The Modern Era revolutionized the world of chess! Many amazing inventions were introduced like – chess engines, databases & more…įirst things first, chess was growing exponentially, an international organization was needed to be established. His dedication & valuable contributions inspired the world to come forward and experience the magic of chess! The Modern Era
He introduced a more positional style of chess, focusing on pawn structure, active bishop pair & the knight outposts plus more… Wilhelm Steinitz is also known as “The Father Of Modern Chess” In 1886, the first official world championship was hosted, where Wilhelm Steinitz became the first official world chess champion by defeating Johannes Zukertort. Pawn got superpowers: First move to 2 squares, En Passant & Pawn PromotionĬhess Clocks was introduced to the world in 1883.Castling was introduced to keep the kings’ safe.Queen became the most powerful piece (The Mad Queen).The biggest changes in chess were introduced in the middle of the 14th and 15th century – NOW, it’s time to learn about the evolution of chess – Evolution to The Romantic Eraĭuring the late 15th century, a new style of playing chess – Romantic Chess became popular, the period is known as “the romantic era of chess” up to the 1880s.Ĭhess Games played in this era, were focused more on quick, tactical maneuvers & sacrifices rather than long-term strategic planning! In the 9th century, chess made its way to Europe as a result of the Arab expansion where chess experienced its initial growth! In Persia, the king was called as ‘shāh’ that’s why players started to say ‘shāh’ when they attacked their opponent’s king and ‘Shāh māt’ when the opponent’s king couldn’t escape from the check! Today, these terms are evolved to check & checkmate respectively! When Arabs, conquered Persia during the 7th century, the Muslims popularized chess by the name of ‘shatranj’ (which some people still call & remember chess by)įun Fact: Chatrang was renamed as Shatranj in Arab Muslims due to their lack of “ch” and ”ng” native voice. The four divisions being infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry, represented by the chess pieces – pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively.Īfter India, chess quickly spread to Persia where it was known as Chatrang. The name ‘chaturaṅga’ is inspired by the four branches of the army: The history of chess is as interesting as the game itself!Ĭhess had its roots way back in the 6th century AD (1500 years ago) It was originated in northern India during The Gupta Empire where it was known as ‘chaturaṅga’ Wilhelm Steinitz is also known as “The Father Of Modern Chess” He was the first undisputed World Chess Champion from 1886 to 1894.