Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid.

It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments. Each player begins the game with sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns, each of these types of pieces moving differently. Pieces are used to attack and capture the opponent's pieces. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king by placing it under threat of capture ("check") which cannot be avoided. In addition to checkmate, the game can be won by the voluntary resignation of one's opponent, which may occur when too much material is lost, or if checkmate appears unavoidable. A game may result in a draw in several ways, and neither player wins. The course of the game is divided in three phases. The beginning of the game is called the opening (with the development of pieces). The opening yields to the phase called the middlegame. The last phase is the endgame, generally characterized by the disappearance of queens. The first official World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title in 1886; the current World Champion is Viswanathan Anand. In addition to the World Championship, there are the Women's World Championship, the Junior World Championship, the World Senior Championship, the Correspondence Chess World Championship, the World Computer Chess Championship, and Blitz and Rapid World Championships. The Chess Olympiad is a popular competition among teams from different nations. Online chess has opened amateur and professional competition to a wide and varied group of players. Chess is a recognized sport of the International Olympic Committee, and international chess competition is sanctioned by the FIDE (Fdration Internationale des checs or World Chess Federation). There are also many chess variants that have different rules, different pieces, and different boards. Commencing in the second half of the 20th century, computers have been programmed to play chess with increasing success to the point where home computers can play chess at a very high level. In the past two decades computer analysis has contributed significantly to chess theory as understood by human players, particularly in the endgame. The computer program Deep Blue was the first machine player to overcome a reigning World Chess Champion when it defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997. The history of chess spans some 1500 years. The earliest predecessors of the game originated in India, before the 6th century AD. From India, the game spread to Persia. When the Arabs conquered Persia, chess was taken up by the Muslim world and subsequently spread to Southern Europe. In Europe, chess evolved into roughly its current form in the 15th century. In the second half of the 19th century, modern chess tournament play began, and the first world Chess Championship was held in 1886. The 20th century saw great leaps forward in chess theory and the establishment of the World Chess Federation (FIDE). Developments in the 21st century include use of

computers for analysis, which originated in the 1970s with the first programmed chess games on the market. Online gaming appeared in the mid 1990's.

The precursors of chess originated in India during the Gupta Empire,[2][3][4][5] where its early form in the 6th century was known as chaturaga, which translates as "four divisions (of the military)": infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry, represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively.[6] Chess was introduced to Persia from India and became a part of the princely or courtly education of Persian nobility.[7] In Sassanid Persia around 600 the name became chatrang, which subsequently evolved to shatranj, and the rules were developed further. Players started calling "Shh!" (Persian for "King!") when attacking the opponent's king, and "Shh Mt!" (Persian for "the king is helpless" see checkmate) when the king was attacked and could not escape from attack. These exclamations persisted in chess as it traveled to other lands. The game was taken up by the Muslim world after the Islamic conquest of Persia, with the pieces largely keeping their Persian names. The Moors of North Africa rendered Persian "shatranj" as shaerej, which gave rise to the Spanish acedrex, axedrez and ajedrez; in Portuguese it became xadrez, and in Greek zatrikion, but in the rest of Europe it was replaced by versions of the Persian shh ("king"). Thus, the game came to be called ludus scacchorum or scacc(h)i in Latin, scacchi in Italian, escacs in Catalan, checs in French (Old French eschecs); schaken in Dutch, Schach in German, szachy in Polish, ahs in Latvian, skak in Danish, sjakk in Norwegian, schack in Swedish, akki in Finnish, ah in South Slavic languages, sakk in Hungarian and ah in Romanian; there are two theories about why this change happened: 1. From the exclamation "check" or "checkmate" as it was pronounced in various languages. 2. From the first chessmen known of in Western Europe (except Iberia and Greece) being ornamental chess kings brought in as curios by Muslim traders. The Mongols call the game shatar, and in Ethiopia it is called senterej, both evidently derived from shatranj. Chess spread directly from the Middle East to Russia, where chess became known as (shakhmaty, treated as a plural). The game reached Western Europe and Russia by at least three routes, the earliest being in the 9th century. By the year 1000 it had spread throughout Europe. [8] Introduced into the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors in the 10th century, it was described in a famous 13th century manuscript covering shatranj, backgammon and dice named the Libro de los juegos.

