The United Nations (UN)’s World Chess Day, also known as International Chess Day, is annually observed across the globe on July 20 to celebrate Chess, one of the most ancient, intellectual and cultural games, which promotes fairness, inclusion and mutual respect.
- The day marks the foundation day of FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs / International Chess Federation), which was established on 20th July 1924 in Paris, France.
- 20th July 2024 marks the centenary (100th) anniversary of the establishment of FIDE (FIDE100).
Background:
i.The idea to celebrate this day as the international chess day was proposed by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
ii.Under initiative of FIDE, July 20 has been observed as International Chess Day by chess players around the world since 1966.
iii.On 12th December 2019, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution A/RES/74/22 and proclaimed 20th July of every year as the World Chess Day.
- The resolution was tabled by Armenia and co-sponsored by 52 other countries.
iv.The first-ever UN recognised World Chess Day was observed on 20th July 2020.
Significance:
i.The day emphasises chess’s importance in promoting cultural exchange, mutual understanding, and social interaction among players around the world.
ii.It also promotes chess as a powerful tool for education, mental and social growth.
Events of FIDE100:
FIDE100 AWARDS:
As part of its centenary celebrations(FIDE 100), FIDE introduce the FIDE 100 Awards to recognize the outstanding individuals and organizations that have significantly contributed to the development and promotion of chess globally.
- The awards are given in 19 categories.
- The awards will be presented during the 45th FIDE Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary in September 2024.
Chess Torch Relay:
To commemorate its 100th anniversary, FIDE initiated the ‘Chess Torch Relay’, a global movement aimed at celebrating the game’s rich history and uniting the whole chess community.
- The torch relay was started off in India, the birth country of chess and the host of the 44th Chess Olympiad.
- The torch relay has been instituted by FIDE for the first time.
Guinness World Record:
On July 20, 2024, FIDE also attempts to set a Guinness World Record for the Most number of chess games (both online and offline) to be played during one day (24 hours).
About Chess:
Chess is a board game for two players played on a board with 64 squares (8×8 grid) with 16 pieces (eight pawns, two bishops, two knights, two rooks, one queen, and one king) each.
History:
i.According to the UN, one of the theories states that an early game similar to the present day chess called ‘Chaturanga’ arose in the Northern Indian subcontinent during the Gupta dynasty (around 319-543 BC) and spread over the Silk Roads west to Russia.
ii.Chaturanga was introduced as ‘Shatranj’ in Sassanid Persia around 600 CE.
iii.The Alfonso manuscripts also called the Libro de los juegos (Book of games), are a collection of medieval writings on three different types of popular games from 13th century CE describing the game of chess as very similar to Persian Shatranj in rules and gameplay.
World Chess Champions: As of July 2024, Liren Ding of China is the World Chess Champion and Wenjun Ju of China is the Women’s World Chess Champion.
About the International Chess Federation (Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE)):
President – Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich (Russia)
Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland
Motto – ‘Gens una sumus’ (Latin – We are one Family)
