So, let us sit back and enjoy the sensational chess records that have been established since the time chess was recorded in the annals of history.

For the convenience of our readers, we have divided the chess records segment into 10 parts. Each part will consist of significant achievements made in the field of competitive chess over the ages. So, without further delay, let us dive right into the record charts!

The ‘Bests’ in Chess Records 

The chess player with the best success record is William Steinitz. He played a total of 27 competitive games from 1862 to 1896 and had a streak of 25 wins. On the whole, Steinitz achieved victory in 160 chess matches, with 70 losses and 57 draws.

The all-time best-selling book about chess is none other than legendary world chess champion Bobby Fischer’s work ‘Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess’. This outstanding book has sold over a million copies since its release worldwide and continues to sell considerably.

The credit for the best world championship record of all time goes to Vera Menchik-Stevenson. She was the first officially recognised women’s world chess champion and held on to her title from 1927 until her death in 1944. During her long reign as world champion, Ms. Menchik-Stevenson made a successful defence of her title a whopping 6 times.

In her professional chess career, Ms. Merchik-Stevenson came victorious in 78 matches, drew in 4 games, and tasted defeat once.

The ‘Highests’ in Chess Records 

The highest chess rating ever to be recorded is a staggering 3358. This computer rating, recorded on April 5, 2016, has been accorded to the chess engine ‘Komodo 9’. In contrast, the reigning undisputed world chess champion Magnus Carlsen is rated at 2851.

Talking about Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, the chess superstar has recorded the highest Elo chess rating ever achieved by a human being – 2882. He reached this peak rating in May 2014. On the other end of the spectrum, the highest a woman chess player has been able to score on Elo rating is 2735. This outstanding feat was achieved by former women’s chess world champion Judit Polgar in July 2005.

Former chess champion Bobby Fischer had the highest performance rating in chess at 3080, and he cemented this achievement after beating Bent Larsen by a score of 6-nil. In the year 2007, another incident took place that came close to Fischer’s feat.

This time Gata Kamsky got a performance rating of 3047 while competing in the Candidates’ matches against the Elo 2709-rated Etienne Bacrot. Their contest finished at 30, with Kamsky taking three wins and securing a draw in the fourth match.

Among the women chess masters, it was the sister of Hungarian former world champion Judit Polgar, Sofia Polgar, who made an effort to get a performance rating of more than 2900 after scoring 8.5 out of a possible 9 in an elite-level tournament in Rome in 1989.

The ‘Largests’ in Chess Records

The largest public library anywhere in the world is the J. W. White Collection, which is part of the Cleveland Public Library in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. This collection boasts more than 32,000 chess books and in excess of 6,000 issues of bound periodicals. When it comes to the largest private library, that crown is worn by grandmaster (GM) Lothar Schmid. In his personal collection, GM Schmid has at least 20,000 books on chess.

The largest chess tournament of all time occurred in 1935-36 in the USSR. It was then that the USSR Trade Unions Chess Championship was held. The competition saw participation from 700,000 candidates, a number unimaginably big. Then in the UK, the 2004 edition of the UK Chess Challenge for school children witnessed 71,000 kids from around 2000 schools taking part in the competition.

This tournament is currently the largest active chess competition on the planet. Two other chess meets worth mentioning here are the US Scholastic Championships of 1985 and the New York Chess Congress of 1973, which hosted 1572 and 1487 chess players, respectively.

It is common knowledge that avid chess players have the habit of collecting all sorts of chess sets. In light of this, it is apt to talk about the largest chess set collection that a person has managed to gather under one roof.

This laurel goes to a man named Floyd Sarisohn, who is the proud owner of about 670 chess sets. Mr. Sarisohn has been an avid chess set collector for the past forty-odd years and is continuing to grow his empire with each passing year.

The ‘Mosts’ in Chess Records 

The record for the most chess matches played simultaneously goes to Hungarian chess legend Susan Polgar. In July 2005, Ms. Polgar broke the previous record of 321, held by International Master (IM) Andrew Martin, and competed against 326 contestants concurrently. She came out as a winner in 309 bouts, drew 14 games, and lost only three times. She did all this with a win percentage of a staggering 96.93 %.  

The most elaborate world chess championship chess match ever played was the one that transpired between former champion Anatoly Karpov and challenger Viktor Korchnoi. The former is considered one of the most dominant chess champions of all time.

At the same time, the latter is widely accepted as one of the strongest chess players who could not reach the absolute pinnacle of professional chess and become a world champion. This memorable encounter took place during the championship meet in 1978 in Baguio City, The Philippines. In the fifth game, both participants played a total of 124 moves to reach a stalemate. 

The last entrant in our list of chess records is the tag of the most number of titles won by a single person. There are a bunch of players who we would like to mention here. Firstly, the American chess player Arkadijs Strazdinis captured the New Britain, Connecticut Chess Club Championship on 30 different occasions, winning the first in 1952 and the final in 1994.

Secondly, another American chess player, named John Kalish, was an International Master who grabbed the national championship of Okinawa, Japan, consecutively for 25 years – from 1959 to 1984. The closest to this marvellous feat anyone has got is Estonian-born New Zealander Ortvin Sarapu. He was crowned the chess champion of New Zealand 20 times between 1952 and 1990.

Discover More About Chess with Square Off 

Once you have gone through our chess world records compilation, switch to more fascinating blogs available on the Square Off website. While you are at it, remember to browse through our exquisite range of AI-powered chess boards. One of the most sought-after automated boards that we bring to you – the Square Off Pro, is a chess board that records moves and helps you develop your game at a pace of your accord.

Despite being a complex game, the basic rules and regulations that govern chess can be understood by a child. It only gets more complicated once someone starts climbing the ladder of the professional chess circuit. Here, only the very experienced and skillful players stand a chance to win big tournaments. 

The chessboard is the place where all the action of a chess game takes place. It is a simple checkerboard having 64 squares or tiles divided into black and white colours. Anyone can purchase a chessboard from any local shop that sells toys and such things.

But over the years, chess aficionados have produced exquisite chess boards that completely take the breath away. If you can get a chessboard set for a meagre sum of money, there exist others that go up to the millions.

As they are usually referred to, these ‘works of art’ attract the wealthiest on the planet and are generally sold at auctions. When we think of the most expensive chess set, we naturally tend to picture chess boards fitted with the choicest gemstones and jewels in our minds. And that is indeed the case with these unique boards. They simply capture the imagination of the rich and the famous.

In the following section of this Square Off article, we shall look at the luxury chess sets categorised as the most pricey and the most beautiful chess sets in the world.

The Art of War Chess Set

Many of you may have heard about the ancient Chinese philosopher named Sun Tzu. His celebrated work, ‘The Art of War’, is an all-time classic work on statecraft and warfare. Taking a leaf out of this book, the creator of ‘The Art of War Chess Set’ has made this stunning chess set out of solid gold and precious stones.

