What is your favorite board game? Chess is timeless. It is a recreational and competitive board game played between two players. Sometimes called Western or international chess to distinguish it from its predecessors and related games such as xiangqi and more. Although chess seems like it has been around forever – not many people actually know how to play it, and those who do have some mad skills! Chess is often considered a nerdy board game, but we guess nerdy is the new cool. How much do you know about chess? If you want to learn some cool facts about the timeless boardgame – keep reading!

CheckMate!

The word “Checkmate” in Chess comes from the Persian phrase “Shah Mat,” which means “the King is dead.”

The Queen

Initially, the Queen could only move one square at a time, diagonally.  Later, she could move two squares at a time, diagonally.  It wasn’t until Reconquista Spain, with its powerful queen Isabella, that the Queen became the strongest piece on the board.

Sneaky Priest

The folding chessboard was invented by a priest who was forbidden to play chess. The priest found a way around it by making a folding chessboard. When folded together and put on a bookshelf, it simply looks like two books.

Pawns

The new pawn move, where pawns were allowed to advance two squares on their first move instead of one, was first introduced in Spain in 1280.