Chess spread throughout the world and many variants of the game soon began taking shape.[9] Buddhist pilgrims, Silk Road traders and others carried it to the Far East where it was transformed and assimilated into a game often played on the intersection of the lines of the board rather than within the squares.[9][10] Chaturanga reached Europe through Persia, the Byzantine empire and the expanding Arabian empire.[11] Muslims carried chess to North Africa, Sicily, and Iberia by the 10th century.[9] The game was developed extensively in Europe, and by the late 15th century, it had survived a series of prohibitions and Christian Church sanctions to almost take the shape of the modern game.[12] Modern history saw reliable reference works,[13] competitive chess tournaments[14] and exciting new variants which added to the game's popularity,[14] further bolstered by reliable timing mechanisms (first introduced in 1861), effective rules[14] and charismatic players.[15] The Game of the Generals, also called GG as it is most fondly called, or simply The Generals, is an educational wargame invented in the Philippines by Sofronio H. Pasola, Jr. in 1970. It can be played within twenty to thirty minutes. It is designed for two players, each controlling an army, and a neutral arbiter or an adjutant. It needs the use of logic. The game simulates armies at war trying to outflank and outmaneuver each other. As in actual warfare, the game allows only one side's plan to succeed. Certain strategies and tactics, however, allow both sides the chance of securing a better idea of the other's plan as the game progresses. Players can also speak with others during matches, hoping to make a false impression on where the flag is. This game was invented by Sofronio H. Pasola, Jr. with the inspiration of Ronnie Pasola (his son). The Pasolas first tried the Game of the Generals on a chessboard. Even then, the pieces had no particular arrangement. There were no spies in the experimental game; but after Ronnie Pasola remembered the James Bond movies and Mata Hari, he added the spies. [1] Making the pieces hidden was the idea of the Pasolas after remembering card games. The Game of the Generals' public introduction was on February 28, 1973. [2] Darts is a form of throwing game in which darts are thrown at a circular target (dartboard) fixed to a wall.[2] Though various boards and rules have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules. As well as being a professional competitive sport, darts is a traditional pub game, commonly played in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth, the Netherlands, Belgium, Republic of Ireland, the Scandinavian countries, the United States, Canada and elsewhere.

Dartboard

Before the First World War, pubs in the United Kingdom had dartboards made from solid blocks of wood, usually elm. They had to be soaked overnight to heal the holes made by the darts, and it was a messy business for the publican, although darts was a popular game. This changed when a company called Nodor, whose primary business was making modelling clay (which has no odor, hence the name Nodor), made a dartboard. Their model of dartboard was not a great success until someone came up with the idea of using the century plant to make a dartboard. Small bundles of sisal fibres of the same length were bundled together. The bundles were then compressed into a disk and bound with a metal ring. It was an instant success, as the darts did little or no damage to the boardthey just parted the fibres when they entered the board; this type of board was more durable and required little maintenance. New dartboards are made of sisal fibres; cheap boards are sometimes made of cork or coiled paper. However, several types of sisal fibre are used in dartboards today, originating from East Africa, Brazil or China. The widespread belief that some dartboards are constructed using pig bristles, camel hair, or horse hair, is incorrect. Apparently no such boards have ever been produced commercially. [citation needed] A regulation board is 17 34 inches (451 mm)[3] in diameter and is divided into 20 radial sections. Each section is separated with metal wire or a thin band of sheet metal. The best dartboards have the thinnest wire, so that the darts have less chance of hitting a wire and bouncing out. The numbers indicating the various scoring sections of the board are also normally made of wire, especially on tournament-quality boards, but may be printed directly on the board instead. Note that there are variations in the design of a dartboard, reflecting slightly different rules. These will be covered later in this article.

