1. by Shrijita das

3.  Chess, 'the game which', says
Voltaire, 'reflects most honour on
human wit', arose in the fifth century
A.D. in north-west India. No more
precise indication can be given as to
its origin and it is not known who
actually invented the game. It was
then called 'chaturanga' and though
the game differed in some respects
from the modern version it was
clearly chess. No evidence exists for
its having been played earlier and the

4.  The rules differed slightly from
modern chess in those times.
However, by the Seventeenth Century
the game had settled exactly into its
modern form, from which it is unlikely
to depart. An interesting encounter
between the players of the modern
form of chess and a player of the old
Indian version occurred between 1929
and 1933 when Mir Sultan
Khan became British Champion and
defeated the World Champion
Alkehine, and the former World
Champion Casablanca.

7.  The King
 The Queen
 The Rook
 The Bishop
 The Knight
 The Pawn

8.  The king can move to any of the squares pointed to by an
arrow in the diagram on the left. The king is the main chess
piece. The side whose king is captured loses. This capture is
called 'checkmate'. Checkmate happens once the king is
under attack, cannot move and cannot be helped by its own
army of chessmen.To underscore the highest value of the
King relative to other pieces in a chess game, in early
computer chess programs, the king was assigned a value of
200 points.

9.  The Queen can move any number of squares
diagonally and also in horizontal and vertical
directions. The Queen, however, cannot jump
over any pieces. The diagram on the left
illustrates that the Queen can move to any of
the squares pointed to by an arrow and also
to any of the squares marked with red dots.

10.  The Rook can move any number of squares in
horizontal and vertical directions. The Rook,
however, cannot jump over any pieces. The
diagram on the left illustrates that the Rook
can move to any of the squares pointed to by
an arrow and also to a square marked with a
red dot.

11.  The Bishop can move any number of squares
diagonally only. The Bishop, however, cannot
jump over any pieces. The diagram on the left
illustrates that the Bishop can move to any of
the squares pointed to by an arrow.

12.  The Knight can move from one corner to the
other of any 2x3 rectangle of squares. The
Knight is also the only piece that can jump
over any other chess pieces. The diagram on
the left illustrates that the Knight can move
to any of the squares pointed to by a red dot.

13.  From its starting square, the pawn can move or 2
squares straight ahead. If the pawn is not on its
starting square, it can only move 1 square straight
ahead. The diagram on the left illustrates that the
pawn can move to any of the squares pointed to by
an arrow and a red dot. Although pawns move only
forward, they capture only sideways 1 square
diagonally forward -- see diagram in Chess Rules)

15. VISWANATHAN ANAND

16. DIBYENDU BARUA

17. KONERU HAMPI

18.  BHASKARAN
ADHIBAN
 SUBRAMANIAM
 ARUN PRASAD