Introduction to Chess

Chess is a strategic board game with origins in India around the 6th century. It involves two players and a 64-square board. Surprisingly, the total number of possible unique chess games exceeds the number of atoms in the observable universe.

Each player starts with 16 pieces: 1 king, 1 queen, 2 rooks, 2 knights, 2 bishops, and 8 pawns. A fun fact: the initial position of pieces has been standardized since the 15th century, but the queen used to be a weaker piece.

Each piece has unique movements. Pawns move forward but capture diagonally, knights move in an 'L' shape, bishops move diagonally, rooks move in straight lines, the queen moves any number of squares in any direction, and the king moves one square.

Chess includes special moves like castling, en passant, and pawn promotion. Castling involves the king and rook; en passant captures a pawn under specific conditions. Did you know pawn promotion can convert a pawn to any piece, though it's almost always a queen?

The objective is to checkmate the opponent's king, meaning it cannot escape capture. An interesting aspect: some strategies, like the 'Fool's Mate,' can win in just two moves. Deep learning AI now surpasses human grandmasters in strategic play.

The longest chess game ever played lasted 269 moves and ended in a draw after more than 20 hours of play!