of the game is still a great mystery and so far no one has concluded it. When Muslims occupied lands from India and Persia the game found its existence. In 11th century it became famous in Germany, then moved on to England and Ireland. It flourished across North Africa and then moved to Europe.

The practice of playing chess for money became widespread during 13th century. And in Europe Chess was taken so seriously that masses followed it and the First Chess International Tournament held in London. This was in 1851 when the Modern Chess begun. In 20th century World Chess Federation has been established to ensure that we may not loose such a royal and unique game and its relevance. Changes to the theory of chess were also introduced. Finally in 21st century with the generation z the game also included computers for analysis, team consultations and online gaming.

Chess is the National sport in Russia where people would love to leave any sport for Chess. Be it football which gets the second highest attention and fame. It’s not just the game that has evolved over the years, it’s the pieces the King, Queen and Knights have also evolved and changed. In fact got in to the current trends. Like in the ancient chess there were no women who used to participate at the battlefield.

However today we have a woman that’s the queen which is unique, identifiable and has her own relevance. Also the currently renowned bishop was an Elephant in the beginning. To add to the fame of the game Traditional Chess is one of the world’s most played board games. Traditional chess was the game played by the wealthy and leisured classes in the society. Modern chess is played between two players by using a black and white board. Again monitored and controlled with automated systems including computers. With the modern techniques you are able to play chess online.

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The History of Computer Chess

On 12.26.09, In General Games, By

A 6-game series was conducted in May 1997. The whole world was astonished when Gary Kasparov, a chess grandmaster, was defeated by Deep Blue. Chess programs were not yet very popular back then but the software was definitely good since it was able to defeat Kasparov.

Despite this amazing breakthrough, experts still believe that Kasparov and Deep Blue are matched players. The brain of humans is still a million times better than computers or machines; after all, humans created them.

How can computer chess programs figure the right moves? Well, whenever you play against a computer, it considers billions of possibilities. Aside from that, the computer chess also makes use of complicated formulae. Such formulae consider the position of chess pieces, material value, game’s pace, and the king’s safety.

Deep Blue was not the very first chess program. In fact, the first program was developed way back in 1950 and it was created by Alan Turing, a mathematician.

By 1985, Chiptest was created by doctoral students – Anantharaman, Campbell, and Hsu. Later on, the program was developed into another program called Deep Thought. In 1988, Tony Miles competed with the program and they both ranked first place. The program was able to defeat Judit Polgar in a thirty minute game in 1993.

Fritz is another program that became prominent. In 1992, Kasparov was defeated by Fritz 2 and the following year, to Fritz 3. Aside from defeating Kasparov, the program also defeated Vladimir Kramnik, Nigel Short, Viswanathan Anand, and Boris Gelfand. However, in 1995, Kasparov was able to defeat Fritz 4.

IBM took over the Deep Blue program because it can also be applied to medicine, education, finance, and other industries. Such program can be used by pharmaceutical companies, economic markets, and in creating new drugs. When Kasparov was defeated by Deep Blue, he demanded a rematch.

As you can see, the history of computer chess is quite interesting. It has been around since the 1950’s and it has undergone a lot of changes. Today, microcomputer chess tournaments are being held and many chess players are taking part in such tournaments. There are also chess sites on the web that offer games against computers. With the technological advances of today’s times, it is also possible to play the game against opponents from the different parts of the world. As long as you have an internet connection, you can access the chess sites and play the game online.

You can already find different chess programs today. If you can’t find an opponent, play against a computer so that you can also test your playing skills. Playing against computer chess will help you in learning more about the right chess opening, middle game strategies, endgame moves, and many others. Whether you’re a new player or an advanced player, computer chess will be of great help to you. Try playing chess computer now and see if you can also defeat a certain chess program. It takes years of experience before you can become a good chess player so start learning the basics now and look back into the colorful history of chess.

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Understanding chess piece values helps gain expertise

On 12.07.09, In General Games, By

Chess is a game that calls for logical and deep thinking on the part of the two players. The simple rules of the game and the challenge it poses to the mind and the brain makes it easier for any person to get attracted to this novel game in the first instance.

But how many of us take this game seriously and make it to higher levels? The percentage sharply falls down and it is true that many people who take up chess end up as novices during their lifetime without making any efforts to pursue the game higher or got dejected hearing the same word of “checkmate” more often.

With the advancement of the technology and spread of computers and the Internet to more people, learning chess and improving the chess skills has never been so easy and so fascinating than before. One need not go in search of a partner any more nor allocate any specific time for learning and practicing the game of chess. The answer is online chess. With this online chess, you can just visit one of the innumerably online chess sites, give some basic information related to your skill set in the game and get registered with the site. You can learn the game with interest, challenge the computer or any other player by playing chess online with either of them, as frequently as you can, gain the practice and ultimately you can improve your skill set in the game, or gain expertise in this noble game.

What is that issue that haunts every novice or beginner that he stays put there for a relatively longer time ? Lack of interest and application in the game might be one of the reasons. Lack of understanding might be another reason for the beginners to lose interest in the game.

If one were to avoid losing the game consistently, especially in the early stages, and improve his skill set, he should learn or understand the pieces on the board very well and put them to very effective use. It is in this context that the point system propounded by Swiss mathematician, Leonard Euler, can be of immense use to us.

Each of the pieces allotted to the player at the start of the game has been assigned some values. The invaluable piece in the game is the King, because there is no game without the King on the board. The pawn has been given the least value of one. The bishops and the knights are assigned a value of three. The rook is valued at five, and the powerful queen is assigned a value of nine.

