Chess has come a long a way to achieve the status it has now. If one looks into the game intently, it is lot more than just a game. It is a picture of how people lived in the medieval times, their society, beliefs and lifestyle. Just a look at a chessboard and one knows it reflects different classes of the society and people representing them. The pieces on the chessboard are more of characters than mere playthings. It is the narration of ceremonies, wars and battlefields of the medieval time, narrated by the pieces and their moves. It’s kind of a cross section of the lives of people of the medieval era.

The pawns on the chessboard represent the laborers who used to be at the beck and call of the landowners and were treated like slaves, given up for others. These laborers could be traded or sacrificed to allow the landowners to escape harm, which is why they are the highest number of pieces on the chessboard and are sacrificed for other important pieces.

The castle pieces at both corners of the chessboard represent the home or refuge for the soldiers, like it used to be in the medieval times. A chessboard has two castle pieces, which are rightly used for saving the important members of the state. The professional soldiers of the medieval era were called knights who used to protect important members of the state like kings, queens and bishops. There are two knights in a game of chess and they are used to save the important pieces in a game. Bishops represented the church in medieval times. Church was the most powerful institution in the society and so were the bishops. They represented religion and held one of the most important positions in the society.

There are two bishops for each side in the game of chess who are protected by other pieces on the board. Queen is the only female figure on a chessboard. She is the most powerful piece on the board and regulates the game. She is protected by all means. This again gives a clear picture of the medieval society where queen stood the most powerful position and often governed the decisions of the king. There is only one queen on each side of a chessboard. If she could be captivated, the entire kingdom fell apart and protecting her was the main motto of any army. That’s what is seen in a game of chess.

The tallest piece on a chessboard, the king, and holds the strongest position in a chess game. He is defended by all pieces on the board and once taken, ends the game. This is what happened in the medieval times. If the king could be captivated, the war was lost and the kingdom was taken over by the invading army.

This is how Chess became more than a game and a clear depiction of life in the medieval time. Chess is now played all over, numerous tournaments are held all across the globe and players from all over the world represent their countries and participate in these tournaments.

Once chess became popular with the Europeans around 1200s, they modified the game as per their own convenience. The basic moves and rules are believed to have modified in Spain and Italy. It became immensely popular in West Europe and thus, this new version of chess came to be referred to as Western Chess.

The first manual for playing chess was written in the 15th century. It was the first theory where all the rules and moves of the game were recorded. ‘Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez’ or Repetition of Love and the Art of Playing Chess written by a Spanish churchman is the oldest chess book that has been printed and published in 1497. It was in the 18th century that French people started playing chess. It is during this time that the importance of the pawns was discovered. French people started playing chess in the cafes and restaurants. During the 19th century chess clubs and institutions mushroomed up in Europe. Chess books, journals and papers were published and interclub matches were played and chess problems came up in the newspapers regularly.

The modern chess tournament was held in London for the first time in the year 1851. The famous chess players who came up during this time were Adolf Anderssen from Germany, Paul Morphy from America, Wilhelm Steinitz from Prague and Johannes Zukertort of Germany. The first official World Chess Championship was played in the year 1886. Around the end of 19th century annual master tournaments and matches were organized in numbers all over the world. It’s believed that the Grandmaster title was given to Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch and Marshall for the first time in the year 1914. This was further taken forward by the emergence of World Chess Federation in the year 1924 in Paris. Women's World Chess Championship was found in the year 1927 and thus chess became the most popular game followed hugely by people all across the globe.

Chess has emerged to be one of the most popular sports. Currently most of the chess tournaments and championships are administered by FIDE. There are numerous tournaments that take place every year all over the world. The chess players are rated at regular intervals and thus their ranks among the other players around the world are determined. There are several titles that are awarded to the chess players based on their performances.