Designed by Victor F. Scharstein, every single chess piece on this board has been handmade out of solid gold. The surface of the parts has been detailed with a flurry of gems such as sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. This Asian-influenced chess set comes with a price tag of USD 750,000.

Game of Kings Chess Set

The second chess set that we have put on our list is known as the ‘Game of Kings’ chess set. One of the most unique chess boards ever to have been produced, this Aztec and Maya-inspired board took a couple of years to be completed. A plethora of artists from around the world contributed to giving life to this lifelike set.

Weighing more than a ton and containing a mind-boggling 110 pounds of silver, Game of Kings has human-like figures in place of chess pieces. These figurines have been made in the likeness of Aztec and Maya warriors. This stellar piece of art has been priced at USD 3 million.

Pearle Royale Chess Set

For long holding on to the title of the ‘most expensive chess set’, the Pearle Royale chess set is a 4 million dollar chess set designed by the Australian jeweller Colin Burns. Accepted across the globe as the most beautiful chess set ever to be made, the Pearle Royale was crafted from solid 18-carat white gold and more than 510 carats of certified diamonds.

The manner in which the artist cum designer has blended the diamonds and gold into chess piece figurines is beyond comprehension. Except for those of the king and the queen, the rest of the heads of the chess pieces have been made from pearls. Mr. Burns used Ceylon blue sapphires to prepare the base of the heads of the kings and the queens.

J. Grahl Chess Set

The J. Grahl chess set, completed in 1972, stands out as one of the top luxury chess sets on the planet. Made out of solid gold and silver, this set was produced for the Cole family. The idea behind the J. Grahl chess set came from the iconography of 14th-century Europe. The designer took special care in making sure the chess pieces were modelled after the visual aesthetics of mediaeval Europe.

The observer will notice that all the chess pieces on this board have been carved with impressive detail and precision. Not only the board but the material that has been used to create the chessboard is also pure ebony wood. This wooden base has been topped with glittering silver to give the structure a stunning appearance. This handcrafted piece of art comes at a price of USD 450,000.

Jewel Royale Chess Set

The frontrunner for the tag of the ‘most expensive chess set’ is currently in the grip of the Jewel Royale chess set. This most impressive, fully jewel-based chess set is not yet complete and is going through the final rounds of development. Once done, the Jewel Royale is believed to make chess observers go berserk, beholding its beauty.

The idea behind the production of this chess set came from the jewellery-making organisation Boodles and Jewel Royale. Their combined effort at producing the world’s most expensive is steadily gaining traction, and they have already stunned the world with their release of pictures of the first chess piece that they have finished – a king. This was done to kill rumours that the project is, in fact, a hoax. The first chess piece of this set, the king, is said to be priced at USD 59,742 and is made of 18-carat solid gold.

Several chess columnists and observers have commented on this project in various media channels. They are of the view that the Jewel Royale will astonish people to a whole different level and will be nothing like anything that has been done to date. Analysts have made the prediction that the Jewel Royale will be priced at almost 9.8 million dollars once the whole set is finished and released for market valuation.

Learn More about the Game on the Square Off Website

So, that concludes our list of the world’s most expensive chess sets. If you are interested to know more about the chess game and how it has evolved over the centuries, check out our blog titled ‘Learn the Rich History and Origin of Chess’.
While browsing through our blog section, do remember to peek at our store, where you will find top deals and offers on our award-winning AI-powered, fully automated chess boards.

A gambit is helpful on most occasions as it helps to develop chess pieces in a better way, leads to the weakening of the rival king, and allows for the opening of attacking channels. If you are wondering ‘how many gambits are there in chess’, the answer is plenty. There is not one ‘best gambit in chess’, and the game witnesses a host of chess gambits being applied by both novice and professional chess players all the time.

The efficacy of chess gambits makes them an absolute favorite of chess enthusiasts the world over. Even great chess players down the years have also vouched for gambits. If undertaken after careful consideration, gambits can elevate a person’s chess abilities to higher levels. Besides its game benefits, chess gambits also make lengthy matches more fun and intriguing.

One of the most famous of all chess gambits is the ‘Queen’s Gambit’. This has especially become a show-stealer since the release in October 2020 of Netflix’s limited series titled ‘The Queen’s Gambit’. The show, starring American actress Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role, made headlines all across the planet and turned millions towards chess.

The show’s massive popularity did excellent service to chess by bringing the glamour back to the game. During the latter half of 2020 and the early months of 2021, online chess portals Chess.com and Lichess.Org registered a record number of online chess players. 

Now that we have answered the question – what is a gambit in chess, let us focus on the various types of chess gambits employed in a chess match. Since the Queen’s Gambit is the most celebrated chess gambit, we shall start our list with the same.

The Queen’s Gambit

Clearly the most well-known of all chess gambits out there, the Queen’s Gambit takes its name from the d-pawn, lying in front of the white queen, moving up to the d4 square. In reply to white’s move, black would play its d-pawn to the d5 tile.

At this juncture, white would try and lure the black pawn placed on the d5 block by moving its c-pawn to c4. This would be done by white with the hope that black would capture its c-pawn and thus clear out the central zone of the chessboard.

Recommended: How The Popular Netflix Show ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Introduced The Game To The Current Generation

The King’s Gambit

Much like the Queen’s Gambit, there exists a chess gambit in which the king chess piece takes centre stage. It is widely believed that the King’s Gambit was first played for the very first time in 1560. In this style of play, the first move that white plays is to place the e-pawn, also known as the king’s pawn, on e4.

In reply, white would make its e-pawn move forward and meet the white pawn head-on at e5. The idea behind this gambit technique is to take control of the centre squares of the chess board using pawns. When white follows it up by playing its f-pawn to f4, it invites black to capture its f-pawn.

In all honesty, this may not happen every time you play a match. But the odds are pretty high that there will be people who want to capture a piece early in the game. If that happens, the very objective of the King’s Gambit will be met.

The Wing Gambit

The Wing Gambit technique is a delightful handy gambit mechanism that helps white breach the Sicilian and French defences. To deal with these two sharp defensive formations coming from the side of the black, the player commanding the white chess pieces chooses to sacrifice the white b-pawn within an opening couple of rounds.

This is done to divert the black pawn sitting on c5 to shift further towards the flanks, whereas the white e-pawn makes its way to occupy the central zone of the chessboard. After taking control over the centre, the experienced player handling the white pieces begins to conjure up plans to attack the rival on its kingside.

The Stafford Gambit

The fourth and final chess gambit that this Square Off blog will discuss is the ‘Stafford Gambit’. This one is a black-only gambit that is characterised by a certain degree of dubiousness. What makes this gambit technique unique is its number of associated tricks and pitfalls. If white is not careful from the moment black attempts to initiate this gambit, a win could be nearer than usual for black.

