Chess is one of the longest surviving board games that is still popular in the world. It is played between two people on a chessboard. The chessboard is a square checkered board with sixty four squares placed in an eight by eight grid. Each player has sixteen pieces each, which consist of one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops and eight pawns. These pieces are sued on the board to capture opponent’s pieces. The game ends when one player wins the opponent’s king or queen usually using a maneuver called checkmate.
There are world championships held for this game and this game can be played against a computer too. The game can last from ten to sixty minutes; some people even play it over the week. There are parks where people sit and play chess. It is touted as a brainy game and most people who play this game are quite intelligent. Doctors say since this game keeps the brain and mind engaged, it is a good way to keep the brain active to prevent memory loss for aged people. There are chess sets for sale at many stores and even at online stores. If Looking online simply type in buy chess sets and a list will be generated. There are many chess sets which are collector’s items.
As this game has been played over the centuries, there are chess sets and boards made from various cultures made from various materials. The most coveted chess pieces and boards are those of the royal line, the kings and queens of yore. Some of their chess pieces are made from ivory and the chess board is made from a marble slab. The craftsmanship of these pieces is exquisite and many collectors covet such chess sets. There are even chess sets made from different types of wood and the pieces can be placed inside the wooden board thus keeping all the pieces together to be played. Today the chess sets are made from good quality plastic, but some are also imitations of the beautiful chess sets seen over the world. These work out to be more affordable and yet add class to the game. There are smaller chess sets and boards that one can carry when traveling. There are even sets with magnets on the chess pieces to keep them fixed on the board when playing chess on a moving vehicle like a train or bus. This game is fun to play and also exercise the brain muscles.