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Interesting facts about chess.
1. Origin of the name
Chess originates from the 6th century Indian game of chaturanga, whose name translates from Sanskrit as "four divisions of army", which includes infantry, cavalry, bishops and chariots, which are represented in chess by the pawn, knight, bishop and rook.
In the 7th century the game came to Persia and was renamed Shatranj. The name chess comes from the Persian language. Players said “Check” (from Persian for “king”) when attacking the opponent’s king, and “Checkmate” (from Persian for “the king is dead”).
2. The chess machine that fooled everyone
In 1770, Hungarian inventor Wolfgang von Kempelen created a chess machine. The machine was a human-sized figure of a “Turk” who sat behind a huge wooden cabinet whose doors opened, showing the public complex mechanisms.
The mechanical arm moved pieces around the field and beat such famous opponents as Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin.
As it turned out many years later, the chess machine was not a machine. Inside the machine was a chess player who moved around inside and hid as the complex mechanisms of the smart “machine” were shown to the public.
3. The shortest and longest chess game
The shortest chess game is called stupid mate, consisting of two moves: 1. f3 e5 and 2. g4 Qh4++. A draw or loss can also occur before players begin making moves, either due to a certain scenario in the standings or as a result of a player not showing up to play.
The longest chess game was played between Ivan Nikolic and Goran Arsovic in Belgrade in 1989. It lasted 20 hours and 15 minutes, 269 moves were made during the game, and it ended in a draw. Theoretically, the game could last even longer, but after the introduction of the 50-move rule, this number can be somehow limited.
4. Checkbox
Garry Kasparov once said that “chess is a torture of the mind.” Apparently that's why someone decided to combine chess with physical tests by creating chessboxing. Dutch artist Ipe Rubing became the founder of chessboxing after he saw the idea of combining chess and boxing in one comic book.
Chessboxing alternates rounds of chess and boxing and its motto is “Battles are fought in the ring, but wars are fought on the board.”
Chessboxing is becoming increasingly popular and is governed by the World Chessboxing Organization.
5. Dynamic queen
The Queen or Queen chess piece has undergone many changes throughout the history of chess. It all started with the fact that she could only move along one square diagonally, later she moved two squares, and then further and further, like a knight.
Now this figure can move both diagonally, horizontally, and vertically. At first she was the king's advisor or prime minister.
But later she became the most powerful figure in chess.
6. Backhanded chess
Blindfold chess is a variation of the game in which the player makes all of his moves without looking at the chessboard. As a rule, there is an intermediary in the game who moves the pieces.
Blindfold chess is an impressive ability that many of the top chess players possess. One of the record holders in blindfold chess was the Hungarian chess player Janos Flesz, who played 52 opponents simultaneously blindfolded and won 32 games.
7. Endless possibilities
After three moves, there are more than nine million possible positions on each side. An American mathematician calculated the minimum number of non-repeating chess games and derived Shannon's number.
According to this number, the number of possible unique batches exceeds the number of atoms in the visible Universe. The number of atoms is estimated to be 10^79, and the number of unique chess games is 10^120.
8. The power of chess computers
Chess computers are now an important part of chess. World champion Garry Kasparov, considered the strongest player in the history of chess, lost to the computer Deep Blue in 1997, and this was a real shock to the entire chess world.
In 2006, world champion Vladimir Kramnik was defeated by the computer Deep Fritz, once again highlighting the power of chess computers. Today, chess programs are often used by players to analyze and improve their games, and are often ranked on par with grandmasters.
9. Chess clock - to avoid falling asleep
At first, chess games were played without a clock. At the same time, players could play for many hours, or even days in a row, driving each other to exhaustion. In 1851, during a chess tournament, the assistant referee recorded that "the game was not completed due to the players eventually falling asleep."
After that, a year later, time control in the form of an hourglass was introduced at an international tournament, and in 1883 the first mechanical chess clock appeared, created by the British Thomas Wilson.
10. Chess and our brain
Psychologists often mention chess as an effective way to improve your memory. It also allows you to solve complex problems and think through ideas.
Many people believe that chess is a game for those who are naturally highly intelligent. This is partly true, but you can also significantly increase your intelligence by playing chess. Moreover, studies have shown that chess activates both hemispheres of the brain, improving creativity, concentration, critical thinking and reading skills.
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Good day, dear friend!