It all begins when white plays its e-pawn to e4. In exchange, black moves its e-pawn up to e5. A classic start also termed as the ‘Petroff Defense’, the two e-pawns locked face to face when white brings one of its knights into the foray and moves it to f3. Black goes with a similar move and advances a white knight to the f6 square. Instead of getting the better of the white knight sitting at f3, black tries something different and brings its second knight to the c6 block.

From here, the game starts to gravitate towards black, as white is fooled into making some serious mistakes. By combining the powers of a knight and a bishop, black slowly builds up the platform from where it would launch a flurry of attacks on the kingside of white. In situations like this, white mostly succumbs to blacks’ continuous onslaught from the flanks.

Continue Learning with Square Off

This is where we have reached the end of the article on what is a gambit in chess. We have seen different types of chess gambits and the ways in which they can be inculcated in one’s gameplay. One of the primary objectives of sharpening one’s chess gambit knowledge is to ramp up one’s attacking prowess. A thorough understanding of a gambit and how to best use it constructively is the key to improving one’s overall gameplay. With a few tricks up your sleeve, you will have the quality to surprise your opponents when they least expect it.

With the ideal dose of imagination and calculations, gambits can wreak havoc in rivals’ camps. All that is needed is regular study and practice of gambit techniques. The history of the game shows that whenever great chess players have employed gambits in their gameplay, more often than not, they have gone on to create classic encounters. That being said, the first thing you would require to do to sharpen your gambit skills is playing lots of chess matches.

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As stated above, the queen in chess is the most powerful among the chess pieces on a chess board. Whereas the king chess piece holds the key to the result of a chess match and is hence the most important chess piece, the queen gets the vote of the most dominant one.

Similar to the king in chess, the queen is a unique chess piece. Its characteristics are a combination of what is seen in a rook and a bishop. Interestingly, this mighty chess piece was not a part of earlier chess sets. The equivalent article to that of the modern queen chess piece was known by the names’ vizier’, ‘fers’, or even at times, the ‘counsellor’ until the fifteenth century. And on top of that, this piece did not have the powers that its eventual successor currently enjoys.

The queen chess piece became its own sometime in fifteenth century Spain, where chess sets having the queen as a helpful piece were identified as a different version of chess – ‘Queen Chess’. Once its authority was firmly established on chess boards, the queen chess piece became an integral part of several top-notch strategies of chess masters.

A queen is equal to three ‘minor’ chess pieces on a chess board and is almost as prized as two rooks. If you put all your pawns together, your queen will still be more profitable in your gameplay than them. It is due to this reason that it is considered unwise to deliberately lose one’s queen in order to capture a rival chess piece. Only in exceptional circumstances can the voluntary sacrifice of the queen be deemed a clever move on the player’s part.

The lessons from history teach us that very few chess players have been able to win matches after losing their queens early on in the game. One of the glaring examples of a successful queen sacrifice occurred during the playing days of legendary world chess champion Bobby Fischer. When he was just 13 years old, the young Bobby Fischer defeated Donald Byrne in a highly-celebrated match dubbed the ‘Game of the Century’. But only the gifted players can pull off wins after going for outlandish moves involving the sacrifice of the queen chess piece.

Where Does the Queen Go in Chess? Rules and Conventions

The official rules and regulations of chess, as ratified by the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), state that the queen in chess should start a game placed on the first rank, right next to the king chess piece. Whereas the white begins its journey from the d1 block, its black counterpoint gets to take up the d8 spot. It is pertinent to note here that the d1 block meant for the white queen is a white square. On the other hand, the d8 tile, reserved for the black queen, happens to be a black tile.

In other words, the white and the black queens start a chess match positioned on blocks that match their respective colours. This is in direct contrast to the convention that binds the two kings to see themselves placed on opposite-coloured squares at the commencement of a game. This element in chess allows us to divide the chess board into two halves – the kingside and the queenside.

Like any other game or sport, chess also has strict rules to which players must adhere during a contest. The laws of the game state that the queen reserves the right to move in any direction of the chess board and to any number of squares. But it can only fulfil this on empty squares; occupied blocks will hinder the free flow of a queen. This particular aspect of the queen gives it the most incredible range on the board.

Whereas bishops and rooks can move to any number of unoccupied tiles in one axis only, the queen gets to do both. When you control a queen, you will be open to moving it anywhere diagonally, onwards, backward, and sideways. The versatility of the queen turns it into the most valued chess piece on the board.

There are special chess moves linked to the king, the rook and the pawn. In the king and the rook’s case, we get to see the particular move sequence called ‘castling’. In this move, a king can move either to its side or the queen’s side and get into a solid defensive position. The rook is also involved in this move; during castling, the rook jumps over the king and takes the place of a guard.

The least valued chess piece, the pawn, has a unique move associated with it. It has the right to capture enemy pawns in an unusual motion known as ‘en passant’. However, the chess queen does not participate in any exceptional move whatsoever.

Where Does the Queen Go in Chess? Techniques and Strategy

One of the mistakes that novice chess players regularly make is that they bring the queen out into active gameplay too early. This is done with the intention of finding that quick checkmate. As has been deliberated by chess masters repeatedly, this is never a good strategy. Understandably, being the most versatile chess piece in your arsenal, you would want to make the most of it as soon as possible.

But bringing out the queen from its starting position and placing it somewhere in the centre or elsewhere only invites unnecessary danger from enemy lines. A much better plan is to first develop the minor pieces – the knights, the bishops, and the rooks during the opening rounds.

Once you get a foothold on the chess board and understand the flow of the game, only then is it wise to utilise the queen’s prowess to the maximum. Many great chess players have displayed the tendency to hold on to their queen until the middlegame or the endgame stages.

After a chess match enters the middlegame phase, players usually start involving their queens to try and dictate the game’s dynamics. In the middlegame, it becomes vital to attack the rival chess pieces with the queen and defend them from incoming attacks from the opposite end. In many instances, when both participants in a chess match lose their respective queens, the game steers towards the final phase – the endgame.

If someone manages to hold on to their queen until the latter stages of a match, that becomes a significant advantage on their part. The queen being such a potent chess piece, it becomes slightly easier to get that elusive checkmate.

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So, with that, we have come to the end of our discussion about ‘Where does the queen go in chess?’ If you are looking forward to learning more about chess, visit the Square Off website today. We have a wide range of topics related to chess waiting for your perusal.

Also, check out our new AI-powered chess board, ‘Square Off Pro’. It will surely change the way you have played chess all this time. Take advantage of the holiday season to get mind blowing deals on our range of automated chess boards.

