Chess's original predecessor, known as chaturanga (a Sanskrit reference to the four branches of a medieval army) originated in the Gupta Empire during the 6th century.

In what modern-day country is the game of chess thought to have originated?

"N-KB3+" is an example of which type of chess notation?

Korchnoi never won the World Chess Championship; he came up short in title matches against Anatoly Karpov on three occasions (1975, 1978, and the infamous Massacre of Merano in 1981).

Which of the following grandmasters is the only one to have NOT won both the World Junior & World Chess Championship?

The Elo rating system was featured in the plot of which of the following Oscar-nominated films?

Veselin Topalov posing as a bank customer

Which of these world champions did NOT appear in a TV commercial matching the description below?

Alexander Alekhine defeating Jose Capablanca in 1927

Max Euwe defeating Alexander Alekhine in 1935

Vasily Smyslov defeating Mikhail Botvinnik in 1957

Vladimir Kramnik defeating Garry Kasparov in 2000

Based on Elo ratings, which of the following matches was the biggest upset in world championship history?

This important endgame position, which results in a win for White by force, is named after which chess player?

Alexander Alekhine vs. Efim Bogoljubov, 1929

Mikhail Botvinnik vs. David Bronstein, 1951

Only one world chess championship game has ever ended in checkmate. In which match did it occur?

"Meditation and Chess" by Vassily Ivanchuk

Which of these is the real title of a published book?

If you followed the under-1400 section of the 1986 New York Open, you would have seen that the winner of the section was

This former World Rapid and World Blitz champion is well known for his fondness for checkers:

earned $6.6 million in the first half of the decade

In July 2015, the Norwegian newspaper VG reported that Magnus Carlsen had:

Put a knight at h1 on an empty board. Are there any squares that it takes more than five moves for the knight to reach?

A red-and-black chessboard surrounded by Olympic rings

A white knight on an oval black or blue globe

A black king in front of a blue or white shield

The FIDE logo is:

The only chess player to have won a world championship in three different formats; knockout, round-robin & traditional

Tigran Petrosian is a 48-year old Armenian international master

Tigran Petrosian is a 35-year old Armenian grandmaster

Tigran Petrosian played in the 2005 Tigran Petrosian Memorial Tournament

Which of the following is true?

The tallest world champion was:

There have been all sorts of international chess championships. Which group has NOT had their own championship?

A brilliancy that gave the US the decisive point to win the 2016 Olympiad

A blunder by Bobby Fischer that gave Spassky the lead in the 72 WC match

A blunder that broke a streak of 57 draws at 2018 World Correspondence

A blunder that gave 20-year old Paul Keres a victory over Alexander Alekhin

What is the significance of the move that led to this position?

Who holds the record for the longest uninterrupted reign (27 years) of any official World Chess Champion in history:

Positive head-to-head record against every previous opponent

In April 2011, Viswanathan Anand celebrated something that had happened to only five reigning world champions. He:

The only player to have won or drawn against every World Chess Champion since World War II:

What is the specific term (derived from German) for when a player interposes a check before an expected recapture?

Which opening move did Bobby Fischer describe as "best by test?"

One of his seconds was "an American spy."

He felt pity for Fischer because "he was going insane."

Ultra-high frequency rays were beamed at him.

In 2016, Boris Spassky gave a new explanation why he lost his world championship title to Bobby Fischer in 1972:

This former world champion infamously hung a piece against Larry Christiansen in 1993, and resigned after just 12 moves:

Got into a drunken fight over a woman at a bar in Havana, and missed the first 5 rounds of the 1966 Chess Olympiad.

World championship match that a blueberry yogurt delivered to a player became a controversial point of contention.

Aron Nimzowitsch (in his book 'My System')

Wilhelm Steinitz (in his book on the 1889 New York tournament)

Alexander Alekhine (in his book 'My Best Games')

He popularized terms like theoretical continuation, blunder, initiative, book position, and transposition of moves.

"It's hard being the mother of a genius."

"He'll be world champion within four years."

"For Bobby, it was either chess or years of psychotherapy."

"I tried everything I knew to discourage him. But it was hopeless."

When Bobby Fischer was profiled in the New Yorker magazine in 1957, his mother was quoted as saying:

Mikhail Botvinnik became world champion in 1948. He defended his title in 1951. How many games did he play in between?

Only two chess players have ever appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. One was Bobby Fischer. Who was the other?

Who was the chief beneficiary of the $5 million raised for the aborted 1975 Fischer-Karpov world championship match?

A player will be forfeited if he makes multiple illegal moves in a game

The players must recite the FIDE pledge at the opening ceremony

The players do not have to write down moves

Which of these was NOT an official rule for the 2008 Anand-Kramnik world championship match?

