chess

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chess Board game of strategic attack and defence, played on a 64-square chequered board. Two players start with 16 pieces each, white or black, set out along the outer two ranks (rows) of the board. With a black square in the left corner, white's pieces are set out: rook (castle), knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook. Black's pieces align directly opposite. Pawns stand on the second rank. White takes first move, and players move pieces alternately on either rank (horizontal), file (vertical), or diagonal as appropriate, until the king is captured (checkmate). Chess originated in India. The earliest extant references date the game back to the 6th century ad. Modern chess is a high-profile, international game. Since 1950, all male world champion grandmasters (except Bobby Fisher from the USA) have come from Russia or the former Soviet Union.

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