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According to official records, just about 1700 chess players have achieved the target of being a chess grandmaster. This throws light on something so relatable to chess. It is not at all easy to get to the level of a GM.

The prestige and glamour attached to the title of GM are directly linked to the difficulty with which it can be attained. The most vital part of getting recognized as a chess GM is that the title stays with the person for the rest of their natural life.

It does not matter if a player loses form or decides to stop playing altogether after capturing the GM tag. Only under the rarest of the rare situations can a chess player be stripped of their ‘GM’ title.

How to Become a Chess Grandmaster

In this section of the article, we will discuss the means through which a chess player can get to the platform where they can be conferred with the title of a chess grandmaster (GM). Follow the steps closely and discover if you are up for becoming the next chess grandmaster!

Recommended Read: Who’s The Youngest Chess GrandMaster? Find Out

Love the Game and Play As Often As You Can

To excel at anything, one needs to devote oneself entirely to it. The same goes for the attainment of the chess grandmaster title. The first thing a serious chess enthusiast can do is to learn the game thoroughly. Once that is taken care of, one needs to get involved with the game as much as possible.

Repeated practice and contemplation, coupled with a genuine love for the game, will take a person a long way in their quest to get awarded the GM title. Even though there is no perfect time to begin learning the game, getting started at an early age will always give you an edge over your competitors.

For example, the reigning world chess champion started his chess journey at the tender age of five. The world’s youngest chess grandmaster, US-born Abhimanyu Mishra, was introduced to chess at just two years and eight months of age.

Focus on Continuous Learning

With chess, like any other field, there is no end to learning. As former world chess champion, Garry Kasparov once mentioned in an interview, working hard repeatedly is a talent. Likewise, another former champion, Vladimir Kramnik, once said that in chess, one has to have a knack for learning new things on a regular basis.

The path to becoming a grandmaster is a long and arduous road, and only strong-willed and determined individuals survive the journey. One of the ways to do it will be to optimize how you learn about the game. The science of chess education points to three principal aspects of chess learning – gamification, spaced repetition, and scheduling.

In other words, a systematic approach, coupled with professional assistance and technological aid, can help significantly to increase the odds of getting to the level of a chess grandmaster.

Develop an in-depth Opening Repository

Next on our list of ‘How to Become a Chess Grandmaster’ is the case of the chess’ opening’. Chess openings go a long way in determining which way a chess game would proceed. Anyone seriously thinking about the grandmaster title should memorize a vast body of opening moves.

Having a general grasp of the various types of openings will only take you so far. As the current world chess champion said so rightly, having a limited range of opening moves is a handicap in the modern game.

Must Read: 4 Most Aggressive Chess Openings That You Should Know

Sharpen Your Tactical Instincts 

Being tactically sharp is an asset for every chess player out there. But this does not come easy; it takes years of practice and training to gain the experience required to muster one’s tactical acumen. The skill of sensing danger lurking around in any part of a match is a significant element in a chess player’s bag of tricks.

Once you have reached a position where you can see several moves ahead in the game, it means there is a huge possibility that you are primed to go further in the race to become a chess grandmaster.

Acquire a Solid Endgame Knowledge

When it comes to chess ratings and rankings, the one aspect of a chess player that is the most vital is their grasp over endgames. A chess endgame is the last phase of a chess match when players go for the kill and earn the victory. This is when both contestants get down to business and look for chances to go for the kill. 

When you look up notable chess matches played by grandmasters, you will find how well endgames have been executed in the same. In order to start planning to the standard of a chess grandmaster, one has to study chess endgames religiously.

Many chess professionals are keener to engage with chess openings and chess middlegames and overlook the absolute necessity of getting into endgames. This negligence shows itself in competitions when clever endgame movements are the only way to grab a win.

Study Games Played by Grandmaster of Past and Present

If someone is willing to take the arduous path of becoming a chess grandmaster, they have to embrace the way GMs play and think. The best way to do this is by diligently studying legendary matches played by chess grandmasters.

This will help a chess player in gaining a comprehensive knowledge of all the aspects of the game, be it positional strategy, initiative, psychological elements, sacrifice, imagination, thinking patterns, and the learning to cope with the pressure.

Hire a Genuine Coach

Finally, one needs to understand that getting to the coveted title of ‘GM’ is not a solo effort, and it takes a team consisting of coaches and support staff to carve out a champion chess player from a novice.

So, if you are considering getting serious with your chess plans, the most critical decision would be getting help from a coach.  

How long does it take to become a chess grandmaster?

When you are dealing with the question of ‘How to become a chess grandmaster?’ you have to understand that there is no specific time frame to becoming a GM. If it took about ten years for Abhimanyu Mishra, the youngest grandmaster, to get to that elite level, it might take less or more time for someone else. It all starts with the first chess game that you play. With time and effort, one will get to see the results in their gameplay.

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Just like the youngest chess grandmaster, there exist pretty aged GMs. The record for the oldest chess grandmaster is held by the Italian Enrico Paoli, who achieved this feat at the ripe old age of 88. Paoli was an international chess master for most of his life and was awarded an honorary grandmaster title in 1996 when he was 88.

On the journey to be recognized as the youngest chess grandmaster, 12-year-old Abhimanyu had to get the better of Leon Mendonca. A 15-year-old GM from India in the ninth round of the Vezerkepzo GM Mix tournament held in Budapest, Hungary.

Recommended Read: How Many Chess Grandmasters Are There Today?

The Long and Hard Road to the Title

Before getting the GM title, Abhimanyu camped for a long while in Budapest in preparation for the upcoming test. This was a period when he was competing in a series of tournaments. All that focus started to pay off when in April and May 2021, he qualified for the first and the second GM norms, respectively.

The first norm was achieved at the Vezerkepzo chess tournament, while the second norm was fulfilled at the First Saturday tournament. In both these GM-norm chess competitions, Abhimanyu was placed against 10 high-ranking players specially selected to aid him in clearing the GM norm hurdles.

There were hiccups following the May tournament, when Abhimanyu missed out on his third GM norm at the May and June 2021 editions of the Veserkepzo meet and the First Saturday round-robin chess tournament in June 2021.

But, as destiny would have it, Abhimanyu struck gold in his final shot in June 2021. Seeing that a large group of young aspiring chess professionals had set up camps in Budapest for a  lengthy period, the organisers of the chess tournament decided to hold one last chess GM norm meet in the last week of June 2021.

Sponsored by a Swiss group, the Vezerkepzo GM Mix chess tournament was clearly Abhimanyu’s last real shot at grabbing the GM title in that particular season. And as fate would have it, he managed to secure his title by beating Indian GM Leon Luke Mendonca over nine rounds playing with black chess pieces. 

