Chess is a popular board game which is played between two people. The game, as we know it now, emerged in the southern part of Europe during the 15th century. An older Indian game was the basis for the chess we know now.

Today chess is played by many people across the globe in clubs, online, in tournaments and at home. It is a game that solidifies relationships between family and friends, especially when mentoring is involved.

Nowadays people use all sorts of chess sets and boards with different themes etc. A chess board is made up from 64 equal sized, black and white squares in a 8 by 8 shape. Depending on your needs you can find chess sets and boards with different themes and sizes.

A folding chess set, for example is one variation of a chess set, which many people who play chess for fun, find quite useful. For people that want to be able to play chess everywhere they go, special travel sets have been made which are a bit smaller in size. This kind of set could be perfect if you are going on a vacation or camping since it doesn’t need much space and it is easy to use. Both these types of chess sets are usually made of wood.

Another popular type of chess set are the magnetic chess sets which are handy because the chess pieces are not likely to move when you don’t want them to. The magnetic chess sets come in various shapes and sizes and can be made from materials like metal. The chess pieces are magnetized and adhere to the board by a metal plate fitted under the board. Like this you can play wherever you want, even in a space shuttle! Well, you might have to be a bit careful when the shuttle is launched, but you probably get what I’m saying.

Nowadays you can even buy an electronic chess computer or an electronic chess set. These kinds of chess sets and boards have some really nice features like a game storage and a save function, which is very convenient if you want to pause your game and continue another day. Most electronic chess sets or computers allow a player to play against a computer controlled opponent which means that you can practice prior to playing against a real player and that you never have to try hard to find an opponent. Playing against a real opponent with your electronic chess set or computer is of course also possible.

It doesn’t matter which kind of chess sets and boards you decide to play with, the rules will stay the same.

The first thing you should know is that the person with the white pieces starts the game.

Each player has an equal amount of pieces – eight pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, a king and a queen.

The goal of the game is to checkmate the other player’s king which results in a win. "Checkmate" is the name for the situation where the king can’t move anymore and victory is achieved for one of the players. Chess is also known as a war without bloodshed. Many people from around the globe enjoy the game of chess.