Chess likely originated in northern India around 600 C.E. The earliest version of the game was known as "chaturanga" and revolved around Indian armies.

In early chess, the king was the rajah and the queen was the mantri. The game did not develop into its current form until the 15th century.

The International Chess Foundation, or FIDE, dates back all the way to the 15th century, when the game took on its modern rules.

To set up a chessboard correctly, always start with a white square on the lower right-hand corner.

There are 64 squares on a chessboard, with 32 white or light squares and 32 dark ones.

The horizontal rows that run side-to-side on a chessboard are called ranks, and there are eight ranks on a board.

The vertical columns on a chessboard are called files, and like ranks, there are a total of eight per board.

Squares are identified by a letter/number combination, with the lettered files coming first followed by the numbered rank.

The rook, or castle, occupies the end spots on the row closest to each player. Each player has two rooks, for a total of four per game.

A rook can travel straight along any rank or file for as many spaces as the player wishes. With eight spaces in each rank or file, a rook can travel a maximum of eight spaces in single turn.

A knight occupies the space next to each rook, for a total of four knights per game.

The knight moves three spaces at a time in an L-shape and is the only piece in the game that can jump over other pieces.

In chess, the player with the white pieces always has the honor of kicking off the game.

Like the rook, the bishop can move up to eight spaces in a single turn. Unlike the rook, however, the bishop moves diagonally rather than along a single rank or file.

Not sure how to arrange your king and queen? Always keep your queen on her color, so that the white queen rests on a white square, and the dark queen rests on the green or dark square.

A queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard and can move as many spaces as the player wishes in any direction.

A game of chess ends when the king is trapped by the opponent's pieces.

The king can move in any direction, like the queen, but can only move one square at a time.

Each player starts with eight pawns, for a total of 16 per game.

When you threaten your opponent's king with one or more of your own pieces, you should say "check" to make him aware of the situation.

Generally pawns can move only one space at a time, though players can choose to move a pawn two spaces if it's the first time that the pawn has been used in the game.

In castling, the king slides over towards the corner of the board, while the rook moves towards the center of the rank.

According to the rules of chess, a player may not castle if his king is under attack.

An en passant strategy allows a player to capture his opponent's pawn under certain circumstances if the pawn is trying to evade capture.

When you trap your opponent's king with no possible escape route, you have achieved checkmate and won the game.

If you have nowhere to move your king, but he is not under attack from your opponent, the game ends in a draw, or stalemate.

More than half a century later, people are still talking about the "Game of the Century," when a 13-year-old Bobby Fischer beat chess pro Donald Byrne.

The Guinness World Record for longest game of correspondence chess is 53 years. The game ended in 1999 after one of the two South African players passed away.

In fool's mate, it's possible to trick your opponent and win the game in just two moves if certain pieces are moved in the correct order.

Named for English player Howard Staunton, the Staunton style board has been the choice for tournament players since 1849.