Related Read: 50+ Chess Stats That Will Blow Your Mind

Young Abhimanyu Cynosure of All Eyes

The brilliant young chess maestro was born to immigrant Indian parents in New Jersey on the east coast of the United States on February 5, 2009. Abhimanyu started playing chess at seven and has not looked back ever since.

Along with being the youngest chess grandmaster in the world, Abhimanyu also holds two more unique chess records. He is the all-time highest-rated chess player under the age of nine and the youngest international master (IM) in the world.

The title of the ‘GM’ is the highest possible level a chess professional can reach in their career, and only the award of a ‘world champion’ is deemed more elevated than that of a GM. The young Indian chess prodigy reached this ultimate level at 12 years, four months, and 25 days.

By doing so, Abhimanyu broke the 19-year-old world record made by the Ukrainian chess player Sergey Karjakin. Karjakin became the youngest chess grandmaster in the year 2002 at the age of 12 years and seven months.

As per the latest rankings released by the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), the governing body of global chess, four Indian players feature in the all-time top 10 youngest chess grandmasters.

The topmost position an Indian takes up in this list is Gukesh Dommaraju at third place. D. Gukesh, as he is more commonly known, made the cut at the age of 12, seven months, and 17 days. He is also the youngest Indian chess grandmaster of all time.

Then at fifth place, there stands another young Indian chess sensation – Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. ‘Pragg’, as he is fondly called, became a GM by the time he was 12 years, 10 months, and 13 days.

Two more Indians feature in the top 10 list – Parimarjan Negi at seventh place and Raunak Sidhwani fill up at the tenth spot. While Parimarjan Negi was 13 years, four months, and 22 days at the time he had been conferred the title, Raunak Sidhwani was 13 years, nine months, and 28 days at the moment when he became a bona fide GM.

On the whole, India has a strong foothold on the world stage when it comes to producing grandmasters. In total, the country has produced 64 GMs to date.

Getting to the coveted title of ‘GM’ is no easy feat, and it takes years of hard work, sacrifice, and dedication to even dream of having a shot at the title. As GM Abhimanyu Mishra has said in several interviews, he had to remain completely immersed in chess every day after becoming the youngest chess grandmaster.

He further stated that he did not have a childhood like most children his age usually experience. Abhimanyu is unequivocally focused on his chess career as of now and wishes to compete at the world’s most significant chess competitions one day. He has already trained under one of the best chess players of all time – Garry Kasparov and keeps an open mind to absorb anything and everything related to chess.

How Abhimanyu Mishra Became The Youngest Chess Grandmaster 

Like any other aspiring chess player aiming to become a grandmaster, Abhimanyu had to go through a rigorous GM attainment process determined by FIDE. All GM-seeking candidates must have an Elo rating of at least 2500 or above. Next, they must have a good showing in a minimum of three high-level chess tournaments.

These tournaments should have participants, among whom 50 per cent are titleholders of any kind, and 10 per cent are of the rank of GM. This criterion is called a ‘norm’ in chess parlance. Likewise, Abhimanyu Mishra fulfilled his third norm when he beat Leon Mendonca in Hungary.

Abhimanyu Mishra first caught the media’s attention back in 2016 when he won the under-eight category of the 2016 ChessKid Online National Invitational Championship (CONIC). Three years later, in 2019, Abhimanyu again came under the spotlight after becoming an International Master (IM) at the age of 10 years, nine months, and three days. This, too, was a world record, as has been mentioned above.

Abhimanyu Mishra is undoubtedly one of the most promising talents of his generation. His predecessor to the youngest chess grandmaster title, Ukrainian Sergey Karjakin, blossomed into a great chess player and went on to challenge for the world championship title in 2016, which he eventually lost to holder Magnus Carlsen in a tiebreak.

Recommended Read: Everything you need to know about how to become chess grandmasters

The Road Ahead for Abhimanyu

Only time will tell whether or not Abhimanyu will continue treading the same path and emerge as the ‘next big thing’ in chess. But for the time being, we can all heap praises on him for achieving something only the rarest of the rare are able to realise.

Recommended Read: Take On The Chess Grandmaster Training for a Week

You can also chalk your chess journey by playing the game regularly. To that end, bring home an AI-powered automated chessboard from the house of SquareOff and have a  rich chess-playing experience.

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• 9 Chess Movies That Every Chess Lover Should Watch
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Chess Stats That Will Make You Love Chess Even More

1. The longest chess match to be recorded stretches for more than 20 hours! The contestants, Goran Arsovic and Ivan Nikolic put their wits at stake and played a marathon of a game. 

2. According to global chess stats, there have been a little over 1700 chess grandmasters or GMs up to date. To reach this level of mastery, each would-be grandmaster spends around 12,000 hours studying the game.

3. When considering chess move statistics, more chess moves can be possible than the number of atoms in the entire universe! Mathematicians put this number at 1080.

4. Chess stats from the internet suggest that more than 600 million people play chess daily, including physical and online matches. Indeed one of the most interesting chess stats proves that chess holds sway over a large chunk of the global population.

5. When it comes to countries such as the United States of America, India, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom, at least 70% of its people have played chess once in their entire lifetime. 

6. Global Chess stats indicate that the most expensive chess board ever made has a price tag of more than USD 4 million. This most remarkable chess board is named the ‘Pearl Royale Chess Set’ and consists of diamonds, sapphires, and gold. 

7. Apart from the official version of chess that everyone knows about, approximately 2000 other chess variants exist across the planet.

Some well-known chess variants include King of the Hill, Chess 960, Bughouse Chess, 3-Check, and Crazyhouse Chess.

8. Mathematicians have calculated that the most number of moves theoretically possible in a single chess game is 5949.

9. As discussed in our other blogs, ‘chess openings’ are integral to a competitive chess match, and the opening moves have the power to decide the game’s fate. Chess aficionados who have researched chess move statistics in detail have found that there can be a staggering 318,979,564,000 different chess openings at any given time. And this only concerns the first four moves of the game.

Related Read: 4 Aggressive Chess Openings That You Should Know

10. Anyone with a dint of chess knowledge would have heard of the current undisputed world chess champion Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen has been the champion since defeating Vishwanathan Anand in 2013. Interestingly, the concept of a ‘world champion’ in chess was adopted only in 1886.

Related Read: Is There Anyone Who Can Dethrone Magnus Carlsen As World No. 1?

11. On average, a chess grandmaster competes in 75 professional bouts in a year. Once the match is played, it is a common practice among GMs to analyze each game thoroughly to bring out the pluses and minuses.

12. As per global chess stats, the hugely successful Netflix show ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ propelled millions of new chess enthusiasts to the 64-squared board. Online chess stats have shown that over three million fresh users joined the online chess platform ‘Chess.com’ immediately after the show’s release.

Recommended Read: 5 Top Chess Movies With A Gripping Plot

13. The success of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ also gave way to a record number of sales of chess-related products in the United States. People engaged with chess stats have stated that there had been an 87% rise in the sale of chess boards and a 603% rise in chess books after the show hit the screens.

