Chess for Recovering Better
Throughout history, games and sports have helped
humanity to survive times of crisis by reducing anxieties and improving mental
health. While the coronavirus outbreak has forced most gaming and sports
activities to scale down, chess has demonstrated remarkable resilience,
adaptability and a very strong convening power in time of pandemic.
Over the past few months, the overall interest in chess
is reported to have doubled, with more players than ever coming together to
participate in chess events that are being increasingly held through online
platforms.
Chess for Sustainable Development
The United Nations recognizes that sports, the arts and
physical activity have the power to change perceptions, prejudices and
behaviours, as well as to inspire people, break down racial and political
barriers, combat discrimination and defuse conflict, and therefore contribute
in promoting education, sustainable development, peace, cooperation,
solidarity, social inclusion and health at the local, regional and international
levels.
Chess is one of the most ancient, intellectual and
cultural games, with a combination of sport, scientific thinking and elements
of art. As an affordable and inclusive activity, it can be exercised anywhere
and played by all, across the barriers of language, age, gender, physical
ability or social status.
Chess is a global game, which promotes fairness,
inclusion and mutual respect, and noting in this regard that it can contribute
to an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding among peoples and nations.
Chess also offers important opportunities in the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and
the Sustainable Development Goals, including
strengthening education, realizing gender equality and the empowerment of women
and girls and fostering inclusion, tolerance, mutual understanding and respect.
Background
Chess is a two player strategy board game where the aim
is to move different types of playing piece, each with a prescribed set of
possible moves, around a chequered square board trying to capture the opponents
‘king’ piece. Today there are over 2,000 identifiable variants of the game. One
theory is that an early game similar to chess called Chaturanga originated in
Northern Indian Subcontinent during the Gupta period (~ 319 – 543 CE) and
spread along the Silk Roads west to Persia.
Whilst modern Chess is believed to have been derived
from Chaturanga means ‘four divisions’ referring either to the divisions of the
playing pieces into infantry, cavalry, elephantry and chariotry (pieces which
in the modern game became the pawn, knight, bishop and rook), or to the fact
that the game was played by four players. Chatrang, and later Shatranj, was the
name given to the game when it arrived in Sassanid Persia around 600 CE. The
earliest reference to the game comes from a Persian manuscript of around 600
CE, which describes an ambassador from the Indian Subcontinent visiting king
Khosrow I (531 – 579 CE) and presenting him with the game as a gift. From there
it spread along the Silk to other regions including the Arabian Peninsula and
Byzantium.
In 900 CE, Abbasid chess masters al-Suli and al-Lajlaj
composed works on the techniques and strategy of the game, and by 1000 CE Chess
was popular across Europe, and in Russia where it was introduced from the
Eurasian Steppe. The Alfonso manuscripts, also known as the Libro de los Juegos
(Book of Games), a medieval collection of texts on three different types of
popular game from the 13th century CE describe the game of Chess as very
similar to Persian Shatranj in rules and gameplay.
On 12 December 2019, the General Assembly proclaimed 20
July as World Chess Day to mark the date of the establishment of the
International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Paris in 1924.
Under initiative of FIDE, July 20 has been observed as
International Chess Day by chess players around the world since 1966.
The designation of World Chess Day of the UN will not
only recognize the important role of the FIDE in supporting international
cooperation for chess activity and aiming to improve friendly harmony among all
peoples of the world, but also to provide an important platform to foster,
dialogue, solidarity and culture of peace.