When hearing the word “combination”, the image of the Great Combinator appears in the mind of the author of these lines. However, we know that Ostap Ibrahimovic's success in chess left much to be desired. His chess combinations turned out much worse than in everyday life.
The reason is very simple: a combination in chess is a tool. And the tool, as we know, works in capable hands.
I must say that learning to play chess well is not that difficult with the right approach. Chess training programs will be an excellent help for you.
What is a combination in chess?
The word "combination" in the dictionary means connection, combination.
A combination in chess is considered to be a combination of moves using a sacrifice, which are united by a specific idea or goal . Using special chess terminology, a forced variation.
Wikipedia offers us a fairly extensive classification of chess combinations: by motive, by object, by technique, by distraction, enticement, and so on.
You can classify combinations in a simpler way: fast, checkmate, best, interesting, winning.
From the point of view of practical use, of all this variety, the only thing of interest is the classification by result.
A practical chess player, when thinking about a move or a series of moves, never thinks about how his idea should be classified.
That is, he wants to achieve a certain result using a combination. A chess player never thinks like this: “I want to play a combination to entice.” He thinks differently: “I want to achieve a winning position. And I see a way for this - to carry out a combination.”
He wants with the combination:
- Achieve a winning position
- Achieve a draw
- Checkmate
- Get into a stalemate
- Dramatically change the situation on the board
This is an incomplete list of targets for combinations. Let's not split hairs and look at some interesting examples of combinations.
Combination examples
Combinations are not always a checkmate game.
1. Passed pawn
How to use a passed pawn when it is tightly guarded by the white rook from the g4 square?
2...Rh4!!
That's right, she can be distracted by sacrificing her own rook. And at the same time tie it up so it doesn’t go anywhere. Black wins.
2. Andgra na stalemate
The black king is in a stalemate position. Hence the idea of combination.
1...Rf6! 2.Kr:b2 Rf2+
The rook checks along the f file to infinity. And if the king comes up and hits the rook, the board is stalemate.
3. Checkmate game
The black pieces occupy poor positions and are overloaded with defense.
1.Rb8!!
The rook sacrifice and Black's position falls apart like a house of cards. Any capture of the rook results in checkmate.
4. X-ray
The lurking bishop on g7 often plays the role of an “X-ray”. This position is a typical example.
1...ef 2.gf K:e4! 3.de d3!
And whites suffer material losses.
What is combination vision?
Combination vision is the ability to notice combinational possibilities in a particular position.
Some of this ability is innate. Something like an ear for music. It can be absolute, good or so-so.
If the ability is so-so, it can be developed to a good level through training. Solutions of combinations, analysis of games, observation of the games of strong chess players.
In chess, combinational vision improves as your skill increases and experience increases.
How to develop combination vision?
Studying names and classifications is an educational activity, but mostly useless. There are other things you need to study and know:
Exact positions
When we know exactly how the position that can result from a move, combination or variation is evaluated, we can strive for it.
For example:
Should White exchange queens by moving? 1.Qd5+?Will they be able to win the game?
It all depends on how we evaluate the position after the forced 2…Q:d5 3.K:d5
This position is advantageous for White. We know this for DEFINITELY and can strive for it. Including using various combinations, sacrifices and other technical techniques.
Typical techniques
Double strikes. There are other techniques, we discussed them in separate articles. All these techniques are companions of combinations.
It doesn’t matter whether you call the combination a distraction, an enticement, or something else. It is important that you know how this is done and keep it in mind during the game. When the game ends with your victory, honor, praise and a point to the table.
The winner is not the one who knows the names, but the one who knows how to play well.
Tasks
1. White starts and checkmate in 4 moves:
2.White starts and wins:
3.White starts and gives mate in 2 moves:
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The time to think about the next move is limited and is fixed by a chess clock. But despite this, each game can last an unlimited amount of time and games. Let's look at the history of chess tournaments to see if this is actually true.
The very first international chess tournament (in the history of modern chess) was held in London in 1851 and brought together 16 participants. The tournament consisted of 4 rounds, and the outcome of the game, such as a draw, was not counted. In the first round, participants played 3 games for the majority of victories, subsequent rounds consisted of 28 games in total. Thus, the number of games was set by the tournament management.