Recommended: Buy the world’s smartest & automated chessboards

14. The world’s foremost GMs earn a startling amount of prize money from participating in and winning tournaments. World champion Magnus Carlsen regularly gets paid in the millions in elite chess tournaments.

Related Read: The Impact Magnus Carlsen Had In The World Of Chess

15. The ‘GM title was officially put in place by the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) in 1950. 

16. There have been 1742 male chess grandmasters and 39 female chess grandmasters.

17. The youngest chess grandmaster in history happens to be Abhimanyu Mishra. He achieved this astonishing feat in June 2021 at the age of twelve years, four months, and twenty-five days.

18. People working with chess move statistics have recorded that it takes only two moves to checkmate an opponent. This happens when a player plays with black pieces and follows the sequence of movements that looks like this chess parlance – 1. g4 e6 2. f4 Qh4#.

19. In a game between Walker and Thornton in 1992, not a single player could capture a rival’s piece after 100 moves, and this is a world record under chess move statistics.

20. The second book to be printed in English was a chess book, with the title ‘The Game of Chess.’

21. Chess stats show that an average chess game lasts 38 moves.

22. The highest number of chess moves played in a single game numbered 269!

23. The country that has produced the maximum number of chess grandmasters is Russia, with over 250.

24. The capturing technique known as ‘en passant’ came into use in 1280.

Related Read: 41 Terms Of Chess That Every Chess Player Should Know

25. A chess game played between Narcis Vinyoles and Francesc de Castellvi in 1475 in Italy is believed to be the oldest one ever to be recorded in writing.

Related Read: The Most Important Master Chess Game Ever

26. The youngest world chess champion of all time, Garry Kasparov, was only 22 when he made history in 1985.

27. The present form of chess we are familiar with was designed in 1090 in Europe.

28. Foldable chess boards, available on the SquareOff website, were first invented in 1125 by a clergyman.

29. The person who held the world title for the most prolonged duration was Emanuel Lasker. He was the world champion for more than 26 years!

30. When GM Bernstein of Russia was ordered to be shot to death in 1918, he could save himself by beating an official in charge of his execution.

31. The first recorded chess engine was called ‘The Turk’. It was built in 1779 but was later proved to be a fake.

Recommended Read: A Complete Guide To Understand How Chess Engines Work

32. Until 1600, a rule dictated that a player who could capture all rival chess pieces, except the king, would become the winner.

33. The credit for the invention of the first chess engine goes to Alan Turing, a feat he achieved in 1951.

34. Only a handful of players have been able to reach or cross the FIDE rating mark of 2800.

35. Magnus Carlsen has the highest FIDE rating score of all time. He reached up to 2882, more than Garry Kasparov’s 2851.

36. The first instance when a computer chess engine beat a human player occurred in November 1988.

37. The rule that allows pawns to advance two squares instead of one on their first move was added to the game in 1280 in Spain.

38. The number of possibilities increases as a chess game progresses. There could be more than 400 possible moves after the first moves of a game are played.

39. After two moves have been played, an estimated 72,084 various movements can be applied by each player.

40. When three moves are completed by each player, another 9 million options open up.

41. The chess stats related to chess moves are breathtaking. There could be more than 318 billion different positions that chess pieces can move after each player is through with four moves each.

42. The number of unique 40-move chess games is higher than the existing number of electrons in the known universe!

43. When the knight moves around a chessboard, it could have over 122 million movement patterns.

44. The first chess board in its present version was invented in 1090 in Europe.

Related Read: A Complete Guide To The Chess Ranking System

45. Eric Knoppert holds the record of having played the most speed chess games – 500, within 68 hours.

46. The first time an American chess player could beat someone from the Soviet Union was Frank Marshall in 1924.

47. You must have noticed chess players competing with a clock next to the board. Keeping note of time has always been integral to the game, and the first mechanical clock meant for chess was invented in 1883 by Thomas Wilson.

48. The person who holds the record for the longest losing streak is Nicholas McLeod of Canada. He was beaten 31 times in a double round-robin tournament in New York.

49. Chess has the unique honor of being the first game to be played in outer space. Soviet cosmonauts on board the Soyuz-9 spacecraft competed against the ground crew in a drawn match in 1970.

50. The first time a chess-only magazine was published was in 1836.

Related Post: Rich History Of Chess

51. Chess is a game that transcends boundaries, and it is believed to have originated in India sometime in the first millennium AD and then found its way to foreign lands in the subsequent centuries. The all-encompassing nature of chess has aided in becoming a much-loved strategy game in many countries. 

Learning about chess stats is a great way to ramp up your interest in the game. Chess is a versatile game that can help anyone sharpen their cognitive and analytical skills.
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For many families, it was a time to reconnect with loved ones, and this allowed many to clean the dust off their old chess boards and take a renewed interest in the classic strategy game.

The Influence of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’

On top of that, the release of the hugely popular Netflix drama series ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ in October 2020 opened a new chapter in chess’s long and winding story. This show, revolving around a fictional female chess prodigy, broke streaming records in a host of countries around the world and made playing chess glamorous again.

Around the same time, the phenomenon of cinema lovers watching chess movies increased rapidly. And by ‘chess movies’, we mean to say any film with chess as its central theme.

Given these recent developments, it will be apt for us to talk about a bunch of movies, the so-called ‘chess movies’, which every chess fan would most likely want to watch.

After covering these, we won’t be surprised if you open your streaming device and look for the same the moment you get a chance!

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Pawn Sacrifice (2015)

An Edward Zwick film, ‘Pawn Sacrifice’ is our first pick in the list of chess movies we have compiled for our readers. This biopic is a take on the life of chess genius Bobby Fischer and shows in detail the rivalry between Fischer and the Soviet chess grandmaster Boris Spassky.

Magnus (2016)

Our first documentary feature in the list comes from the 2016 Benjamin Ree work titled ‘Magnus’. As can be understood from the name, this docu-feature captures the early part of the current undisputed world chess champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway.

The director follows the life of a young Carlsen from a very young age until he becomes a grandmaster (GM) at the age of 13.

Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)

Also going by the name ‘Innocent Moves’, ‘Searching for Bobby Fischer’ is a Steven Zaillian film. The movie’s main character is seven-year-old chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin, played by Max Pomeranc. After he defeats his father in a chess game, he begins to get noticed by talent scouts.

He gradually gets hooked on speed chess and learns the tricks of the trade with the help of a hustler, played by screen legend Lawrence Fishburne. However, Josh’s parents, much to the boy’s chagrin, take him to Bruce, a famous chess instructor.

The rest of the movie deals with the consequences the boy has to face following his parents’ wish to turn him into a top chess player.