Complete the quote. Jose Capablanca in 'A Primer of Chess': A time limit of "between 20 and 30 moves per hour is..."

He defeated both Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov

He played all 15 of his games in fewer than eight hours

In a 1992 tournament, GM Lev Psakhis accomplished something that has never been equaled:

added a census question to determine how many people played chess regularly

proposed federally funded health insurance for American grandmasters

recognized Bobby Fischer as the world chess champion

limited tax deductions for chess tournament expenses

In 1986, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a chess-related resolution that:

The chess set used in the film 'The Seventh Seal'

A scoresheet signed by Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov from an exhibition

The original manuscript for Aron Nimzovich's 'My System'

This chess-related item sold for over $140,000 in a September 2009 auction:

This Islamic country banned chess in 1981, on grounds it was a distraction from daily prayers & a method for gambling 

Name the famous mating trap depicted in this position:

At 13, Bobby Fischer defeated this American international master in what would be regarded as the "Game of the Century"

Before being a Hollywood legend, this famous actor hustled strangers at chess in New York's Central Park:

This FIDE president controversially halted the 1985 World Chess Championship match, causing a rift with Kasparov

In a 1927 novel, this detective works a murder case for the electrocution of a grandmaster by means of a metal bishop

Silvio Danailov, future manager of Veselin Topalov

Nigel Short, future World Championship challenger

Yasser Seirawan, future U.S. Chess champion

In 1985 Garry Kasparov won the World Junior Chess Championship. Which of the following players finished in second place?

During his brief two-year career, Paul Morphy defeated all of the following chess greats one after the other EXCEPT:

Just as a draw offer is binding, the rejection of a draw offer (either orally or by touching a piece) is concrete as well and cannot be revoked later.

Your OTB opponent offers you a draw. You instantly refuse. Seconds later, you change your mind. Can you accept the draw?

a popular opening often used as a surprise to dodge opening preparation.

HINT: It was used in the first game of the 2016 World Chess Championship.

Name the opening.

Tigran's defensive playing style often earned him criticism from the Soviet media, which up to that point had pushed the image of Soviet chess as fast, attacking, and courageous.

Who said it?: "They say my games should be more interesting. I could be more interesting - and also lose."

Tal's 1961-1962 championship reign of 1 year and 5 days was just one week shorter than Smyslov's 1957-1958 reign of 1 year and 13 days.

This grandmaster had the briefest World Championship reign, holding the undisputed title for just one year and 5 days:

Recommended height of the pieces is as follows: King – 9.5 cm, Queen – 8.5 cm, Bishop – 7 cm, Knight – 6 cm, Rook – 5.5 cm and Pawn – 5 cm. The diameter of the piece's base should measure 40- 50% of its height. These dimensions may differ up to 10% from the above recommendation, but the order (e.g. King is higher than Queen etc.) must be kept.

True or False: It is a FIDE rule that the king must be taller than every other piece.

a percentage that stands in stark contrast to Germany (23%) and Russia (45%)

According to a 2012 survey by YouGov, what percentage of Americans play chess at least once a year?

He received a three-year ban and had to forfeit his Grandmaster title as a result of the subsequent investigation.

In 2015, this player was caught using a phone hidden in the player-only bathrooms to cheat against Petrosian in Dubai

Spassky said this in annoyance after Larsen boasted he would be the next world champion in the run-up to their semifinal Candidates' match in 1968. After Spassky crushed Larsen 5½-2½, he bluntly described Larsen's play: "Much ambition, little ammunition".

"He plays like an amateur but is paid like a professional... while I play like a professional but get paid like an amateur."

Boris Spassky once said this quote (above) of which grandmaster?

Which one of these endgame setups does NOT result in a forced mate?

True or False: Under the old (pre-1500) rules of chess, a bishop could only move exactly 2 squares diagonally at a time

The queen is the strongest piece on the board

The queen begins the game on a square of her color

One of the fundamental rules in chess is 'servat regina colorem', according to Wilhelm Steinitz. He meant:

True or false: A woman once held the record as the most active American chess player in a year.

The goal of this chess variant is to give away all of your pieces. The first player to do so, wins. Name the variant.

Before World War II, which grandmaster won, and then lost the world title to the same man?

This player, after losing a game of chess, infamously jumped up on the table and yelled, 'Why must I lose to this idiot?

What is the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO) designation for irregular openings?

60+ chess trivia questions for advanced chess fans. This chess quiz covers general chess trivia, the history of competitive chess results and top grandmasters and general chess rules. These chess trivia questions were created by Reddit user /u/city-of-stars in /r/chess posts.