History

"Hope and Anchor dart club", 20 Waterloo Street (now Macbeth Street), Hammersmith, London, UK. ca 1925. NB publican Charles Fletcher (seated front row center) with elm board

Playing darts The dartboard may have its origins in the cross-section of a tree. An old name for a dartboard is "butt"; the word comes from the French word but, meaning "target".[4] In particular, the Yorkshire and Manchester Log End boards differ from the standard board in that they have no treble only double and bullseye, the Manchester board being of a smaller diameter, with a playing area of only 25 cm across with double and bull areas measuring just 4mm. The London Fives board is another variation. This has only 12 equal segments numbered 20, 5, 15, 10, 20, 5, 15, 10, 20, 5, 15, 10 with the doubles and triples being a quarter of an inch wide. There is a speculation that the game originated among soldiers throwing short arrows at the bottom of the cask or at the bottom of trunks of trees. As the wood dried, cracks would develop, creating "sections". Soon, regional standards emerged and many woodworkers supplemented bar tabs by fabricating dart boards for the local pubs. The standard numbering plan with a 20 on top was created in 1896 by Lancashire carpenter Brian Gamlin.[5] However, a great many other configurations have been used throughout the years and in different geographical locations. Gamlin's layout was devised to penalise inaccuracy. Although this applies to most of the board, the left-hand side (near the 14 section) is preferred by beginners, for its concentration of larger numbers. Mathematically, removing the rotational symmetry by placing the "20" at the top, there are 19!, or 121,645,100,408,832,000 possible dartboards. Many different layouts would penalise a player more than the current setup; however, the current setup actually does the job rather efficiently. There have been several mathematical papers published that consider the "optimal" dartboard.[6] Height and distance In the standard game, the dartboard is hung so that the bullseye is 5 feet 8 inches (172.72 cm) from the flooreye-level for a 6-foot (180 cm) person. The oche the line behind which the throwing player must standis generally 7 feet 914 inches (236.86 cm) from the face of the dartboard measured horizontally. Another recognised way of dartboard / oche dimensions is as thus... set up the dartboard on a solid wall so that the distance from the floor to the centre of the bullseye (in the centre of the dartboard) is 68 inches (172.72 cm), then measuring again from the centre of the bullseye in a diagonal manner, measure 115.41 inches (293.14 cm) from the bullseye to the rear of the oche and this will ensure true and accurate allround dimensions,

provided the floor is horizontal and the walls are plumb. An alternate means of measuring the distance from the bullseye to the far side of the oche or throwing line. It is 93.249 inches (236.85 cm) from the rear of the oche to a plumb line hanging (right angle) from the bulls eye. This figure is calculated using Pythagorean theorem, a + b = c. This is the recognized world standard as set by the World Darts Federation and is used in most areas. The London 5 board or narrow 5s board set up is slightly different from the standard board. The height is set at 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) to the centre of the bull and the oche is at 9 feet (2.74 m) from the face of the board.[7] The Darts Initially the missiles were simply cut down arrows or crossbow bolts.[8] The first purpose made darts were manufactured in one piece from wood; wrapped with a strip of lead for weight and fitted with flights made from split turkey feathers. These darts were mainly imported from France and became known as French darts.[9] Metal barrels were patented in 1906 but wood continued to be used into the 1950s. [8][10] The first metal barrels were made from brass which was relatively cheap and easy to work. [9] The wooden shafts, which were now threaded to fit the tapped barrel, were either fletched as before or designed to take a paper flight. This type of dart continued to be used into the 1970s.[9] When the advantages of using plastic were realised, the shaft and flight became separate entities, although one piece moulded plastic shaft and flights were also available.[11] Modern darts have four parts: The points, the barrels, the shafts and the fletching[12] The steel points come in 2 common lengths, 32mm and 41mm and are sometimes knurled or coated to improve grip. Others are designed to retract slightly on impact to lessen the chance of bouncing out.[13] The barrels come in a variety of weights and are usually constructed from brass, silvernickel or a tungsten alloy.[14] Brass is cheap but light and therefore brass barrels tend to be very bulky. Tungsten on the other hand, is twice as dense as brass thus a barrel of an equivalent weight could be half the size.[15] Tungsten is very brittle however and so an alloy of between 80 - 95% tungsten is used. The remainder is usually nickel, iron or copper.[15] Silver-nickel darts offer a compromise between density and cost. Barrels come in 3 basic shapes: Cylindrical, torpedo or ton.[16] Cylindrical barrels are the same diameter along their entire length and so tend to be long and thin. Their slenderness makes them better for grouping but because they are long, the centre of gravity is further back. Ton shaped barrels are thin at either end but bulge in the middle. This makes them fatter than a cylindrical barrel of equivalent weight but the centre of gravity is further forward and so theoretically easier to throw. Torpedo shaped barrels are widest at the point end and taper towards the rear. This keeps the weight as far forward as possible but like the ton, gives it a larger diameter than the cylinder. The shafts are manufactured in various lengths and some are designed to be cut to length. Shafts are generally made from plastics, nylon polymers or metals such as