The Chess Players (1977)

A Satyajit Ray classic, ‘The Chess Players’ is a multilingual film set during the final days of Company rule in India. Known as ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’ in its original Hindi version, the movie is an adaptation of a short story of the same name by the great Indian author Munshi Premchand.

The backdrop to this film is the political situation in the erstwhile Indian princely state of Awadh. There the ruler and his coterie of powerful ministers and advisors are more interested in doing other things, such as playing chess, than trying to stop the conniving Britishers from taking over their kingdom.

The Luzhin Defence (2000)

Next in our list of chess movies is the Marleen Gorris directed ‘The Luzhin Defence’. This 2000-released film was adapted from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel ‘The Defence’.

The central plot of this movie is set in the 1920s when a naive and shy chess grandmaster makes his way to the Italian Lakes to participate in the most important match of his life. While competing in the high-level chess tournament, he stumbles upon a young woman he considers the love of his life.

The rest of the movie deals with Luzhin’s personal issues and how he manages to overcome them to emerge as a true victor.

Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine (2003)

The second documentary in this compilation, ‘Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine’, was released in 2003 and is the brainchild of director Vikram Jayanti. The plot of this feature is the much-publicised encounter between former world chess champion Garry Kasparov and the IBM computer ‘Deep Blue’.

Life of a King (2013)

Our list of best chess movies brings us to the 2013 film ‘Life of a King’, a project by director Jake Goldberger. The film shows how an ex-con (played by Cuba Gooding Jr. of ‘Jerry Maguire’ fame) is hell-bent on trying to work with at-risk African-American kids from dangerous neighbourhoods and give them a purposeful life.

The character of Cuba Gooding Jr. has made some serious mistakes early on in his life. So he has made it his life’s mission to rescue kids from gang wars and other criminal activities. To that end, he opens a chess club and names it Big Chair Chess Club of Washington D.C.

Watch the movie to know how he manages to transform the lives of several young kids from a life at risk to a more meaningful one.

Queen of Katwe (2016)

A Mira Nair film, ‘Queen of Katwe’ is the film adaptation of Tim Crothers’s novel of the same name. Counted as one of the best chess movies of recent times and a definite henry in our list of chess movies, the movie follows the journey taken by the ten-year-old Phiona, who lives in an impoverished slum in Kampala, Uganda, Africa.

Having been born into great poverty, Phiona struggles daily to survive, along with his family members. Astonishingly, her life changes when a missionary introduces her and other children of the slum to the game of chess.

Phiona takes a great interest in chess and soon becomes the best player in her area. Through chess, the young Phiona dreams of a life outside the place of her birth.

The Dark Horse (2014)

Our next pick for the top chess movies every chess enthusiast should watch is the 2014-made film ‘The Dark Horse’. Another biopic, with James Napier Robertson on the director’s chair this time, this movie charts the life and times of the outstanding chess player from New Zealand – Genesis Potini.

Mr. Potini was diagnosed with severe bipolar disorder, making it very difficult to stay on course with his chess career. By watching this film, you will witness how despite his troubles, Mr. Potini emerges victorious in his life at the end.

Watch More Chess Movies While Playing the Game

So, that is our take on the best chess movies in circulation right now. If you want more information about existing chess movies, type in commands such as ‘best chess movies on Netflix’, ‘best chess movies IMDb’, or ‘chess movies on Amazon Prime’, and find out more movie names.

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The Objective Of Chess Boxing

Chess boxing players participate in to compete in alternate rounds of boxing and rapid chess. The contest continues in this fashion until one of the competitors loses a bout or resigns from the showdown.

As per the rules, one player will get defeated when knocked out in the boxing rounds or checkmated during the chess rounds. Apart from these two instances, players can also be declared winners when their opponents run out of time in a particular bout, or they intentionally impede the smooth flow of the chess contests.

In extreme cases, continuous rule-breaking during the boxing series of chess boxing contests can lead to disqualification from the tournament.

Chess Boxing Championship

When it comes to the Championship, three chief global organisations undertake such events. However, several well-known bodies have set up their own independent championship tournaments. But the three prime bodies that we will be talking about here are – the World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO), the World Chess Boxing Association (WCBA), and the Chess Boxing Global (CBG).

World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO)

The World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO) came into existence in the city of Berlin, Germany, in the year 2003. Being the first world body of its kind, it had the responsibility of holding world boxing championship contests till 2013.

World Chess Boxing Association (WCBA)

The World Chess Boxing Association (WCBA) is the second-most renowned council which came into being in 2013.

Its primary purpose is to promote and develop the chess boxing landscape of the planet. It holds the championship tournaments in its own stead and also recognizes champions coming out of the fold of the WCBO.

Chess Boxing Global (CBG)

The third most crucial international-level governing body happens to be Chess Boxing Global Marketing, also referred to as Chess Boxing Global (CBG). Since its inception, this professional league was established in 2013 and has hosted officially sanctioned many championship contests in various venues.

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Chess Boxing History

Chess boxing has been around in the professional sporting circuit since 1992. It is a unique sporting activity that requires both intelligence and physical prowess. From humble beginnings in 1992, this sport has slowly but steadily gained a broader audience in countries such as England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and Russia. With people from each of these wholeheartedly embracing this novel sport, chess boxing captured the imagination of a diverse set of spectators.

The international governing boards have all agreed on a set of standardized rules and regulations that pilot the game worldwide. The following are the main points to remember while playing this game at any level:

• During the chess rounds, no player should intentionally waste time while deciding to go for a move. The referees officiating the chess rounds of the sport are provided with the full authority to penalize a contestant for the deliberate time delay.
• All participants should have a proven track record of knowledge in both chess and boxing.
• Competitors in tournaments are required to have a chess rating of a minimum of 1800 to be considered for a place in a given competition.
• As a sport, chess boxing gives all participants ample opportunities to show their worth. The game rules are flexible enough to allow any competitor to win a bout after defeating their opponent, either in the chess rounds or in the boxing rounds.

In other words, if a player knocks out their rival in a boxing round, they will be announced as the winner of the match. Likewise, if someone checkmates their adversary in the chess section of the game, the officials declare them as the overall victor.

The standard rules of chess boxing state that a complete match will consist of a total of six chess rounds and a total of five rounds of boxing. A game can be stopped before the entire chess, and boxing rounds are completed. This can transpire due to a participant getting beaten in an earlier round, be it in chess or boxing.

Chess Boxing Players

In chess boxing, the contest begins when the referee points to the clock, and the two contestants lock horns in a four-minute chess round. Once this is taken care of, the players head to the boxing ring to fight for three minutes. The competitors return to the chess board when the boxing round is over.

This cycle continues until a winner is formed. The two players fight it out in six chess and five boxing rounds. Between each round, whether it is chess or boxing, all players are granted a break of a single minute to recuperate from the strain of the earlier round.

