Chess is the oldest skill game in the world. Looking at the way the chessboard is set up and the studying the pieces and how they are used gives us an idea of the medieval times. Chess was played centuries ago in India, China and Persia. A thousand years ago, the names of the pieces represented the way in which people lived, including the peasants and people of higher ranks.

The origins of chess are obscure and there is no written account of the game until the seventh century. The first mention of chess is found in a Persian poem. According to the poem the advent of the game took place in India. The game was called “Chaturanga”. The laws of chess and the movements of the traditional pieces have been the same since the sixth century. There have been a variety of minor changes to the game over the centuries. The changes that took place quickened the pace of the game. Chess spread to Europe when the Moors invaded Spain in the eighth century. Chess is mentioned as a popular game in ancient Russian folk poems.

By the end of the 15th century, the modern rules for the basic moves had been adopted from Italy. Chess in Europe since that time has been almost the same as it remains today. The current rules of chess were finalized in the early 19th century, except for the exact conditions for a draw. Europe’s biggest contribution to chess was the checkered board.

The title “Grandmaster” was created by the Russian Tsar Nicholas II who first awarded it in 1914 to five players after a tournament he had funded in Saint Petersburg.