What is the logic behind these notional values for the various pieces in the game? Mobility of the pieces and their unique characteristics is what determines the value of the piece. What is mobility? Mobility of a piece is calculated by assessing how many squares can a piece move to from each of the sixty-four squares in the board. For example, a knight placed at “a1” square can move to just two squares, while the same knight, if placed at “e4” can move to as any of the eight squares around it. The location of the piece at the board determines its relative importance.

Understanding the importance of the pieces, their mobility and the positional importance is very essential for a player if he were to gain expertise in the game. He should try to ensure that he has an upper edge over the opponent with regard to material on the board. For example, a player loses captures two pawns of the opponent, but in the process, loses his rook. Though, numerically he has an extra piece, the mobility of the rook is now lost and he will be effectively “down material”.

A player should understand the importance of the values of the pieces, their positional features, their mobility and such other things and bear in mind the importance of these values. Calculating the value of the pieces and having better control over mobility will help a player understand the game effectively. He would not venture to trade with pieces of higher value to capture opponent’s lower-valued pieces.

Certain Chess Strategies can be found over mychessblog.com as they have a great list of 50 chess strategies.

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How Do Computer Chess Programs Work In Online Chess

On 11.01.09, In General Games, By

When online games were introduced in the World Wide Web, they open up opportunities for computer programmers to develop different versions of online games. Among the many online games that are developed, online chess games are the most popular. Although the programming of chess game is some kind tricky but the concepts of online chess are easy to understand. Evidently, online games would not materialize without the computer chess program.

Computer chess programs are used in tournaments like the one that was created by Larry Atkin, the Odessa. This program symbolizes the pattern of the eight by eight arrays of numbers that is equivalent with the pattern of the chessboard. Positive and negative numbers represent the chess pieces. Most computer chess programs are consist of modules that include evaluation function, quiescence function and generator. However, despite of these features of the programs, still it cannot calculate the millions chess positions involve.

Understanding the module is important for you to use properly the chess program. As stated, evaluation function is the first module that observes the possible move that a player can make from the original position. It also provides list of the possible situations and the corresponding move. The next module involves an algorithm that determines the concepts and strategies. It acts like playing the real chess that requires both players to respond in every move in chess openings, king’s safety as well as in defenses. On the other hand, the quiescence acts in evaluating the end position and the other possible move. Just like in the traditional chess game, every move from the opening to the end game is significant in winning the game.

Aside from Odessa, other computer chess programs emerged and developed with different new ideas. Kaplan created a program Turbostar as the product of his brute thinking. Because of his special knowledge in computer programming, he decided to improve the chess program with his ever-changing concept. He was a national master and a Junior Chess Champion when he created Turbostar. Up to this writing, the chess program created by Kaplan is still being used in playing online chess.

However, because of the innovation in technology, more powerful computer chess programs override those previously created. Fujitsu LLC developed a chess program SPACE that is considered as super computer that can process around 1.3TB raw details. It has also the capability to analyze the over 4 million games all over the world.

Time will come that because of the ever changing improvements in technology, thousands of computer chess programs would be created that would match or even surpass the ability of humans. Like what had happened before, it is more likely possible that a computer would defeat human player in a chess battle. However, although computers can work fast but they are not perfect. As a product of human knowledge, computer programs also have weaknesses that are inevitable. Indeed, man is gifted with talents and skills to develop chess programs that help chess players to understand the challenging game of chess.

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Online Chess – Playing Chess with Boundless Opportunities

On 10.18.09, In General Games, By

Nowadays, technological advances have brought many changes in our life. Undeniably, in one way or another, the advances influence both good and bad effect to human life. One of the good things that technological advances brought to us is the internet. The internet provides ease in our day-to-day life such as communication, school and office works, entertainment and many others. Many internet users access the World Wide Web to relax by logging in to online games. There are wide array of online games available in the internet and one of the most favourite online game is the online chess.

Chess is deemed as the oldest kind of board game that was played by Kings during the ancient years. However, because of the distinction of the game, chess remains popular up to the recent generations. Likewise, this board game is not an exemption in the technological advances because this can now be played online. You can now play chess versus computer anytime you want. Yes, it is possible to play chess in your computer either of the two options. One is buying software of chess game and the other is by downloading chess versions from game servers.

The two options can be obtained from the internet by browsing in the search engines. You can find numerous sites that offer chess software or allows anyone to download chess versions. The advantage of choosing the software is that you can enjoy the full version of the game. After you installed the software in your computer, you can already play chess versus computer. On the other hand, another option in obtaining chess version is by downloading from game servers. Make sure that before you decide to download you should check first the website for reliability. Moreover, if you prefer to download, there are sites that would require you to register as member before you can access in the game. Registration is made online and may charge you minimal amount.

However, if you do not want to spend an amount, you can still have the chance to play the game against computer by searching for chess sites that offer free download of chess games. Yet, you should be aware as you can get the trial version and not the full version of the game. However, most chess sites offer free trial of the chess game in a week and if you found it worthwhile, you can then subscribe the full version. Some of the sites where you can download or play directly online chess are Pogo.com, Playsite and many more. It relies on you, which one you will choose depending on your preference.

Playing chess game against computer allows you to improve your skill in the game. It also allows you to enjoy the game without any opponent around you or playing against other player from different parts of the worlds. Likewise, it gives you the chance to practice fervently and learn new techniques especially if you are preparing for your own game. Online chess provides boundless opportunities of learning and improving your skill and understanding about the game.

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