“Chess holds its master in its own bonds, shackling the mind and brain so that the inner freedom of the very strongest must suffer.” — Albert Einstein
The chess world celebrated the International Chess Day on the 20th of July. With the newfound glamour and attention the sport received during the past year thanks to the online boom and Netflix’s Queen's Gambit, netizens over the globe hit the social media with chess quotes, funny memes, greetings and messages.
The official recognition of World Chess Day by the UN General Assembly two years back has also added colours to the celebrations. The International Chess Day commemorates the foundation of the Federation Internationale des Eches (FIDE).
The History of FIDE and the International Chess Day
It was on 20th July 1924, that the World Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded. The venue was the eighth summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. Later, International Chess Day was officially recognized as the founding day of the World Chess Federation on July 20, 1966. Further, in December 2019, the UN General Assembly unanimously voted July 20 as World Chess Day. This year, FIDE celebrated its 97th anniversary.
FIDE is the first international attempt to unite the Chess Federations of various countries and has around 181 federations as its members. The organization has its headquarters in Lausanne (Switzerland) - the city that also hosts the International Olympic Committee (IOC). A Dutch lawyer and diplomat, Alexander Rueb held the post as the first president of FIDE.
Here are a few more firsts from the World of Chess:
The first-ever modern Chess Tournament was held in 1851 in London, The match was won by the German stalwart Adolf Anderssen.
The first “official” world championship took place in 1886 between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. Steinitz won the game and came to be called the “Father of Chess” with his extensive analysis of the games.
The credit of the longest reigning World Champion goes to Emanuel Lasker who became the second world champion after defeating Wilhelm Steinitz in 1894. His crowning glory remained intact till 1921 until his defeat at the hands of a young Jose Raul Capablanca.
Chess Machine Jose Raul Capablanca & his perfect gameplay
The longest winning streak belongs to the legendary Bobby Fischer who is also the world record holder for the most number of consecutive victories in master chess.
The highest Elo recorded till date is that of the prodigy World Champion Magnus Carlsen: 2882 Carlsen has been the only player to approach 2900.GM Fabiano Caruana reached a rating of 2844 in October 2014 and the legendary Garry Kasparov had a rating of 2851 in July 1999.
The youngest player to become Grandmaster is GM Abhimanyu Mishra who broke the record of Sergey Karjakin by 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days on June 30th, 2021.
The country that dominates the kingdom of chess is Russia, leading by an unparalleled with 2,559 titled players, which includes 243 grandmasters.
The World Chess Federation (FIDE) is authoritative in defining the rules for international chess, introducing arbiter titles as well as international sports. The Federation is in charge of calculating the Elo ratings which it does six times every year. FIDE's motto for 2021 is, "Teach someone how to play chess."
Last year the International Chess Day was celebrated amidst a roaring pandemic as a virtual event. The high-level event was attended by chess players, academia, officials from the UN and the government, representatives of civil society, and other significant stakeholders. The focus of the event was "Chess for Recovering Better".
Chess: The transition over changing landscapes
Chess, today, has achieved a status that goes beyond an ordinary sport. Chess and its complex framework that rely heavily on cognitive thinking, has crossed over to being a fundamental tool in developing Artificial Intelligence – one of the newest and most significant sciences that emerged in the century. In turn, a grateful AI contributed to computer chess – a deeper thinking into the intricacies of the ancient sport.
Chess has been rudimentary in initiating cognitive skill development in children. Today the sport is a mandatory part of the curriculum in many countries across the globe. The multi-dimensional structure of the brain game that combines sport, logic, science and art has helped in the process of brain stimulation towards the betterment of mental health. Chess therapy is gaining ground in many parts of the world to reduce anxieties and addictions.
Read more on the role of chess in de-addiction therapy
With the online boom and prestigious series like the Champions Chess Tour from Play Magnus Group, chess has become one game that never lacked luster during the pandemic. Further, the popularity of the Netflix series Queen’s Gambit has catapulted the sport to a wider audience and attention.
Conclusion
From psychology to logical sciences and from skill development to addiction therapy the mind game has imprinted its footprints deep into our social fabric. The day isn’t far when chess would play more prominent roles in diverse social platforms, aligning itself to better algorithms and transforming the art of logical reasoning and cognitive thinking to finer resolutions in its stride.
To know more about integrated chess coaching that blends cognitive skill development in kids with mastering the game, reach out to Mind Mentorz at info@mindmentorz.com or 9606847428