Chess is a board game between two players. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games, such as xiangqi and shogi. The current form of the game emerged in Spain and the rest of Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from chaturanga, a similar but much older game of Indian origin. Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide.
Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally it has been revoked for cheating.
A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by the composer using chess pieces on a chess board, which presents the solver with a particular task. For instance, a position may be given with the instruction that White is to move first, and checkmate Black in two moves against any possible defence. A chess problem fundamentally differs from over-the-board play in that the latter involves a struggle between black and white, whereas the former involves a competition between the composer and the solver. Most positions which occur in a chess problem are 'unrealistic' in the sense that they are very unlikely to occur in over-the-board play. There is a good deal of specialized jargon used in connection with chess problems; see glossary of chess problems for a list.
A game of chess can end in a draw by agreement. A player may offer a draw at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw. In some competitions, draws by agreement are restricted; for example draw offers may be subject to the discretion of the arbiter, or may be forbidden before move 30, or even forbidden altogether. The majority of draws in chess are by agreement.
A chess composer is a person who creates endgame studies or chess problems. Chess composers usually specialize in a particular genre, e.g. endgame studies, twomovers, threemovers, moremovers, helpmates, selfmates, fairy problems, or retrograde analysis. Moreover, composers have their own preferred style of composing, allowing their sorting according to composition schools.
Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez is a Costa Rican-American chess Grandmaster and commentator. At the age of 15, he became the first Central American to achieve the title of Grandmaster and the second youngest chess grandmaster in the world at the time. Born in Costa Rica, he represented Costa Rica before switching to the United States in 2011.
Comins Mansfield was a chess problem composer. He gained the title International Grandmaster for chess compositions in 1972 and 94.33 points in the FIDE Album.
Nenad Petrović, was a Croatian chess problemist.
Hrvoje (Vojko) Bartolović, was a Croatian chess problemist.
Marko Klasinc is Slovenian chess problemist.
The World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC) is the highest body governing the official activities in the chess composition. It was known as the Permanent Commission of the FIDE for Chess Compositions (PCCC) from its inception in 1956 until October 2010. It is now independent from FIDE, but both organisations are cooperating. Currently 40 countries are represented in the WFCC.
Vitaly Alexandrovich Chekhover was a Soviet chess player and chess composer. He was also a pianist.
Franz Pachl is a German chess grandmaster of the FIDE. He was also German champion of minigolf.
A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most prestigious of which is Grandmaster; many national chess federations also grant titles such as "National Master". More broadly, the term "master" can refer to any highly skilled chess player.
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and norms. Once awarded, titles are held for life except in cases of fraud or cheating. Open titles may be earned by all players, while women's titles are restricted to female players. Many strong female players hold both open and women's titles. FIDE also awards titles for arbiters, organizers and trainers. Titles for correspondence chess, chess problem composition and chess problem solving are no longer administered by FIDE.
Frode Olav Olsen Urkedal is a Norwegian chess player. He holds the title of Grandmaster, and is the 2012 and 2014 Norwegian champion.
Roland Baier is a Swiss chess problemist. In 1983 Baier won the first individual World Chess Solving Championship. In 1988 he gained the title International Solving Grandmaster. In 1989 he awarded the FIDE title - International Arbiter of Chess Composition, but in 1992 he became FIDE Master of Chess Composition.
