“Chess is a war over the board played to crush the opponent’s mind.”
International Chess Day is celebrated on the 20th of July as the International Chess Federation was founded on this day in the year 1924. The idea of celebrating International Chess was proposed by ‘UNESCO’ and it was first celebrated in the year 1966, after this, it was established by FIDE, a group of federations having 181 members who organize chess events and competitions across the world on this day.
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Background:
As we scroll the pages of history, we can notice the fact that people have been playing games and sports to survive their times of crisis. Sports and games were their two preferable means of getting rid of their anxieties and improving their mental health. During the past scenario of sports and games, the people were highly inclined towards the game of ‘Chess’ and even today, chess has remarkable resilience, adaptability, and very strong convening power.
Chess is an interesting game that is played between two players aiming to move differently played on the board as per the prescribed set of possible moves to capture the piece of the opponent king. The game of chess originated in the Northern Indian Subcontinent during the reign of the ‘Gupta period (319 – 543 CE)’ and it has obtained an impressive popularity in other countries as well by its spread along the Silk Road to Persia.
The name ‘Chess’ has been derived from the word ‘Chaturanga’ which means four divisions that refer to the divisions of playing pieces of chess i.e. infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry. The earlier name of chess was ‘Chatrang’ and later known as ‘Shatranj’ in 600 CE.
In the year 2019, the date 20th July was marked as the ‘World Chess Day’ by the proclamation of the General Assembly to mark the establishment date of the international chess federation (FIDE) in Paris in the year 1924. The day not only marks the establishment of the international chess federation but also aims to improvise friendly harmony among the people staying at the corners of the world and to offer an amazing platform to foster, dialogue, solidarity, and a culture of peace.
Why is International Chess Day celebrated?
Chess is one of the most ancient, intellectual, and cultural games having a combination of sports, scientific thinking, and elements of art. Being an affordable and inclusive activity, people can play this friendly battle by sitting anywhere without any barriers of age, language, gender, physical ability, and social status.
Now, chess has become the global game that promotes fairness, inclusion, and mutual respect among the people and nations. In short, chess offers opportunities for the implementation of Sustainable development and its goals like strengthening education, realizing gender equality, fostering, and empowerment of women and girls.
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How is International Chess Day celebrated?
People especially chess lovers take part and conduct various chess-related events like some have been detailed below:
- Teach someone willing to learn ‘how to play chess’
- Share their favorite chess story on their social media status
- Promote the National culture, peace, sports, and games, along with the International mutual understanding to become stronger than before.
- Go through the editorials associated with the other Countries and their contribution to chess
- Play chess on the computers or laptops and even with the family members to spend time with them.
“Move in Silence only speak when it’s the time to say ‘CHECKMATE’”