• The modern-day chess set was standardized in 1849 by London game manufacturer John Jaques & Son. Called the Staunton design, it’s named after British chess champion Howard Staunton, who endorsed the design just as global chess tournaments were becoming popular. Previously, different chess sets had various designs for different pieces, and it was easy to mistake a rook for a bishop or a bishop for a queen. The Staunton design made the weighted pieces instantly recognizable, from pawn to king. They were easily mass-produced, bringing the price down. In 1924 the world chess federation declared it to be the standard design.
• In 1918, chess Grand Master Ossip Bernstein was arrested by the Bolshevik secret police investigating “counter-revolutionary” crimes. As the firing squad lined up, a senior officer and chess enthusiast recognized Bernstein’s name. He offered Bernstein a deal: They would play a game of chess and if Bernstein won, he would win his freedom. However, if he lost or the game came to a draw, he would be shot along with the rest of the prisoners. Bernstein won easily and was released.
• At various times and in various places, the game of chess has been banned. Most recently, the Taliban outlawed it when they seized Afghanistan in the 1990s, arresting anyone caught playing it. In 2012, Saudi Arabia’s leaders declared it forbidden.
• The police raided a chess tournament in Cleveland in 1973, arresting the tournament director and confiscating the chess sets on charges of allowing gambling (by awarding cash prizes to winners) and possession of gambling devices (which consisted of the chess sets). Today, there are over 1,000 international chess tournaments annually, plus innumerable local tournaments.
• The second book in history to be printed in the English language was about chess. William Caxton translated the manuscript from French into English in 1474, and then printed it. The title was, “The Game and Playe of the Chesse.” Two years later, it was finally published in the French language.
• Netflix’s adaptation of “The Queen’s Gambit,” from Walter Tevis’ novel, was released in 2020 starring Anya Taylor-Joy as prodigy Beth Harmon. Chess consultants Garry Kasparov and Bruce Pandolfini created every game for the series. The actors played every move of each game, whether the game was shown on-screen or not.
• Chess is played at least once a year by 15% of Americans, 43% of Russians, and 70% of the populace of India.
• For any given situation in chess, there are an average of 35 possible retaliatory moves.
• There are over 1,000 different opening moves.
• The record number of moves made without a single capture of a single game piece was set in 1992, with one hundred moves made in a match between masters Thornton and Walker.
• Germany’s Emanuel Lasker retained the World Chess Champion title longer than any other player ever: 26 years and 337 days.
• In 1985, the Soviet player Garry Kasparov became the youngest World Chess Champion ever at the age of 22 years and 210 days.
• In 1925, a team of Russian researchers put the nation’s top-rated chess players through a series of psychological and intelligence tests to find out if they possessed superior intellect. The results suggested that those who have exceptional knowledge about chess do not necessarily have exceptional brains.