Portal:Chess/Intro

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chess is an abstract strategy board game for two players. It is played on a square board of eight rows (known as ranks) and eight columns (known as files), giving sixty-four squares of alternating color. Each player begins the game with sixteen pieces, each of which can move in a pre-defined direction (and in some instances, within a limited range) and can remove other pieces from the board: each player's pieces comprise eight pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, one queen and one king. All pieces can remove opponent's pieces by landing on the space they occupy. Pieces are progressively eliminated as the game proceeds, and the ultimate object of the game is to deliver checkmate to the opponent, i.e., to prevent his king from moving to escape capture.

Chess is one of the world's most popular games; it has been described not only as a game but also as an art and a science. Chess is sometimes seen as an abstract wargame; as a mental martial art, such that teaching chess has been advocated as a way of enhancing mental prowess. Chess is played both recreationally and competitively in clubs, tournaments, online, and by mail (correspondence chess).

Many variants and relatives of chess are played throughout the world. Chess is thought to have evolved from the Indian shatranj, which resembles the Chinese xiangqi, Japanese shogi, Korean janggi, and Thai makruk; in view of its many relatives, chess in Asia is often referred to as Western or international chess.