CHESS FACTS

Chess is called the game of kings,
because for many
centuries it was played primarily
by nobility and the upper
classes.

                      
The names of the pieces-- the queen, king, knight, rook
and bishop came about during the Middle Ages, when society
was extremely oriented towards war and rigidly stratified.
During the Renaissance period, society became more dynamic
and rules were added to enable rapid attack techniques.
These include making the queen more powerful, and permitting
pawns to move two squares on the first move.


The rook is named from an Arabic word rukh, meaning chariot.
This reflects its ability to move quickly in straight lines,
but not leap over obstacles. During the Middle Ages, when
chariots were no longer in use, the rook was gradually
modified to look more like the turret of a castle.


The folding chess board was originally invented in 1125 by
a chess-playing priest. Since the Church forbid priests to
play chess, he hid his chess board by making one that
looked simply like two books lying together.

                       

The Isle of Lewis chess pieces are the oldest surviving
complete chess set known. Discovered on they Isle of Lewis,
they are made from walrus tusks and show their characters
in a range of bad moods - from anger to depression.


Lewis Carrol’s novel “Through the Looking Glass” was based
on a chess game, much the way “Alice in Wonderland” was
based on playing cards. The idea for picturing the country-
side as a chess board came from Lewis Carrol’s days in
Oxmoor, where his apartment overlooked a cultivated moor,
separated into neat, rectangular farmer’s fields.