Chess

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Chess students agree that the game was played in India almost 1,400 years ago. Some fixed its origin in Persia or present day Iran.

Chess as played with the pieces in use today, was perfected in the 15th century. Study of the game began in 1749 with the publication by Francois Philidor.

Now there are regular international chess tournaments and contests for the title of world champion. The law of the chess are watched over by the Federation Internationale des Echecs or FIDE.

The word "chess" can be traced back through Old French esches to the Persian word shah, meaning the "king." The king is the most important of the 8 pieces arranged in the first row, or rank, in front of each player; the other pieces are the queen, two rooks, two bishops and two knights.

Each player also has 8 pawns lined up in the second rank, one in front of each piece. Knights and bishops are called minor pieces, the queen and rooks major pieces.