aluminium and titanium; and can be rigid or flexible.[17] Longer shafts provide greater stability and allow a reduction in flight size which in turn can lead to closer grouping; but they also shift the weight towards the rear causing the dart to tilt backwards during flight. A longer stem will however make the dart less responsive and increase the chance of 'wobbling'. The primary purpose of the flight is to produce drag and thus prevent the rear of the dart overtaking the point.[12] Although it also has an effect on stability by reducing wobble. Modern flights are generally made from plastic, nylon or foil and are available in a range of shapes and sizes. The three most common shapes in order of size are the standard, the kite and the smaller pear shape. The less surface area, the less stability but larger flights hamper close grouping. Some manufactures have sought to solve this by making a flight long and thin but this in turn creates other problems such as changing the dart's centre of gravity. Generally speaking a heavier dart will require a larger flight. [12] The choice of barrel, shaft and flight will depend a great deal on the individual players throwing style. For competitive purposes a dart cannot weigh more than 50g including the shaft and flight and cannot exceed a total length of 300mm.[8] The standard dartboard is divided into 20 numbered sections, scoring from 1 to 20 points, by wires running from the small central circle to the outer circular wire. Circular wires within the outer wire subdivide each section into single, double and triple areas. The dartboard featured on the "Indoor League" television show of the 1970s did not feature a triple section, and according to host Fred Trueman during the first episode, this is the traditional Yorkshire board. Various games can be played (and still are played informally) using the standard dartboard. However, in the official game, any dart landing inside the outer wire scores as follows:

Hitting one of the large portions of each of the numbered sections, traditionally alternately coloured black and white, scores the points value of that section. Hitting the thin inner portions of these sections, roughly halfway between the outer wire and the central circle coloured red and green, scores triple the points value of that section. Hitting the thin outer portions of these sections, again coloured red or green, scores double the points value of that section. The double-20 is often referred to as double-top, reflecting the 20's position on the dartboard. The central circle is divided into a green outer ring worth 25 points (known as "outer", "outer bull", or "iris") and a red inner circle (usually known as "bull", "inner bull" or "double bull"), worth 50 points. The term "bullseye" can mean either the whole central part of the board or just the inner red section. The term "bull's ring" usually means just the green outer ring. The inner bull counts as a double when doubling in or out. Hitting outside the outer wire scores nothing.

Any dart that does not remain in the board until it is collected by the player (for example, a dart that hits a wire and bounces out of the board or drops out with the impact of a later throw) also scores nothing; exception should be noted if play is on any electronic board: darts falling out are counted. A dart only scores if its point is embedded in or is touching the playing surface. A dart that hits the board side on or at an angle but does not fall off because it is held in place by two other darts, for example, will score either equal to where its point touches or not at all.

The highest score possible with three darts is 180, commonly known as a "ton 80" (100 points is called a ton), obtained when all three darts land in the triple 20. In the televised game, the referee frequently announces a score of 180 in exuberant style. A "quad" ring appeared briefly in the 1990s, leading to a potential 240 maximum (three quad-20s), a 210 maximum checkout (Q20-Q20-Bull) and seven dart finishes from a 501 start (five quad-20s, triple-17, bullseye), but was swiftly dropped from professional tournament play. Skill level and aiming

Path of the optimal location to throw a dart where = 0 is a perfect player and = 100 is a player who throws randomly. Assuming standard scoring, the optimal area to aim for on the dart board in order to maximize the player's score varies significantly based on the players skill. The skilled player should aim for the centre of the T20 and as the player's skill reduces their aim moves slightly up and to the left of the T20. At = 16.4 the best place to aim jumps to the T19. As the player's skill decreases further, the best place to aim curls into the centre of the board, stopping a bit lower than and to the left of the bullseye at = 100.[18]