When the players sit facing each other to play chess, they remove their boxing gloves. And then, during the one-minute interval, they must wear their boxing gloves again. Each player is supplied with earphones to be worn during the chess rounds in order to prevent the commotion coming from the audience from entering their ears. 

The chess portion of chess boxing is played with a twelve-minute clock as the timekeeper. This makes the chess half of chess boxing a form of ‘speed chess’. If a player is deemed to be taking too much time, the officials could force them to make a move within 10 seconds.

How are Winners Declared in Chess Boxing

The boxing rounds in chess boxing are played as per regular boxing game rules. The same applies to the chess portion of the match. To determine a winner, it is generally the performance of the players in the chess rounds that is taken into consideration. Unless a clear frontrunner emerges in the chess rounds, the overseers of the match consider the outcome of the boxing rounds.

When the points achieved by both the players are the same in the boxing and chess rounds, the player who has competed using black chess pieces is declared the ultimate winner.

Therefore, to win a chess boxing match fair and square, a player has to either strike a checkmate on the opponent in the chess rounds or knock out a rival in the chess rounds. One player’s withdrawal in the chess rounds is also a sign of defeat. If none of this takes place, the difference in points in the boxing rounds is studied to underline a winner.

Recommended Read: How To Win A Chess Match

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How Chess Notation Functions

Firstly, chess notation bands together a chess piece with a particular square on the chessboard. In other words, every single component on the chessboard will have a relationship to all the individual chess squares/tiles on the board. What it does is give unique names to each of these combinations.

Secondly, check notation gives birth to short forms for each of the chess pieces on a chess board. For example, the king becomes ‘K’, the queen ‘Q’, the bishop ‘B’, the knight ‘N’, and the rook ‘R’. The only exception is the pawn, which does not use any notation as per accepted conventions. And as we can see above, all the shortened names use capitalized letters to represent chess pieces.

Suppose a chess player captures a rival chess piece during a match, this notation will showcase such an event by using the symbol ‘x’. The ‘x’ will be placed between the notation of the piece and the square/tile on which it stood.

Similarly, when a rival king is attacked by a ‘check’, the check notation system will use the symbol ‘+’ at the end of the notation to signify that such a situation has transpired.

In another notable instance, when representing chess moves using chess notation symbols, ‘o-o’ is used to denote kingside castling, and ‘o-o-o’ comes in place to mean queenside casting.

Recommended Read: 50+ Chess Stats that Will Shock Everyone

Benefits of Using Chess Notation

One of the main advantages of learning chess notation is the ability to go back and study the great chess matches of the past. Likewise, knowledge of the notation comes in very handy when following instructions on online chess portals such as Chess.com and Lichess.org.

To think of it from another angle, chess notation is like the language of chess. In order to master chess, it becomes essential to learn the language that governs its various dynamics. In regular life, too, knowing a country’s language helps a person better integrate with that milieu.

Related Blog: 41 Terms Of Chess To Get You Started

From that vantage point, this language has emerged as the ‘lingua franca’ of modern chess.

Why is Chess Notation Used?

While developing chess skills from a young age, it becomes necessary to learn algebraic chess notation to better inculcate the game’s basics. In case you have observed during a live competitive chess match, the two players continuously jot down notes on a piece of paper lying next to each of them.

This, in fact, is a sheet that is used extensively in the modern era. After playing every single move, each competitor notes down the same on the assigned piece of this notation sheet. This becomes an integral part of chess education for all those who start playing chess at an early age.

One may wonder why chess requires someone to write down odd-looking figures on pieces of paper, whereas other board games like checkers and poker do not demand the same. To understand the reason behind this convention, one must take cognizance that chess is a lengthy and complex strategy game.

Recommended Read: The 10 Best Chess Defences That Everyone Should Know

Nowadays, it has become mandatory for a chess professional to have knowledge of algebraic the notation before applying to participate in a formal chess competition. It does not matter if the tournament is of grand stature; the bare minimum a participant must display is the ability to read and write a chess notation on this sheet.

In case of a possible dispute during a chess match, chess notation serves as a record perused by an adjudicator to settle the issue. In other words, the the notation serves as a progression of the match. On any day, it’s symbols on a notation sheet offer a far better insight into the game than a person’s memory.

How Does Chess Notation Work?

If you are considering learning chess properly, then learning algebraic chess notation will take you miles ahead. Not only will you be able to write down each game you play with diverse opponents, but you will also be able to read and play chess moves that were used several years ago.

What chess notation does is to combine a chess piece that is being played with the chess square/tile it has been placed on the chess board. This gives rise to a unique symbol that the player would go on to write on the chess notation sheet for future use.

Why is Chess Notation Used Everywhere?

We have already discussed how not knowing chess notation bars a player from participating in chess tournaments in the modern period. If you are starting your chess journey today, it is vital that you learn chess notation as early as possible.

It is okay when a complete amateur has zero chess notation knowledge. But as a player begins to mature, it becomes essential to integrate this part of chess know-how into their arsenal of chess skills. Not knowing chess notation gives away a lousy signal to one’s opponents and gives them a mental edge even before the actual play starts. Seasoned chess players never want to go through such a situation.

Related Blog: Is Chess a Board Game or a Sport?

One of the best uses of algebraic chess notation is its use in improving one’s game. Such is the usefulness of this chess language that one can scrutinize a game years after it has been played.

Importance of Chess Notation in Modern Chess

At first, algebraic chess notation may seem complicated and tough to comprehend. But it takes only a while to gradually start discovering the nitty-gritty of the workings of chess notation symbols.

In the manner in which a musician reads sheet music while playing a musical instrument, chess notation becomes a routine affair for someone who spends an adequate amount of time understanding its workings.

The best way to try and inculcate the habit of using chess notation symbols will be to get started with identifying the chess pieces and squares using their designated chess notation symbols. This should be done while engaging in regular and friendly matches.

Once you get the hang of it, keeping a notation sheet next to you whenever you sit to play a match will be beneficial. This exercise of keeping this sheet next to the chess board and practicing writing notations on it will bring rapid improvements in your understanding of how it functions.

Recommended Read: 4 Most Aggressive Chess Openings That You Should Know

And as we have already mentioned above, it is always invigorating to go back to past matches and study them thoroughly. Not only does it expand one’s command over the game, but it also elevates one’s competitiveness. Once you know the moves played by great players in particular instances, you will be better equipped to recreate those moves to win games and secure points.

Now that you have understood the value of these notation symbols, why not begin practicing chess matches using notations? You will be rewarded enormously if you immediately make this a habit.

Nowadays, it is easy to access a chess notation generator on the internet. You will be able to go for a notation check whenever you face difficulty with your task.

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