The 1927 match, which marked the beginning of a new chess era thanks to Alexander Alekhine’s victory over the “unconditional favorite” Jose Raul Capablanca, lasted 31 games! The match between world-famous grandmasters Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov ended after 24 games with Kasparov’s victory. The battle between the real “monsters” of the game Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik in 2000 ended after 15 games. And the scandalous classical chess match between Vladimir Kramnik and the Bulgarian Veselin Topalov in 2006 ended after 12 games with an equal score between the opponents. Another not particularly fair and impartial game took place at the height of the Cold War between the American chess player Robert Fischer and the Soviet grandmaster Boris Spassky. Fischer defeated Spassky in 21 games.
The last match for the title of world chess champion ended after 12 games. By the way, this match attracted enormous attention from people, because the strongest grandmaster on the planet, the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, and the Russian Alexander Karyakin, who was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest grandmaster in the history of chess, fought on the “chess field.”
As you can see, a chess match can last any amount of time and games. The number of games can be set at the beginning of the game, or only the number of victories can be determined, and how many games this requires will depend on the participants in the game. Therefore, if you play at an amateur level or organize a not too serious tournament, the number of games will depend on your desire and the capabilities of the players.
How long does it take to play chess?
As mentioned earlier, the number of batches can be unlimited, while the batch has time limits. It's about controlling the timing of each move. The need for time control appeared at the moment when chess tournaments began to attract spectators and “fans”.
Time limits are different: for a game, for an individual move, for a certain number of moves, with added time. For amateur games, an hourglass is used - the faster a player makes a move, the less time his opponent will have to think.
There are known cases when chess tournaments and simple matches dragged on for several days due to the absence of any limit.
The time of the game depends on its type (more precisely, format). Let's take a closer look at this point.
- Classic game. The most common version of the game, which was introduced at the end of the 19th century (hence the name). Players are given two hours to make the first 40 moves, then an hour for the next 20 moves and 30 minutes until the end of the game.
- . This format will dispel the stereotype that chess is a boring and tedious game. Each chess player is given 5 minutes for the entire game. In some games, players can even get 3 or 1 minute (pretty extreme!). To become a blitz player (player of blitz games), you need long training and qualities such as composure, the ability to quickly make decisions and, of course, speed.
- Rapid is, one might say, a lighter version of blitz. Chess players are given 15-20 minutes per game. In general, a rapid format game can last from 10 to 60 minutes.
In a game with time control, a situation such as time pressure often arises - the player still has a few more moves to make, but there is almost no time left. In some cases, time may be added, therefore, the duration of the game will increase.
A limit with added time is also common. In general terms, with a fixed and predetermined amount of time, a certain number of seconds or minutes are added to each move according to different schemes (Fisher, Bronstein, with a delay without accumulation).
So, as you can see, setting a firm time frame for a chess game is very difficult. It all depends on the course of the game: how complex the combinations are, how much time the players spend thinking about the next move. All this makes chess an even more interesting and exciting game.
Number of possible chess games
We said that the number of games in chess is not regulated, but it is not infinite. This was proven by the famous American mathematician Claude Shannon back in 1950.
Shannon derived this number from mathematical calculations. The mathematician found that for each move a player has 30 different options. Having analyzed past games, Shannon also determined the average number of moves in each game - approximately 40. According to these data, it turns out that about 10,120 non-repeating games can be played. Delving into the calculations, Claude Shannon received a number equal to 10,120 - according to the scientist, this is exactly how many times (and minimally!) one can play non-repeating unique games. Just imagine: the minimum number of non-repeating chess games exceeds the number of atoms in the observable Universe several times. We think it has now become clear to everyone why each chess game is different from the previous one, and why it is almost impossible to predict its outcome.
This research is a "pioneer" of chess theory. It also had a great influence on the development of computer chess, especially since Shannon, continuing the initiatives of other scientists in the field of algorithms, invented a machine capable of playing chess.
Do you want to become a chess grandmaster? Let's be honest, to achieve your goal you will need to know a little more than the facts below. However, chess is one of the most famous strategic games on our planet; its history goes back several centuries and is extremely interesting in itself.
The birthplace of chess is India
25. The birthplace of chess is considered to be India, the era of the Gupta state (about 1400 years ago). From there the game moved to Eranshahr (the territory of modern Iran and Iraq), then to the Middle East, Europe and Russia. Perhaps this is what the first chess games looked like
24. The first pawn move to move two squares instead of one was invented in Spain in 1280. 
Exclusive right of a pawn on the first move
23. Chinese Emperor Sui Wen-di once executed two overseas chess players after hearing them call one of the pieces the emperor. Sui Wen-di's rage was caused by the mention of the high title of the ruler of the Celestial Empire in a simple game. 
