Chess Facts

• The term checkmate comes from the Persian phrase “shah mat” which translates into “The King is Dead”.

• From the starting position, there are eight different ways to Checkmate in two moves, and 355 different ways to Checkmate in three moves.

• The first chessboard with alternating light and dark squares first appeared in Europe in 1090.

• The second book ever printed in the English language was about Chess!

• In many languages, the Pawn is a foot solider, but in German & Spanish, it’s a peasant or a farmer instead.

• Chess is called “The Game Of Kings”, because for many centuries it was played primarily by nobility and the upper classes.

• The longest chess game theoretically possible is 5,949 moves.

• The new pawn move, advancing two spaces on its first move instead of one, was first introduced in Spain in 1280.