📜 Chess history quiz
Chess is about 1,500 years old. Ten questions about where it came from and some famous moments.
Getting the questions ready…
The answers, and why
- Where do most historians think chess began? India. Chess grew from an Indian game called chaturanga, about 1,500 years ago.
- "Checkmate" comes from Persian words meaning... The king is helpless. From the Persian "shah mat": shah means king.
- In early chess, the queen could move... One square diagonally. The piece was weak for centuries. The powerful modern queen arrived in Europe around 500 years ago.
- Who was the first official world chess champion, in 1886? Wilhelm Steinitz. Steinitz won the first official World Championship match in 1886.
- What was the name of the computer that beat world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997? Deep Blue. IBM's Deep Blue beat Kasparov in a six-game match in 1997.
- Which American won the World Championship in 1972? Bobby Fischer. Bobby Fischer won the title in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1972.
- Which player is often called the strongest woman chess player in history? Judit Polgár. Judit Polgár, from Hungary, became a grandmaster at fifteen and beat many world champions.
- FIDE, the world chess federation, was founded in which city in 1924? Paris. FIDE was founded in Paris in 1924.
- What is the highest title a chess player can earn for life? Grandmaster. FIDE awards the Grandmaster title for life.
- How many squares are on a chessboard? 64. An eight-by-eight board, just as in the old Indian game.