Emperor Wen of Sui apparently did not approve of chess
22. The first mention of chess in America dates back to 1641 and is associated with the city of Esther Singleton, where Dutch settlers lived at that time. The first chess tournament in the United States took place in New York in 1857. 
Lithographs of participants in the first chess tournament in the United States
21. The longest move in terms of time belongs to the Brazilian Francisco Trois: the chess player spent two hours and twenty minutes thinking about it. 
It took the Brazilian chess player more than two hours to think about his move (pictured in a black vest)
The first game "Space - Earth"
20. The first game “Space - Earth” took place on June 9, 1970. She was played by the crew of the Soyuz-9 spacecraft and representatives of the cosmonaut training center on Earth. The game ended in a draw. 
The match between the astronauts and the Earth ended in a draw.
19. Initially, the queen could only move one square diagonally, then two. This continued until Queen Isabella of Spain ordered that the queen (and in Europe she is called the queen) be made the most powerful piece on the board. 
From the weakest piece, the queen became the strongest
18. The oldest recorded chess game dates back to 900 - it was a game between the Baghdad chronicler and his student. 
Illustration for the oldest chess game
17. Legendary scientist Alan Turing wrote the world's first computer program for playing chess in 1951. Since at that time there was no machine capable of processing this program, for the test game Turing had to perform algorithmic calculations himself, making one move in a few minutes. 
Turing was also interested in chess
16. "Deep Blue" became the first program to lose to a grandmaster in November 1988. However, nine years later, it also won two games in a match with Garry Kasparov in 1997 and also became the first machine to beat a human. 
The computer has learned to play chess no worse than a human
The oldest chess set
15. The oldest surviving chess set was found on the Isle of Lewis in Northern Scotland. It dates back to the 12th century AD, and is believed to have been created in Iceland or Norway. Its original design served as the model for the magical chess pieces in the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. 
The oldest chess set played a role in the Harry Potter movie
14. Emmanuel Lasker remained the longest-serving world chess champion in history: 26 years and 337 days, from 1894 to 1921. 
Emmanuel Lasker remained invincible for many years
13. The second book published in English after the stories about the Trojan War was a work on chess. 
Illustration for one of the first printed books on chess
12. In 1561, the Spanish priest Ruy Lopez de Segura wrote the book “On the Ingenuity and Art of Chess,” which became the first serious study of this game. The name of Ruy Lopez is associated with the creation of the Spanish opening, since Lopez paid most attention in his work to the beginning of the game. 
The first theoretical work on chess was written by Ruy Lopez de Segura
11. Chess is often cited by doctors as an example of an effective means of improving memory. This game also trains the mind by solving complex logic problems, so it is recommended for combating Alzheimer's disease. 
According to doctors, chess improves memory and trains the mind
Where does the name chess come from?
10. The name "chess" comes from the Persian words "check" and "checkmate", which are often translated as "the king is dead", although a more accurate equivalent would be "the king is trapped" or "the king cannot escape." 
The king cannot escape!
9. In 1972, during the Fischer-Spassky match in Reykjavik, the Soviet delegation suspected challenger Fischer of using various electronic and chemical devices to throw the world champion off balance. Spassky's chair was guarded around the clock, and after the games it was sent to the laboratory, but nothing unusual was found in it. 
The psychological pressure of Robert Fischer on Boris Spassky was never established
8. Filipino boy Alekhine Nuri became the youngest FIDE Master in the world. Now he is 9 years old. 
The youngest FIDE Master is 9 years old
7. In English, the word rooky, denoting an outstanding chess player, comes from “rook” - rook. As a rule, rooks come into play closer to the endgame and, together with the queen, are the most powerful pieces. 
A strong chess player is like a rook
6. The folding chessboard was invented in 1125 by a chess priest. The church forbade priests from playing chess, so the inventive pastor simply folded the board in half to make it look like books stacked on top of each other. 
An inventive priest found a way to circumvent the ban on chess
Thomas Wilson invented the chess clock
5. The chess clock was invented by Thomas Wilson in 1883, before that time the hourglass was used. Chess clocks acquired their modern appearance by 1900, when the switching mechanism was invented. 
It is impossible to hold a chess tournament without a watch
4. In 1985, Garry Kasparov became the youngest world chess champion at the age of 22 years and 210 days. Until now, the thirteenth world champion is recognized by many experts as the greatest chess player in history. 
