World Chess Day is celebrated on July 20th. UNESCO proposed making this day international chess day, and it has been celebrated as such since 1966, when FIDE established it. The organisation has now grown to include 199 countries as affiliate members in the form of National Chess Federations.
Chess is a two-player strategy game in which pieces move around a checkered square board using a set of moves in an attempt to capture the opponent’s ‘king’ piece. Today, there are over 2,000 variations of the game. According to one theory, Chaturanga originated during the Gupta period (319 – 543 CE) in the northern Indian Subcontinent and spread west along the Silk Roads.
Significance of World Chess Day
UNESCO proposed making this day international chess day, and it has been celebrated as such since 1966, when FIDE established it. The organisation has now grown to include 199 countries as affiliate members in the form of National Chess Federations. On this day, we can celebrate by teaching or learning how to play a game. We can also consider a 24-hour marathon or you can tell us about your own chess strategy.
International Chess Day History
The International Chess Federation (FIDE), the first global governing body for the game of chess, was founded on July 20, 1924 in Paris. The FIDE then decided to commemorate ‘International Chess Day’ on its 50th anniversary in 1966. The first ‘International Chess Day’ was observed in 1966 by all chess players and enthusiasts worldwide.
However the United Nations General Assembly finally officially recognized the ‘World Chess Day’ as a global event on 12th December 2019 and since then it is now a UN recognized observance.
