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The Origin of Chess
Where did chess come from? The most widely accepted scenario is that chess appeared in India around 600 A.D., was adopted in Persia around 700 A.D., and was absorbed by Arab culture around 800 A.D. Just as chess is a difficult game, its origin is a difficult puzzle. We may never know the truth of its birth.

Chess in the Middle Ages
Our knowledge of chess in the Middle Ages comes from the literature of the period, which preceded the invention of printing and movable type. The first traces of chess in Europe date its introduction to sometime before A.D. 1000. The end of the Middle Ages coincided with the revolution in the rules which transformed chess to the modern game.

The Origin of Modern Chess
Near the end of the 15th century, the game of chess underwent a dramatic transformation when the powers of two of the weakest pieces were enhanced. The slow game characterized by a long opening buildup was suddenly a rapid game where checkmate was possible after only a few moves. The new game, quickly adopted wherever it was played, pushed the old game aside after only a few decades.

The French School of Chess (18th/19th cent.)
For nearly 100 years, from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, French chess players were the strongest in the world. The line from Philidor, to Deschapelles, to La Bourdonnais, to Saint-Amant, reminds us of a modern relay team, each player passing the team's baton to his successor.

Chess in the Early 19th Century : Chess Becomes Organized
By the mid-19th century, the center of gravity for chess had shifted from Paris to London. The Game of Kings became the game for everyone. Its popularity was augmented by the creation of chess clubs, the distribution of introductory books, columns in the general press, and magazines dedicated to the game.

The Origin of International Chess Events
The first international chess tournament was held in London as part of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The first official World Championship match was held during the first quarter of 1886 in New York, St. Louis, and New Orleans.

Rise of the Soviet Chess Hegemony
Was the fantastic success of 20th century Soviet chess a school or a hegemony? Answers.com: 'hegemony : The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others'. Mikhail Botvinnik, the first Soviet World Champion, thought that it was because the U.S.S.R. treated chess as not just a pasttime and not just a table game.

The Rise of Internet Chess
The Internet -- meaning technologies that link networks together -- has been very good to chess. The pre-Internet era goes back to the Dark Age of chess: no online play, no live broadcasts, no instant news, no chatting with other fans around the globe.

The Art of Odds Giving
With the increasing dominance of computers in man-machine matches, the 19th century tradition of giving odds to a weaker player is returning to vogue. Here is an introduction to 'Types of Odds', a guest article by Sarah Cohen.

Chess in the Balkans
SCG stands for 'Srbija i Crna Gora', better known to English speakers as 'Serbia and Montenegro', also known as ex-Yugoslavia. For many years Yugoslavia was one of the top chess playing countries, behind only the USSR and the USA in the Olympiads.

Chess History Center
A leading chess history site; 'Chess Notes' by Edward Winter; 'Chess Books' and 'Chess Resources' by Richard Forster.

Chess Archaeology
'Chess is a scientific game'. Articles, historic pictures, unknown games by the greats, and much more.

On the Origin of Chess by Gerhard Josten and colleagues.
Articles on the very beginnings of the game. Associated with the Initiative Group Koenigstein (IGK).

Another view on Chess by Jean-Louis Cazaux
Dedicated to the history of Chess, Xiangqi, Shogi and more.

Best All-Time Games by A.J. Goldsby
List after list of best games by the great masters, many of them annotated.

Bidmonfa.com
Scroll down to find history links, especially 'Calendar'.

Canadian Chess by David Cohen
Privately maintained web site dedicated to Canadian chess. History of Canadian chess, Canadian Chess Hall of Fame, quick biographies, and much more.

Chess History by Bill Wall
Chronological list of chess events from the beginning to 1998.

Chess History on the Web
Recommended history sites which are not in English language. By your About Chess Guide.

ChessDryad.com
California Chess History. California chess games, articles, photos, and master ratings

Chessmetrics by Jeff Sonas
Everything you ever wanted to know about historical ratings. Sonas picks up where Elo left off.

Ken Whyld Association
Named after the great English chess historian. 'It is our association’s concern to bring together the information scattered worldwide from collectors of chess literature and extensive chess libraries, and thus give the public access to it.'

On the square (column by John Hilbert & others)
A feature of The Campbell Report on CorrespondenceChess.com. 'Articles directly address some area of chess. Most address correspondence chess subjects.'

Oscar.fide.com
History of the chess oscar.

Roger Paige's Chess Site
Historical photographs, crosstables, and players.

U.S. Chess Hall of Fame
Biographies on all inductees. • From the Internet Archive (www.archive.org).

World Chess Hall of Fame
Inductees, news, photos, and articles about U.S. chess history. Opened December 2001 in Miami, Florida. Affiliated with the Sidney Samole Museum and Excalibur Electronics. Also chessmuseum.org.

Ancient Chess Piece Discovered
If the Albanian artifact is a chess piece, then chess history as we know it is wrong. Does a crown bearing a cross mean it's a King?