Garry Kasparov became the youngest world champion
3. The longest match in terms of the number of moves was played between chess players Nikolic and Arsovic in Belgrade in 1989. The game lasted 20 hours and 15 minutes and ended in a draw. 269 moves were made during the game. After this match, FIDE introduced the 50-move rule: if not a single piece is captured in 100 moves, the players have no right to delay the game any longer and a draw is declared. 
The longest match in chess history ended in a draw
2. However, theoretically, the longest chess game can have 5,949 moves. 
It is possible to make more than five thousand moves in a chess game
1. The number of possible unique chess games is greater than the number of electrons in the entire universe. The number of smallest particles of matter is about 10 to the 79th power, while the number of non-repeating chess combinations is more than 10 to the 120th power. 
All kinds of chess games are unlikely to ever be played
Many scientists do not doubt that chess has an extremely positive effect on a person: it develops memory, trains the mind, and it is not for nothing that it is even considered a sport, and therefore there is no doubt that this unique game will not go down in history for a long time.
1. Chess originates from the ancient Indian game of the 6th century chaturanga, whose name is translated from Sanskrit as “four divisions of the army,” which includes infantry, cavalry, bishops and chariots, which are represented in chess by the pawn, knight, bishop and rook. In the 7th century the game came to Persia and was renamed Shatranj. The name chess comes from the Persian language. Players said "Check" (from the Persian for "king") when attacking the opponent's king, and "Checkmate" (from the Persian for "the king is dead").
2. In 1770, the Hungarian inventor Wolfgang von Kempelen created a chess machine. The machine was a human-sized figure of a “Turk” who sat behind a huge wooden cabinet whose doors opened, showing the public complex mechanisms. The mechanical arm moved pieces around the field and beat such famous opponents as Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin. As it turned out many years later, the chess machine was not a machine. Inside the machine was a chess player who moved around inside and hid while the complex mechanisms of the smart “machine” were shown to the public.
3. The shortest chess game is called stupid mate, consisting of two moves: 1. f3 e5 and 2. g4 Qh4++. A draw or loss can also occur before players begin making moves, either due to a certain scenario in the standings or as a result of a player not showing up to play.
The longest chess game was played between Ivan Nikolic and Goran Arsovic in Belgrade in 1989. It lasted 20 hours and 15 minutes, 269 moves were made during the game, and it ended in a draw. Theoretically, the game could last even longer, but after the introduction of the 50-move rule, this number can be somehow limited.
4. Garry Kasparov once said that “chess is a torture of the mind.” Apparently that's why someone decided to combine chess with physical tests by creating chessboxing. Dutch artist Ipe Rubing became the founder of chessboxing after he saw the idea of combining chess and boxing in one comic book. Chessboxing alternates rounds of chess and boxing and its motto is “Battles are fought in the ring, but wars are fought on the board.” Chessboxing is becoming increasingly popular and is governed by the World Chessboxing Organization.
5. The queen or queen chess piece has undergone many changes throughout the history of chess. It all started with the fact that she could only move along one square diagonally, later she moved two squares, and then further and further, like a knight. Now this figure can move both diagonally, horizontally, and vertically. The queen holds the record for “eating” enemy pieces: during one game, the queen took 11 pieces.
6. Blindfold chess is a variant of the game in which the player makes all his moves without looking at the chessboard. As a rule, there is an intermediary in the game who moves the pieces. Blindfold chess is an impressive ability that many of the top chess players possess. One of the record holders in blindfold chess was the Hungarian chess player Janos Flesch, who played 52 opponents simultaneously blindfolded and won 32 games.
7. After three moves, there are more than nine million possible positions on each side. An American mathematician calculated the minimum number of non-repeating chess games and derived Shannon's number. According to this number, the number of possible unique batches exceeds the number of atoms in the visible Universe. The number of atoms is estimated to be 10^79, and the number of unique chess games is 10^120.
8. Chess computers are now an important part of chess. World champion Garry Kasparov, considered the strongest player in the history of chess, lost to the computer Deep Blue in 1997, and this was a real shock to the entire chess world. In 2006, world champion Vladimir Kramnik was defeated by the computer Deep Fritz, once again highlighting the power of chess computers. Today, chess programs are often used by players to analyze and improve their games.
9. At first, chess games were played without a clock. At the same time, players could play for many hours, or even days in a row, driving each other to exhaustion. In 1851, during a chess tournament, the assistant referee recorded that "the game was not completed due to the players eventually falling asleep." After that, a year later, time control in the form of an hourglass was introduced at an international tournament, and in 1883 the first mechanical chess clock appeared, created by the British Thomas Wilson.
10. One of the Turkish sultans had the habit, while playing chess, of thoughtfully rubbing his bare foot on the cushion of the sofa. He did this in vain: he was poisoned by soaking a sofa cushion in poison.
11. Indian Raja Akbar, who lived in the 19th century, loved to invite several dozen dancers to his garden, and he himself climbed a high marble tower. So he played chess, where the pieces were dancers. Gradually, the Raja released the girls as the pieces were removed from the field.
12. In ancient and medieval chess there were many exotic modifications of pieces: dragons, centaurs, bishops, horsemen, etc. With the development of civilization, their set was replenished, including grenadiers, sappers and other military specialists, and the 20th century enriched chess with tanks, airplanes, and even an atomic bomb, into which a pawn turns when it reaches the last rank.
13. In ancient India, chess was played with fingers. The loser's finger was cut off.
14. On the personal instructions of Juan Antonio Samaranch, in 1997, one of the Belgian institutes conducted a study from which it followed that playing chess is the most difficult activity in terms of stress. A person doing this must be physically resilient and have a strong nervous system. They say that it was while playing chess that Ivan the Terrible and Queen of Belgium Marie Henriette Anne died.
15. It was this terribly indecent game that the wife of Thomas Paine, a French citizen sentenced to the guillotine for suggesting that Louis XVI should not be executed, but simply expelled from the country, was offered to play by Robespierre. Payne's wife won her husband's life at chess. Paine went to America and became one of the fathers of American democracy.
16. Late 19th-century writer Rose Maireder was a feminist theorist who constantly outraged her contemporaries with her shocking behavior. Not only did she defiantly not wear a corset, she also did not hesitate to declare that she liked to play chess. In those days, playing chess was considered completely indecent for a woman.
17. The position of players in society often influenced their style of play. For example, both Napoleon and Charles XII believed that it was shameful for the king to hide, and therefore they never castled in chess. At the same time, Karl was shamelessly losing.
18. Many great people loved chess: Charlemagne, Spinoza, Cardinal Richelieu, Pushkin, Stefan Zweig, Tolstoy, Turgenev and Tamerlane. According to one legend, Guinevere seduced Lancelot during a chess game.
19. The seven arts that future knights learned were called the “Seven Knightly Virtues.” These are fencing, swimming, falconry, composing poems in honor of the lady of the heart, wielding a spear, horse riding and playing chess.
20. Al-Biruni in his book “India” tells a legend that attributes the creation of chess to a certain Brahmin. Thousands of years before our era, there lived a king named Maharaja Ranveer, who ruled in the ancient city of Magadha, on the banks of the sacred Ganga River. He loved battles so much that he was always either preparing for war or returning from a campaign. But not everyone in his kingdom shared this passion, and the ministers were tired of his continuous military campaigns. It was necessary to come up with something to rid the king of his obsession. And so, the first minister called Anantha, a reclusive Brahmin, famous astrologer and mathematician, and asked him to help. A week later, Anantha announced that he had found a medicine, which he would demonstrate at court the next morning. The next morning Anantha appeared with a black and white checkered board and 64 pieces and taught Maharaja Ranveer how to play chess. In those days, when going to war, the ruler took with him elephants, camels, horses and foot warriors. The army was led by the first minister. So the game felt like a real battle. Maharaja Ranveer liked her so much that he promised to give Anantha whatever he wanted. Anantha's request seemed very modest: one grain of rice placed on the first square, two on the second, four on the third, and so on until all the squares of the chessboard were filled. The king at first thought that Anantha had fallen into insanity, until he realized that with each cell the number of grains doubled and by the end of the third row it took 17 million grains (and 27 weeks to count them). If all the cells were filled, it would take a very long time to count the 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 grains of rice per last cell... It is estimated that the total weight of rice would be more than 460 billion tons. It ended with the Maharaja appointing Anantha as Minister of Finance and never going to war again, enjoying the game of chess.
21. The composition of the US team (!) at the XXX Chess Olympiad in Manila: Irina Levitina, Elena Akhmylovskaya, Anna Akhsharumova, Esther Epstein. Coach - Alexander Ivanov.
22. Checkers is older than chess.
23. How many chess knights can be placed on the chessboard so that they are not under attack from each other? Answer: 32.
